By Bill Rivers

With a belligerence matched by no other game-fish and a penchant for literally mangling lures and sub-standard gear, I seldom have to explain my preoccupation with pike fishing anymore. The word is out – pike are in. And, Esnagami Lake has some bruisers.

As a case in point, the very first pike caught on the big lake by our group was a 13-1/2 pounder hooked on a a Johnson Silver Minnow at the first weedbed we fished. At Esnagami Lake, casting any of the following lures will consistently produce pike, including some big ones: bass spinnerbaits, weedless spoons, bucktails, jerkbaits, buzzbaits, stickbaits, topwater plugs, even flies. If you can cast ’em, they’ll catch Esnagami pike.

If you’d rather troll, try minnow-imitating baits in either the “hot” colours or natural baitfish patterns, especially perch. Other very effective trolling baits for northern pike include magnum Canadian Wigglers, Swim Whizz, Believers, and, of course, big casting spoons (Dardevles, Five o’ Diamonds). It’s hard to find a bait that is too big for a 20 pound-plus pike – probably harder than finding a 20 pound-plus pike.

By Bill Rivers

It is difficult for me to adequately portray the anticipation of fishing a location where the possibility of doing some trophy pike fishing exists. I am a certified pike fanatic. But, here I was, in late August, on a small walk-in lake which promised plenty of pike and the real possibility of a trophy.

Appreciate, if you can, the tone of the outing and the concentration spent on each retrieve after hooking and landing a thrashing, 15-pound-plus brute on a first cast! But wait. After catching scores of decent pike ranging from 3 to 12 pounds (and at least one on every lure in my pike arsenal), the morning came to an end with a hefty 41-inch wolf which I promptly released so that I could rest and take in the events of that exciting outing at Betty Lake.

Strangely obsessed with topwater tactics for northerns, Gerry asked – no begged – to accompany me to Betty Lake. In a word, the pike fishing was incredible. Throughout the morning, we caught one pike after another on all manner of lures, including those mentioned above. Gerry’s topwater approach unnerved so many pike that I occasionally stopped casting just to watch. If fish missed his topwater baits or only rolled at them, I’d follow with a spinner, spoon, or spinnerbait and, more often than not, catch the fish.