Back in the Sixteenth Century famous angling author Izaak Walton was describing the pike as a fresh-water wolf! The predator has been blamed for many stories of lost dogs, lost livestock and even lost people! It adds to the mystery of this fearsome predator and provides the attraction to the hunter.
It is Britain’s biggest native freshwater fish and ranks also as one of North America’s leading quarry. Catching the big one needs stronger rods, larger nets and clever tactics. Holding up this heavy beast for the camera makes the hunt worthwhile. Taking the hooks from the pike’s mouth require strong equipment and a stronger nerve. A slip of the hand can result in deep and painful wounds that are easily infected. Many pike fisherman use a steel gauntlet of the type worn by knights of old, such is the danger when unhooking this fearsome beast.
But it is this fear and respect that attracts us to angling for pike. I think back to my last visit to the canal, where it joins the river not far from where I live. It was close to dawn when I left my house, cold and very still. There was no frost but the mist was thick. When I got to the water I found a good spot that would allow me to cast upstream almost to the canal lock where there was a deep pool and also downstream to the far bank around thirty yards away.
I wandered along the bank peering through the gloom hoping to see signs of active pike. The surface of the canal was like a glassy mirror, broken only by the sporadic splash or ripple as a bait fish darted here and there. Something was feeding! Seeing the water like this urges you on, you want to make haste and present your baits to the unseen foe. This desire to challenge and best the majestic fish is what makes us want to seek out bigger and stronger pike.
I quickly tackled up, attaching a still frozen half herring dead-bait to my treble hooked trace. Casting upstream about twenty five yards to the spot where I was walking just minutes earlier, I could just see the splash as the bait hit the water. I thought the line would follow the bait as it sank but something seemed odd. Puzzled, I lifted the rod to take in the slack, only the feel the line go taught. I struck quickly and sure enough, a fish was on and I realized that it did not want to be simply drawn towards the net. After three strong runs including a worrying spell downstream I drew the monster pike over the lip of my oversized landing net. This was my best pike, at just over twenty pounds. Not really a monster maybe, but a success for me. There are reports of thirty pound plus fish at the same venue, and it is this that will lure me back for more!
Monster Pike – Why Target Them
