Incredible, this is the new state record for northern pike in Idaho, weighing in at an incredible weight of 41.24lbs, congratulations to the angler on the new record! Truly Congrats!!

Down below in the comments, someone said "His fish, his license his choice," because I suspect some Esox anglers are up in arms for how valuable the genetics are for this northern pike.

I'll say this, you factor in once in lifetime genetics like that, also consider that majority of pike are hammer handles, I say just release her back into nature to procreate to spread the genetics and keep the great genetics alive. That's what people are pissed about, its understandable, especially since there's replica casting... There's just no need nowadays! Esox at that age and size is loaded with mercury and other contaminents, so why would you want to eat it? It's Hillbillish, but do what ya want, just don't expect there not to be feedback in todays world with genetics like that, just like spearing musky... Years ago, I saw a heated debate between Jason Quintano and some musky spear fishermen from up north in Michigan on Facebook, I pride knowing we have anglers locally that appreciate how rare the musky species is and will defend this species. I think some are lacking education in mathematics, statistically speaking on rarity of species like this and science on contaminates in fish this old.

As I said in a previous article, respect your prey!

But you could also say, still gotta respect this angler's ideals. Yep, his fish, his license his choice... I believe in his freedom to do so! But there's definitely going to be feedback in this modern day age of musky and pike angler's new ideals of the old ways... Sorry, if you don't understand that... Fishing is a lot different sport than hunting deer or bird, a lot more factors involved than just getting trophy antlers and meat, where you can actually catch the fish unharmed, appreciate the fight, beauty and strength of the fish, yet still release the fish back in the wild so another angler can catch the trophy fish or even its offspring. This also gets back to the denial of pollution in our waterways I think too, why the fuck would you want to eat a fish that old and that big for the meat, just like musky... Again loaded with contaminants!

Update March 25th: I decided to write a little something on my facebook, I definitely got some feedback... If you read more into some of the anglers defending the keeping of the fish, some are actually trout anglers. If you know anything about trout anglers, they're kind of like bass, walleye (like Eddie Parent) and perch anglers, they really don't care for pike in general, so they're always going to have a bias. lol Fish Politics as I like to say, recommendation, anytime you're debating someone on social media, whether it's about fish politics or just politics in general, it's always good to check out their profile to see who you're actually talking to so you get a good grasp on their ideals and beliefs. Yes, the fish was kept legally, but as I explained to him, people express different ideals on the internet, I've gotten constant criticism over way I handle musky sometimes, amongst other things, learn to accept it and get thicker skin, it's our freedom to say what ever we want on the internet based our 1st amendment rights, why I definitely support the new social media platform Rumble.com. And for me it has nothing to do with jealousy, if you see some of my posts I prefer to catch smaller musky in the shallows, barely fish in deep water or go for record size pike or musky, I barely measure or weigh my fish at all, I just care more about the fish's life, health, genetics, and population in general that's all.

I've witnessed plenty of 30" - 35" pike getting killed and outdoorsmen eating them it's fine, I have no problem with DNR out west putting bounty over heads at trout lakes where they're an invasive, but once in a lifetime fish like this that's a record, dude, you're gonna hear from some people that are going to say put the fish back. I'm a multispecies angler, but enjoy catching esox the most, no matter what species it is, if its a record size fish like that I would be returning it back to the water. Some of you esox anglers wonder why the pike are so much bigger in France, Germany and the UK ??.... European pike weighing upwards of 50-100 lbs, even in Canada, it's called preservation. Some might think I'm nuts for suggesting keeping this massive pike, but if this was a bass, I know anglers would have a different opinion about keeping it, especially since some states like Texas have share a lunker program to preserve the genetics of a particular bass species to make sure they fish grow and get bigger.

Seeing how Buffalo almost went extinct from over-hunting and even alligator gar due to that bad reputation how mean they looked and some mythical story where a young local kid was dragged in, we have to be careful I think, by no means do I think pike will ever go extinct since they're known to breed pretty fast and eat a lot, I still think their should be a little more respect for pike this size. Some food for thought, even though the DNR in Michigan allows anglers to fish for musky all year round now, a lot of us local musky anglers at Lake St. Clair still don't start fishing for them till June 1st, the original start date, because of their rarity. MUSKY and PIKE LIVES MATTER!

Alligator Gar Wikipedia - Populations of alligator gar have been extirpated from much of their historic range as a result of habitat destruction, indiscriminate culling, and unrestricted harvests. Populations are now located primarily in the southern portions of the United States extending into Mexico. They are considered euryhaline because they can adapt to varying salinities ranging from freshwater lakes and swamps to brackish marshes, estuaries, and bays along the Gulf of Mexico. For nearly a half century, alligator gar were considered "trash fish", or a "nuisance species" detrimental to sport fisheries, and were targeted for elimination by state and federal authorities in the United States. The 1980s brought a better understanding of the "ecological balance" necessary to sustain an ecosystem, and eventually an awareness that the alligator gar is an important element of the ecosystems they inhabit.

It's sad it took this long to admire alligator gar for their size, strength, and resilience. Some say they might be able to battle the asian carp to prevent them from taking over, our natural gate keeper in freshwater, apex predator, just like our cops that people have recently lost respect for!

Absolutely beautiful to see an alligator gar jump!