Ike the Pike

Saturday, I floated the Clark Fork below Missoula to Kona bridge in the morning. It is a lot less busy float, probably because there isn't a designated boat launch right in town. With my pontoon boat that really doesn't matter. I was catching a bunch of fish even while I was still in town, however a bunch of them were pike minnows. They are pretty fun to catch, but not as good of fighters as trout. Midway through the float, I pulled my boat over on a sand bar next to a back water slough. I cast into the slow water and reeled the rapala in through the current. I hooked a very large fish that immediately took off. I loosened my drag and let the fish play out. I thought I had a really nice trout on. When I got the fish close enough to the bank to see, I figured out what I had on. I had caught my first pike. I have heard that they are a bunch of fun to catch, but I learned that they really are. They are scrappy buggers.

It was a little funny. I didn't really know how to handle the fish; Their mouth and gills are full of teeth. I had to let it just die because I didn't have a knife to kill it. I tied it to my anchor mount and let it hang in the water for the rest of the float. I actually caught another nice pike shortly after landing this one and some nice trout. When I got to Kona, I had to wait for Ashley to pick me up for about 15 minutes. There were a bunch of people there that were all fascinated with my catch. They have never seen pike up this far in the river. I wondered if perhaps the pike are moving upstream because it is late in the season and the water is warmer. This Pike measured 30 inches long.