By Louie Stout

Big Fish Landed, But Not Without a Scary Fight

Bill Schwartz and his lifelong friend Kelly Patrick were looking for something to do prior to the Memorial Day Weekend.

So, a week ago Thursday, they hitched up Kelly’s 17-foot Ranger Boat and headed to Cory Lake near Jones, Mich. to do a little pre-season bass fishing. Although Michigan’s bass season wouldn’t be open for another couple days, the state allows catch-and-release of bass prior to the opener.

The morning started out fabulous.

“We were having a ball that morning,” Schwartz recalled. “We must have caught 20 bass or more of all sizes.”

Bill was throwing his favorite springtime bait, a cotton candy-colored Zoom Centipede on an eighth-ounce jig.

Around 11 a.m., the duo started fishing along a drop-off on the south side of the lake. Schwartz tossed his favorite offering onto the nearby flat in 7 feet of water and waited for it to settle.

“When I lifted the bait and started to shake it, it was stuck,” described the retired Mishawaka policeman. “At first I thought my jig was hung on the bottom, or a thick patch of weeds.”

So, he lifted it vigorously a second time to pop it free.

This time it moved.

Abruptly.

“That’s when all hell broke loose,” said Schwartz, who now works as a part-time salesman at Clear H2o Tackle in Edwardsburg. “It took off like freight train. I knew it wasn’t a bass; probably a carp.”

The big fish nearly spooled the line off Schwartz’ Shimano Stradic Spinning Reel fashioned on a 7-foot, medium action Dobyns rod.

Luckily, he was using stout, 20-pound PowerPro braided line with a 10-pound fluorocarbon leader. Breaking the line was less of a concern than all of his line zipping off the reel as the fish bulldogged away from the boat.

“I got on the trolling motor and began following the fish and caught up with it,” he described. “But when the fish saw the boat, it took off again.”

That’s when Schwartz got a good look at the fish – a giant northern pike.

“Kelly had a tiny landing net, about a foot diameter and foot and half deep, definitely not big enough for this critter,” Schwartz said. “When the fish finally tuckered and we got it next to the boat, Kelly did a great job of scooping its head and flipping it into the boat.”

Problem solved?

Not really.

The 32-year police veteran had more than his share of scrapes with bad guys, and like many of them, this pike wasn’t about to be subdued easily.

“The fish went crazy in the boat and was flopping all over the place,” Schwartz said. “That’s a small boat, and with two men and all their tackle, it was beginning to get crazy. That fish nearly knocked two of my rods into the water.”

Schwartz dropped to his knees and tried to pin the 44-inch fish to the floor.

Good idea - bad result. The pike latched onto Schwartz’ hand and didn’t want to let go.

For those unfamiliar with these slimy beasts, the inside of their mouths is akin to the needles on a Saguaro Cactus.

And, the bigger the pike, the longer and sharper the teeth.

“Somehow, the pike got his head turned and grabbed my hand,” Schwartz said. “When we finally got it calmed down enough to get a good hold on it, the deck of the boat looked like a homicide scene. I bled like a stuck pig.”

The pike came out on the better end of that battle. It was released safely back into the lake after a few quick photos were snapped.

Schwartz had several bite marks and one of the pike’s needle-like teeth went through his thumb down to the bone. Hence, the reason for the towel wrapped around his hand as he grimaces – yet proudly – while posing in the photo with the estimated 24-pound pike.

“We had a lot of fun that day, but man, it got crazy,” said Schwartz.

And a day he won’t likely forget.