Fishing for Pike

• 4 Hours Fishing for Pike
• 9 Pike Caught
• 127 Pounds of fish

It was one of those nights that will be etched in our memories forever. A few of us took our kids to the shores of Lake Diefenbaker about two weeks after the ice came off. We knew the pike were in the coulees getting ready to spawn and we thought we’d go see if we could have some fun.

It was too early for walleye and the rainbows are always tough to catch this early in the year. But we knew that big northerns were plentiful in Lake Diefenbaker and the best time of year to catch them was often early spring.

We got our hands on some pike rigs, frozen sardines and grabbed some lawn chairs. We didn’t need boats to catch what was on our mind that night.

We found a spot in a coulee that appeared to have good structure and threw our dead bait into the lake. As we waited we were entertained by a loon who was as interested in us as we were in it. The air was still, the sun was going to set in a few hours and our first fish was upon us.

The pike took the sardine casually as it slowly swam away with it in its mouth. The fishing line was making its way out of the open bale as the northern was looking for the right time to ingest it. We gave the fish well over 30 seconds before we set the hook. Once set, we had a terrific battle on our hands.

The kids took turns reeling in the fish (after the hooks were set for them) . By the end of the trip we had collectively caught 127 pounds of northern pike (all except 3 “eaters” were returned safely to the lake).

When it was all done we did the math and our gang of young anglers had caught northern pike that were 6, 7, 8, 12, 15, 16, 17, 17 and 29 pounds. To see the looks on the faces of the kids (not to mention the faces on the dads) was something special.

Outside of the fun, that night was also a great lesson in conservation. Many of the northerns we caught had fat bellies full of eggs. By returning them to the lake we showed the kids that fishing for pike simply for sport can be more rewarding than keeping what you catch.

Each of the fish we returned to the lake had tens of thousands of eggs in them. The kids understood that for us to be able to come back and do this year after year, we need to show the fish respect. Watching trophy northern pike swim back to the depths of the lake is very rewarding. We know they will be there for us (and others) tomorrow.

We ate the fish we kept and took satisfaction in the one’s we let go.

Like I said, not a bad night fishing for pike.

Thanks for reading.

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