Pike Fishing is Awesome

Some people fly in to Canada to go Pike fishing, but I have all the Pike fishing right here in my backyard(so to speak) of Northern Arizona. People say you have Pike there, thinking it is desert everywhere, and I have to remind them that Flagstaff is 7000 ft. in altittude! Best Lakes for Pike here are Upper Lake Mary, Long Lake, and now Ashurst Lake where the latest state record Pike has come from(32 plus pounds).

       Here are a couple pictures of a 22 pound Pike that I caught at Long Lake in April of 1999.

       Brian was with me and did a great netting job to help me get this bruiser in to the boat. I released it back into the water after taking pictures!

       This big pike was caught on April 1st, 1993!  yes on April Fools day, and the joke was on me, because I was fishing for trout with an ultra light pole and reel with 4  lb. test line on it! This Pike took a small "Skinny Minny" trout lure that had a treble hook the size of the nail on my little finger on it! Took me 45 minutes to finess this baby to the net! My son, who was nine years old at the time, was at my side the whole time cheering me on! He ran up to the truck to get the big net as the trout net wasn't gonna cut it!

                                                  This Pike weighed 19 pounds!

  The next string of Pike pictures were taken at various times from trips to Lake Mary(upper and lower) just south of Flagstaff, and Long Lake 60 miles south of Flagstaff. Some are of my son Shaun also.

My son has been an awesome fishing  partner, and I can never remember him complaining about being on the boat with me all day long, or ever acting like he was bored! He always had a big smile to go along with the fish he caught!

   When I lived in Wyoming I used to drive over to Nebraska to go Pike fishing. Usually the Valentine Refuge area.  The Black Bird in one photo had fallen off a reed and into the water, and found his way back up to my friends  fishing pole!

   I like to take friends out, or go out with them, and try to help them catch a big Pike. Here are a couple pictures of other buddies with their Pike when I was with them! Brian 1st with a nine pound Lake Mary Pike, and Chris with an almost nine pound Long Lake Pike!