7/18/15 Passaic Pike: New PB

[JDTuna]

Based on the last weather report I saw yesterday, I decided to hit the river in the morning to avoid the storms later in the day. Turned out the morning was the worst of the weather.

Hit the first spot and immediately hooked a nice fish but pulled the hook. As I made my way up the bank to move upriver, I slipped and fell. In the process, I must have fallen on my reel and broke the handle off. Not a good start. Luckily, I wasn't far from home and I drove home, picked up another reel and continued to fish. The pike were hitting very aggressively and even coming out of the water after the lures. I had one fish come three feet out of the water after the lure, but wouldn't come back for seconds. The fish weren't monsters, but were certainly decent sized.


I made a move to another spot that usually holds big fish, but they can be spooky and tough to get to bite at times. I decided to take a break from artificial and caught a few live baits and headed to the spot. As I was driving there, it started to rain pretty hard. I figured I was already out and may as well give it a shot. As I arrived at the spot, it was raining hard with a few rumbles of thunder. I waited for the thunder to pass and hit the spot in the rain. It took all of about three minutes for a big fish to hit, and I quickly landed a very thick fish between 37 and 38 inches. I didn't have my tape on me, so I took a measurement alongside my rod. Still haven't hit the 40 inches yet, but I'm getting closer. I took a quick pic and the fish swam away strong. I wish the picture came out better, but I was by myself in the pouring rain and I wanted to get her back in quickly. At least I don't have to worry about a spot burn lol.


Despite the weather it turned out to be a great morning on the river!