LONG IN THE TEETH

SPRING PIKE WILL ATTACK JUST ABOUT ANYTHING, BUT IF IT’S A TRUE GIANT NORTHERN THAT YOU WANT, THERE’S NO BETTER TIME THAN OCTOBER

STEVE PENNAZ

Every time I toss a lure for trophy pike these days, I feel as if I need to make an appointment with a psychologist. Flashbacks…those damn flashbacks simply haunt me. It was just a few falls ago. I was casting a large crank, and for some reason I didn’t see the humongous pike until it charged. I remember the fish accelerating and my bait disappearing—my line parting before I had time to react, cut by a tooth in a mouth with many. I trembled for a full minute before reaching into my tackle box for another bait. I’m not the first pike angler to experience something akin to buck fever. I had no idea pike grew that big. I can’t shake the memory, but that’s not a bad thing. It reconfirmed lessons…

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Outdoor Life (Digital) - 1 Issue, October 2015

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