Greg Frey
It almost seemed unfair. Both to the people and to the pike.
You see, there are four of us at the Lost Branch Sportsman’s Club which is nothing more than an imaginary tree fort for outdoor writers. Therefore, we are each responsible for one Record-Eagle column a month. Being a loose confederacy of avid fly fishers, we do consult each other a bit about who’s writing what. After all, we don’t want to inundate our readers with four weeks of mayflies and brook trout. We also share favorite topics we fight for.
Nobody wanted pike. I couldn’t believe it! The easiest fish to catch. After all, they eat anything from tiny waxworms, minnows, frogs, perch, walleyes hanging on a stringer from the side of your boat, baby muskrats and unsupervised children. How hard is it to catch a fish like that?
And in a moment of brilliance, I would do the topic one better. Rather than go after the big, wise trophy fish that we all seek (and find on Boyne Outfitters guided trips to an amazing private pike lake), I’d write about the many northern Michigan lakes that are so overpopulated with stunted pike, there is no size limit. I didn’t have to work hard to catch the big ones. The whole point would be snapping a few photos of the little ones. Like a poker player holding a royal flush, in smug awareness, I shook my heads at the gullible fish I was about to exploit and my fellow writers who unknowingly handed me such a cushy assignment.
Deer Lake, between Boyne Falls and Boyne City is a beautiful fishery for hammer handle pike (which are exactly what they sound like – pike between about 12 and 18 inches long). It had already proven itself as a juvenile pike playground on ice fishing trips. Roving gangs of these delinquents with wide mouths full of sharp teeth can be an actual nuisance to anglers trying to catch perch, bluegills, walleyes, bass or other “worthier” gamefish. But with the story in mind and temperatures in the high 80s quickly warming the shallow lake, my fellow fly-fishing guide and friend, Drew Oliver, hit Deer Lake in search of the very quarry others hope to avoid. (Side note: I actually do have other friends, but Drew is the only one willing to fish with me at the drop of a hat and kindly model for photos).
We knew where to look. Small weed beds sprout up in shallow water far from shore, reeds line the edges of the lake, and one particularly nice submerged island regularly all hold fish. We also knew what to throw. Drew covered the crankbait base with a Storm Sub Wart, a smaller version of Storm’s famous Wiggle Wart. Drew claimed the Sub Wart was quite possibly the best bait ever invented and which he lamented was no longer produced. (You can actually still find them on Ebay at reasonable prices.) I stuck with the traditional pike favorites — Daredevil spoons painted in fire tiger, red and white or five of diamonds. A spinnerbait or a soft bait would have been a good addition, but after all it was pike we were after. They’d gladly eat stale leftovers at China King Buffet. I truly didn’t think lure choice would make a difference. With a gale force, hot wind coming out of the southeast and temperatures hovering at 93 degrees, we drifted quickly along the edge of the reeds. It didn’t take long. Drew’s rod doubled over and the world’s best-ever crankbait proved its worth … on a nice largemouth bass. Then another. We were catching the harder-to-catch fish, right away. If bass were that easy, our boat would soon to be covered in pike slime. The camera was ready. Then my spoon got nailed. By another bass. Not long after, a follow, by a big deep green hulking pike that spooked when it saw the boat. That was OK. The pike was too big anyway. It would have easily gone 28 inches. We wanted small, wimpy pike.
Finally, after covering the weed bed and the entire reedy perimeter of the lake, we deduced the pike must be sulking in the deep, colder water, thought that made no sense at all for early May. Nevertheless, we trolled the middle of the lake using deep diving crankbaits. Nada. By 6 p.m. though the pike had skipped theirs, we decided it was dinner time and headed back home.
During the three hours we expected to sink our boat with undersized pike, I did have one on. I had made a long cast into the reeds, and turned to make some meaningless comment to Drew before I turned the crank on my reel. When I did, there was immediate pressure, and I thought I had snagged a reed. But as I pulled harder, there was a slight head shake, just the smallest tug to indicate it was in fact a fish, not a reed. It was a telltale greedy pike strategy. Rush the lure the minute it hits the water and inhale it before anything else can.
“Here’s our hammer handle!” I called to Drew. “Get the camera ready!”
But before he could, the rod went limp and the fish was gone, slipped free from the pinched down barbs on my small treble hook.
So, this spring before the serious big-fish fishing heats up, check out the DNR’s list of stunted pike lakes that are just teeming with fish. They’re super fun and incredibly easy to catch. Honest. You’ve just got to take my word for it.
Google Search DNR Fisheries Order 206.22 for a list of no size limit pike lakes by county. No size limit is actually misleading. There is a size limit. You can keep any fish under 24-inches (the normal legal-size fish) and only one fish over 24 inches.
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