Labor Day Weekend was a great time for pike fishing. It was the last week of summer for pike fishing, but it was also the best time I have ever had. It all started in the first fifteen minutes of Labor Day afternoon, when my dad spotted a smaller pike near a brush pile in the Looking Glass River in Clinton County. I quickly cast a gold shiner on a sinker rig and hoped for the best. At first, my dad and I thought the pike was one of those spoon-fed pike, but slowly and surely the pike decided to take the minnow. When I tried to set the hook, the hook and the minnow flew out of its mouth and landed near the riverbank. But the pike took the minnow again, and the fight was on! The fish swam toward the brush pile and tried to snap my line, but my dad was too quick. He scooped the pike up with our net and landed him on the shore. When I was measuring the pike, he made a quick move, and smacked me in the face with his tail! The pike was 27 inches long.
After we released this first pike, we walked upstream a few hundred feet and spotted a monster pike minding his own business in the bottom of a hole. On another sinker rig, I put on the biggest gold shiner I had and tossed it out to him. At first, he just looked at it and didn't pay much attention, but then in one quick move, he used his gigantic mouth to suck in the minnow! This pike was like having a moving rock on my line. Even though my reel was on full drag, he pulled my line halfway across DeWitt and then turned around and came back. I finally fought this beast close enough to where my dad could try to net him. After several attempts, we landed the pike, but my net actually bent under the weight of this huge fish! I was astonished to look at the end of the tape measure and see that this pike was 41 inches long. My dad and I estimated it at 18 or 19 pounds. Without a doubt, this was my biggest fish ever!
To wrap up this great day of pike fishing,we walked downstream to a spot under the Bridge Street bridge in DeWitt. When we arrived, I noticed that there were many people fishing, and I wondered if all the fish might have been caught. But then, with a 5/0 hook and one of my trusty gold shiners from Grand River Bait and Tackle, I cast out under the middle of the bridge. First, I caught a nice, 12-inch small mouth bass. After I unhooked him and let him go, I put another gold shiner on my line and cast back to the same spot. All of the sudden, my dad shouted "The bobber's gone down!" I raced to the poll and set the hook. Before I knew it, I was reeling in a nice, 28-inch pike. He made great runs and even tried to break my line in a brush pile, but with my dad's help with the net, I was able to bring the fish in. When I set the pike on the grass, I attracted a crowd of people who were surprised to see such a big fish.. Some of them asked if they could even take my picture with the pike! I quickly measured him and let him go where I caught him. Labor Day 2013 was truly a great day of pike fishing!
