When Is A Fishing Lure Too Big?

On a recent fishing trip into northern Manitoba Canada, the question of what size of lures to use came up. The lake was a trophy Northern Pike lake but it was also full of walleyes. After a long day of casting for Northerns, we decided to fish for walleyes in the evening to give our arms a little rest.

After catching numerous walleyes my boat partner has yet another one on and then the big one" hit. A large Northern Pike had swallowed his walleye. After playing the fish for a while I put the cradle in the water and he tried to guide it in. We got close but he wanted no part of that and made another run. While the Northern was next to the cradle we noticed that the Northern Pike was longer than the cradle. The cradle was 48″. It was a giant Northern. After another run we got the fish close and then, it just let go. Oh well the big one got away, but my boat partner still had a walleye on. We landed the walleye and it measured 17″. Nice fish!

We knew that when the Northern was making it's runs it had the walleye but yet we never saw the walleye. It had swallowed the walleye all of the way down. The Northern pike was never hooked, he just wanted a meal.

Most lures that even look big to us for Northern Pike or Muskies are 12" or so and go down from there. So when is a fishing lure too big? 17 inches? I don't think so!