Sunday Pike

Although I caught my dream pike on the 26th of February, this story starts 2 months earlier. It was in the middle of December when I saw an article by Jan Eggers on the most popular Dutch website for fishermen, www.totalfishing.nl about a new Salmo lure, the Fatso 10 cm sinking jerkbait, that was very effective in the Dutch polder canals. In only 6 weeks Jan Eggers had caught more than 100 nice pikes on this lure and I went to my favorite tackle shop Rentenaar in our village to buy a few to test them myself.

It was a good lure for in the canals around my village I did catch several pikes and even zander but so far nothing spectacular.

On that Sunday afternoon of the 26th of February I went for a walk with my wife and two kids of 6 and 8 years in a recreation park not far away from where we live. Because it was good pike fishing weather and the last Sunday the pike season was open, I took a little spinning rod with me to make a few casts here and there for around Het Twiske you have nice pike spots.

My kids were not that happy me taking a rod for it means the walk lasts longer than planned and I think they had some television programme in mind the wanted to see later on.

I stopped at a certain moment at a nice corner of two canals, had only cast a few times when I heard the family say: “Dad, come on, we’ll go”. I told them one more cast and made a long one but… it seemed I was hooked on the bottom after turning the handle a few times. Shit, this was not what I wanted and I was already thinking how to get my new Fatso free. But see, all at once the bottom starts to move and I realized I had a fish pulling at the other end of the line. I told my wife and kids I had a big one on the lure and at first they didn’t believe it for the pike stayed deep and was even swimming towards me for a while and I felt no pressure. Finally I saw the pike about 10 meters away from the bank, was totally surprised and had never ever seen such a big one. Slowly I brought it to the shore and my wife was making pictures, which turned out to be quite nice with the fish in the water. Still some dangerous moments with the pike close to the poles in the water and she was lightly hooked. I managed to land her with my bare hands, we didn’t have a landing net with us because we just went for a walk and not for fishing. I had the pike good in my hand, unhooked it in the water, took it for a moment on land and measured it, 112 cm and I had broken my former personal record that was 103 cm. We soon released this pregnant lady and with very happy feelings I walk straight home with my family, had fished enough that Sunday.

Nils Vlaar