The Packernut had other things to do yesterday, so my younger brother Ken came along to try and catch his first Cda Lake pike. His hopes were high. On the way to the lake, he said "I sure hope I can finally catch one today" to which I replied, "I will guarantee that you are going to catch pike today". I rarely make a guarantee like that but my confidence was as high as his hopes. I had a good outing locating good sized fish the weekend before, and the weather conditions seemed ideal, along with a cooling off week to help bring the bigger fish into play.
This would be his third trip, but his persistence paid off with 2 nice pike. His first was a nice 33 1/2" eleven pounder, followed by a nice fat 8 pounder. Both fish were caught on a gold Mepps Cyclops spoon. The cyclops spoon comes highly recommended by the Packernut. :)
My first fish of the day was a 34" eleven pounder that hit a 6" HerkyJerky glide bait. My second was another 11 pounder that hit a Rapala X Rap Scoop. The Scoop is a double treble hook spoon type bait that has a great wide sweeping action. I was glad to put a fish in the boat with it, reassuring me that the lure will catch fish and not just catch fishermen. I also got a couple of small mouth bass. One at about 2 1/2 pounds that hit a spinner bait and one that was about 11". He must have been pretty hungry. He hit that big glide bait that was over half his length.
Water temps were 61-62 degrees all day. The overcast skies were ideal for pike fishing, and the wind didn't become a factor till about 10:30-11 o clock. Then it really pushed us around and off course, even when using the auto pilot feature. We had a few rain showers to deal with but nothing too bad. One fish was caught in 5 feet of water and the others in 10-12 feet.
I also had the pleasure of watching as to MONSTERS followed my lure back to the boat, only to do a U turn and head off to the depths without having the courage to step in to the FFA (Fish Fighting Arts) ring with me. I'll be back to challenge them another day, I know where they live!!

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