The Pike of Spring

The pike in the Looking Glass river in DeWitt are hungry as we head into May.  On May 3, I was surprised to see two pike in the Glass that I was unable to catch the weekend before.  These pike were spoon-fed, and were notorious for nosing up to my bait, but not taking it.  But this weekend, down at the east end of the riverfront park, they hit my bait again and again.  When the action at the east end of the park died down, I went down by the Bridge Street bridge and tossed out an eight-inch sucker, not expecting to catch anything with a bait that size.  I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the line shooting off the bail of my spinning reel.  I saw the line stop, so I closed the bail and snapped the hook into the pike's snout.  At first, it felt like I was snagged on a log, by then I felt the tell-tale pull of a nice pike.  It was actually a quick fight, as I was trying to make sure the fish did not get tangled up in all the debris around the bridge.  The pike I scooped up was 28 1/2 inches.

Recently, I noticed an increase in the number of pike in the Looking Glass.  It seems like the pike population has recovered from what I think was a die-off in 2012.

Another good spot early this pike season is the Meridian Township park, behind the mall in Okemos.  Just recently, I was able to pull in a 30-incher there as well.

Meanwhile, I did some bass fishing at a friend's pond in DeWitt this weekend, and the bite was on there, too.  May is a good time to catch up with those hungry fish!