Jackpot!

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Went to the Milk River with my youngest son Roger after supper this evening; I caught a little bullhead mabve 8 inches long, and when i cleaned it out, Roger used a chunk of it as bait to catch this northern pike.

24 inches, just under 3 pounds - not a monster, but better than the little bullhead that his dad caught!

Here's a picture of the spot on the Milk River where we caught this guy:
You can see why we like it so much there!
I never really expect much at this particular spot that we went to; it's never been very productive, and there's a lot of potential for snags - but it is close to town and is a nice place to go - and you never know! The excitement that this kid had when he was fighting this pike made it worth it. It also just goes to show that on the river, anything is possible. Now that I know there's a potential for northerns there, I'll be looking for them.
The funny part is that the kid was basically rigged up for some sort of timid fish or small trout (even though there aren't any in there). light line, no steel leader, a #10 hook, of all things. Any of you who spend time with northern pike know that a rig like that is a crazy proposition, but we simply weren't thinking of pike when we went there at the time. We were really just looking for little bullheads or whitefish to pass the time, and maybe toss in the smoker. Considering the "light" setup that he had, the boy did pretty well!
This particular fish is going to be made into something I really like, called Pretzel Fish. It's a recipe that I got long ago from The Hunting and Fishing Library:

 Pretzel Fish
this recipe is simple and works great with any white, firm-fleshed fish.
4 cups pretzel twists 
2 eggs, beaten 
1 can evaporated milk 
3 tablespoons beer 
2 1/4 lbs of northern pike, walleye or similar fish fillets (3-6 oz each, skin removed) 
vegetable oil 
lemon wedges 
place pretzels in food processor. process until powdery. (pretzels may also be placed in a large plastic food-storage bag and crushed with rolling pin) place powdered pretzels in a large plastic food-storage bag. in medium mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk and beer. dip fillets in egg mixture, then shake in pretzel powder to coat. 
in 12-inch skillet heat 1/8 inch of oil over medium heat. add fillets. fry 3 1/2 - 6 minutes or until golden brown, turning once. drain on paper towel-lined plate. serve with lemon wedges.
6 servings

For those of you who enjoy northern pike, but hate dealing with those Y-bones, here's a great way to fillet pike so that the problem is eliminated, also from The Hunting and Fishing Library: