Lee Kernen: After 29 years, giant northern pike is a new fish of lifetime

Twenty-nine years ago, back in 1995, Max Johnson and I took our wives on a trip to the Bahamas, during which he and I fished for bonefish with fly rods.

It was our first shot at using a fly rod for this wary species. Bonefish are often spotted in a foot of water and are very skittish. Bonefish also are known to be one of fastest swimmers in the ocean. Getting close enough to throw a fly at them can be really difficult.

But Johnson and I had a good guide and under his tutelage we managed to catch a few fish the first two days that ranged from 1.5 pounds to maybe 3 pounds. In the bonefish world, a 4-pounder on a fly rod is an accomplishment.

The third morning found us wading a bright sandy bottom just outside a mangrove patch and the tide was dropping. A current of water was flowing out of the brush and our guide said fish that went into the mangroves to feed on crabs would soon be migrating to deeper water as the tide dropped.

Sure enough, as we stood there, we saw a shadow moving towards us and the guide hollered, “Cast, cast!” The bulky fish was swimming right at me and it looked like a fat, silver carp. Max had a little tangle so I tossed a short, 25-foot cast right at the fish. When it saw the fly it veered over and inhaled it. I set the hook and that fish screamed off like a rocket.

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My reel was loaded with a 25-yard fly line and I had tied 200 yards of backing to it with a nail knot that I had never used before so as the line whizzed out, I was worried about the knot going through the rod guides. To my astonishment when I glanced down the knot was already out and the spool was growing smaller.

And fast!

So, I ran after the fish to avoid being spooled. The bottom was hard white sand and I ran like hell. I managed to get some line back, and after a 10-minute fight with several runs, we grabbed the fish. Our guide was as excited as me and said it would go 13 pounds!

In the ensuing years I only met one or two men who claimed a bonefish that big and since then I always considered that bone the fish of my lifetime.

Now, fast forward through 29 years of fishing during which I landed – among others – a 9-pound, 25-inch largemouth bass, a couple of 30-inch walleyes, a 45-inch muskie on a fly, and at least three northern pike longer than 43 inches.

Topping them all

But on Sept. 1 while fishing in Canada, I topped them all.

My cousin, Steve Voss, and I were part of group of eight men who booked a trip to the Cree River Lodge in far northern Saskatchewan. The lodge was located on the Cree River outlet of Lake Wapato, which flows north into Lake Athabasca.

It is packed with walleyes and pike. The lodge allows no harvest, except for the smaller walleyes for shore lunch. For three straight days each of us caught a couple dozen walleyes. Among the group about five pike of more than 40 inches were caught.

On the last and fourth morning Voss and I continued to fish with guide Chip Cromarty, who knows the area intimately. After a morning of boating walleyes, I asked Chip to let us try for a big northern pike.

He said sure. It was about a five-mile run to the southwest corner of the lake and we began by fishing some rocky points. Steve and I landed six or seven pike in a couple hours of casting or trolling spoons – the biggest perhaps 33 inches.

Then, while throwing a yellow Dardevle with red spots, I had a solid strike and hooked up. The fish moved steadily to my left without the normal head-shaking that smaller fish exhibit.

Chip immediately said, “I think this is a big fish!”

I tightened the drag a bit; I was using an older Garcia casting reel with 30-pound braid and a 60-pound fluorocarbon homemade leader. I purposefully bent the rod hard to see if I could swing the fish toward us, but it would have none of that.

Then it surfaced and threw the front half of its length out of the water and I said “Holy s—! Did you see the size of that thing?”

About five minutes later she began to tire. As I brought her alongside the boat Chip grabbed her barehanded and grunted as he swung her into the boat. He held the fish upright and I measured it with his canoe paddle that had a ruler on it – 49 inches and I didn’t squeeze the tail lobes together.

Wow!

I estimate she was pushing 30 pounds, but she wasn’t built quite as thick as some muskies I have seen so, to be conservative, I’d guess 28 pounds. It took her a few seconds to recover and when Chip released her, she swam strongly down and out of sight. I hope she is still swimming as you read this.

I have met a couple of Florida anglers who have caught bonefish bigger than 13 pounds, but I have yet to hear of a bigger pike among my acquaintances. I am sure bigger pike have been caught, but for me, this is my new “fish of a lifetime.”

Lee Kernen, of Sun Prairie, is the Wisconsin DNR’s former fisheries chief.