Like many of you relate, I’ve lost my share of big fish next to the canoe.  No nets anymore for pike…I’ve had my fill of slimy canoe floors and tangled nets from large pike flopping all over the place.  Also do not like fish grippers for any fish…they just don’t seem to work any better than grabbing small fish by the mouth or lifting large pike/trout from the lower jaw/gill plate.  In fact, I‘ve actually lost more large trout and pike trying to use a fish gripper.  So, the fish gripper went into the trash and for the past several years I've used a leather glove (the black military type that use with a wool liner glove in the winter).  With pike, just grab the lower jaw/gill; with trout, just grab the mouth and lift into the canoe to get the hook out.  As a bonus, the leather gloves also work for splitting wood with a small axe and not getting splinters, and for newbies if they happen to develop blisters from paddling.

I've caught almost all of my large pike over 40" on deep husky jerks or other types of deep cranks that run 19 feet or deeper since I can't trip until late June through mid-August.  Usually along deep water drops next to a fairly large shallow area of structure where fishing is good for other species during the daytime.  Spinnerbaits are always part of my tackle for anything near the shoreline at dusk and dawn in the summer...lots of trophy smallies come shallow during low light all summer long.... 

For measuring a fish, I put light notches on my gunwale so I can measure a fish if necessary and always carry multiple forceps since I lose one every few trips....doh!!

Is summer here yet??....the winter in Ohio has been terrible....7 snow/ice days from school and more likely to come....