In search of big pike
We've been fishing on Foxen Lake for 3 days now, and the fishing has been mixed. So is the weather. We're getting some modest-sized pike, but not the big, fat ones we'd all been waiting for. Still, the fishing is very pleasant. The pike have just come out of spawning and are still in the coves, in very little water. We often fish at the edge of the reed beds or above the weed beds.
To slalom between the reeds we use soft lures fitted with Texas hooks to get through almost anything, and to get the fish stuck in the weeds to rise, we've found nothing better than big glidebaits like the Jointed Claw magnum. The large volumes of these lures displace a lot of water and their ample swims make the fish aggressive.
Off the beaten track
At the end of the third day of fishing, Paul, our guide, wants to take us far to the south of the lake to try some new spots... It's easy to get lost here, the places are all the same, the edges are littered with reeds or spruce and pine forests. We set a course of 180°.
After an hour's sailing, we start fishing the edges. We catch a couple of decent pike. It all began in the early afternoon, as I brought my Jointed Claw back to the boat, I saw a dark mass appear behind which immediately disappeared under the hull. It was a very big pike, perhaps a large female coming out of spawning, who knows?
Redo the right drift
We decide to repeat the drift. The wind having picked up slightly, Paul sets the floating anchor to drift a little more slowly, allowing us to fish this area, which is the size of a handball court, cleanly. The three of us attacked with glidebaits, the type of lure with which I made this pretty fish move.
The drift begins and we soon realize that we're on a huge seagrass bed. It's 4 meters deep, but the elodea weed is 2 meters high. Boris had his lure stopped at the very beginning of its animation, followed by a heavy and intense fight. Not a sound from the boat. Paul is at the remote control, and at the same time at the landing net, ready to draw. We shout with joy. The verdict is in: 119 cm. The fish is massive and very dark, it's sublime.
It goes without saying that we turn back. We're back where we started. We don't change a thing, and we're back on the same drift. Less than 10 minutes after that first big fish, a caudal fin slaps the surface of the water. Paul has just hooked it. The rod bends well, it looks big. Boris brings his lure to the bottom and throws himself on the landing net. We scream with joy once again at the arrival of this fish. This time it's a 122 cm pike. The contract is fulfilled. To come across such fish is simply magical. After a few photos, we admire it for a few moments before releasing it.
We resume our drift with a smile on our faces. Eyes still sparkling, we reminisce about these last moments. We even dare to imagine doing one again. As we reach the end of the main seagrass bed, my Jointed Claw Magnum is intercepted. The fight begins. Radio silence on the boat until this new pike comes into view. Yet another 108 cm pike on the scale.
Moments we'll never forget!
