Beyond legality, pike-specific handling matters for the fishs welfare and your own safety as an apex freshwater predator, pike are powerful, sharp-toothed fish that are genuinely capable of a nasty cut, so a proper set of forceps and an unhooking mat are non-negotiable, not optional extras
Im right handed but love my left handed bait caster where I can cast and reel without changing hands
And if you want to make sure you always know when you have a fish on the line, purchase a reel equipped with a loud counter/clicker that you can hear over the engine of your boat
And when I looked on this one, there were quite a few fish, and it was in like 8 feet of water, pretty shallow
Any deviation from there feels like the rules were still followed