The Window Separating Our Worlds

Article by Lisa Roper

Photos by Andrew Zugec

As an avid angler, I’ve spent countless hours dropping lines and trading hooks for a chance to land that ultimate big fish. Each time I hit the snow-covered ice, I gain more experience and continue to grow and challenge myself. There is a self-competitiveness that surfaces each time out: will this be the day everything aligns, and I catch the fish of a lifetime?

The day I received a call from my good friend, Andrew, to go fishing, I had no idea it would be a day I would remember forever. Andrew is a passionate angler and talented digital creator. I was looking forward to our time together and to trading fishing secrets. Early that morning, we loaded our tackle in the truck, grabbed a coffee to go and made our way to the lake. Our conversation teemed with talk of our favourite lures, techniques, and fishing memories. When we arrived at our destination, we drove onto the ice while discussing our plans for the pike we were hoping to hook.

We agreed to fish the shallow flats, which had a variety of submerged aquatic vegetation. The temperature was a crisp -26° C. We quickly set up the fishing tent, with the Buddy® Heater providing respite from the blistering cold. I took the Jiffy® auger and drilled four holes, spreading them out over different structures—two in the shallow flat weedy bottom, and two along the break in seven feet of water.

Andrew and I set tip-ups that were reeled with 20-pound Dacron line, a titanium leader, and a single barbless hook. We used a large herring for bait and lowered our lines down the eight-inch augured hole—resting the bait in the vegetation at the bottom of the lake.

With the sun cracking on the horizon, the sky was lit with orange and red streaks, illuminating the beauty of Alberta. Then our first flag went up. We were excited and, with the sting of the air hitting my face and the freezing water numbing my hands as I released the first fish, we had a feeling it was going to be an extraordinary day. The morning fish did not disappoint. Flag after flag alerted us, and we battled some feisty pike in the 65 – 80 cm range.

By midmorning, the major feeding time had slowed down, and the pike were silent under the ice. As we waited for the next hit, we too stayed quiet, only whispering a few words back and forth.

Suddenly, another flag went up from its position over the swallow flat. I softly walked to the tip-up as I watched the line rip from the spool at an aggressive pace. The more line she took, the more my adrenaline heightened.

As quickly as the tip-up was spinning it abruptly came to a halt. I pulled out extra line and waited for her next move. She began to swim again and, with the line comfortably positioned in my fingers, I set the hook. Instantly my body tensed up as I felt the weight of her pull the line from my hands. I immediately started handlining, hoping to get a glimpse of her. The battle with this giant pike was everything I ever dreamt about. My heart was racing, and my legs began to shake as I looked down the hole, only to see a piece of her colossal head. I knew this fish was massive, and I wasn’t sure who was going to play out first: me or her.

When she wasn’t taking long powerful runs, I would pull the line in, only to have her take it all back. This tug-of-war made me respect her even more than I already did. I was eager to get her through the window that separated her world from mine. I knew a fish of this size needed time, and time is what I gave her. We danced, we battled, and then it happened. Her head rested vertically in the hole as I reached down to pull her out. With another display of pure will, back down the hole she went, off on another run.

She was smart, powerful, and not ready for us to meet. I respected that, which allowed me time to think of my next move. As she took a longer rest, I slowly and gently pulled the line in and she allowed me to bring her through the hole. My shaking hand reached into the frigid water, lifting her into my world for a brief moment.

She was beautiful, and her stature and weight were monumental. Supporting her with both hands, I took a knee, feeling blessed to be holding this giant pike. I gave her a kiss, removed the hook, and released her back to her world to challenge another angler on another day.