Triumph of the evening.
Adam Terry shows off his eight pound pike, the biggest catch in an evening filled with tiny pike.
Ed Haney
MUSKOKAN - I believe that I was still basking in the glow of my large catch (14 lb pike) last week when I waltzed into work just a little too happy the next morning. The guys usually quiz me on whether I had been out and what was boated, but this time they knew there was some special news for them.
So, after telling and retelling the story, it was then time to start fielding the normal offers and choose who would share the boat with me next. “Of course you all want to go out now” I said. “Where were all of you when I needed a picture of the fish?” After much good hearted ribbing, plans were made and details set for my next trip.
My good friend Adam Terry met me at the boat ramp after work just a couple of days later. With not a lot of daylight left, we decided to give it our all for the few hours that we had.
Within no time the boat was loaded and the small trolling motor was whisking us through the weedy entrance to the lake. Everywhere you looked there was wildlife of some kind: turtles, water snakes or your choice of a dozen species of bird, this small lake was something special.
With the heavy weed cover, the pair of us decided to tie on large spinnerbaits so that we could keep them as close to the surface as possible and away from the tangles. With the wind pushing us along, we each cast toward the shoreline allowing our bait to fall within inches of the bank. This was a proven tactic here, with many bass and pike having been taken immediately after the lure hit the water.
It wasn’t long before Adam tied into his first fish of the evening, a small pike only perhaps a foot in length, not even big enough to bother setting the hook. Luckily it shook itself off the hook right at the boat and took off back to the weeds: no slimy pike hands for him.
I slowly maneuvered the boat along the shore, having to fight the wind which was now threatening to push us right into the shore. Every once in a while Adam would let out a yelp and skip another small pike to the boat. I was holding my own, but had only managed a few small bites.
As the evening wore on, we decided to troll across the bay and then fish the far shore back up to the ramp. We had both missed a few nice fish, but had only managed a scant handful of pike and no largemouth up to this point.
Minutes after we began, Adam’s rod took a sharp downward turn. The fight was on and this was no minnow. After a few short runs and headshakes, the large pike rose to the surface and came to hand. Gingerly, Adam reached down and unhooked the pike, all eight plus pounds of it, his largest to date, and proceeded to grin from ear to ear for the obligatory photos before letting it back into the deep.
As we fished up the far side, another bunch of tiny pike came to boat but none could come close to that eight pounder.
With the sun rapidly dropping beneath the horizon it was time to call it a day, but not before Adam ended up with two nice largemouth on back-to-back casts. Me? No largemouth, and only small pike for my efforts.
As we approached the ramp, we were greeted by my wife and son who just happened to be driving by and decided to wait for us to come in.
I don’t think the boat had even hit ground before Adam was extolling his success, and my failure of the evening.
I wonder whether the smile on his face was due to his great catches or was it because, for once, he had managed to out fish me? I guess there is no way to find out as this will never, ever, happen again.
Till next time, good luck and good fishing.
Ed Haney is an avid fisherman who lives near Huntsville.