First dive of 2011-Finally

Let me start by saying I can't remember the last time I was in the water (Last September sometime).I have been itching to dive since the ice came off, but unfortunately my daughter has been in and out of the hospital since march. She is barely a year old and now has a trach, but is doing well. She has had numerous surgeries to repair her airway, and we are hopeful that things are going to work this time.
So, outside of the hospital rooms and happy to not be rowing a boat (fishing for work)....I finally got a few hours to get out this morning. I decided on a shore dive, although my boat was in the water on another lake. It is so nice to cut some of the work out of things sometimes. I had the lake to my self at sunrise and it was calm and quiet. The vis was great for MT lakes-around 15 ft and the water seemed warm in the 44* morning air (water was around 65). I shot terribly, missing my first two shots at good fish, and then having a third in the mid #20 range tear off my slip tip. I was shooting a gun I made this spring, but have not had the chance to get wet. It took me a few "practice" shots and they finally started hitting the mark. I wish I would have added those other fish to the stringer, but it still felt heavy walking out of the water. It was great to get in the water again, it had been way too long.
I ended up with a nice bag of fillets for the mornings work, and took my daughter and wife out on the boat to troll for a few salmon in the afternoon.
:thumbsup2:

L.B. they are great eating.
Thanks guys.

They fight like hell after they are shot. They are a very fast fish for freshwater (look at the caudal/anal/dorsal fromation) lots of power at the back end. They are very thin skinned and the flesh is quite soft, especially in the lower half (gut) of the fish. You can see in the first pic I hit the fish mid-body and it tore down past the pectoral fin, into the belly and was almost lost as well. The trick is letting the gun go and chasing them. They tend to drag the gear into the weeds and get tangled up and twist. The downside of this is they have sharp teeth and can be hard to hold any other way but the through gills. The big fish can also get a bit "snappy" when they have a hole in them. They are a lot of fun to chase.
The gun muzzle is gold leaf I applied under ultra clear epoxy, It has a nice "bling" in the water. I got the idea from the old timers Gold leafed spoons used for pike for years. I also think it has kind of a classic look. The gun also has otolith inlays from a 100 yr old yellow eye rock fish from Kodiak, AK. This gun was not made for pike, but smaller game. The sliptip shaft had too much overhang for my taste, it shoots 9/32 enclosed track. My Pike specific gun is in the shaping process now and will be done soon.
-Mark

The handle is gold leafed as well with black walnut grips.