First Pike

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Fishing tales

I was fishing on a forest lake in Karelia. From the steep cliff on which I was sitting, to the water - four meters. It was shallow, so from above I could clearly see a flock of pretty decent perch darting among the grass. I, of course, was not at all averse to fishing them all out, but they were in no hurry to get hooked.

From time to time, in a compact group, Okushka either approached the bait or moved away from it. Only occasionally did one fish separate from the flock and, spinning around the bait, reluctantly grabbed it and immediately threw it away. Sometimes, probably, when a predator appeared nearby, the perches were scattered, and a greenish shadow of their scales flashed in the water like lightning. However, after a few minutes, they again huddled in a flock.

When once again the fish darted to the sides, it seemed to me that a hefty pike's head for a moment protruded from a darkening hole nearby, littered with fallen trees. Immediately I decided: I need to check if this is so.

When, at last, a small perch was on the hook, I didn’t pull it out of the water, but gave it some slack and, carefully, so as not to catch on the branches, led the line to the hole. Half a meter before her, the perch suddenly darted, the water near it boiled like burunchiks, I felt a sharp jolt, and the line stretched like a string. I tried to reel in, but the line did not give in … I made a very small effort, and, alas, it immediately snapped like a thread, and a second later I was holding a rod with a piece of line in my hands.

But I didn't give up. I quickly ran home, found a strong nylon cord in the attic, tied a metal leash to it, then attached the largest tee. I decided to use an artificial mouse as a nozzle. Armed with such a reliable tackle, he went to the cliff.

As soon as the bait plunged from my cliff into the water, the cord pulled and dragged under the driftwood. I instantly caught the prey and immediately felt a sharp dash to the side. The cord was stretched so that it seemed as if it was caught on something. But when he rested his feet on the cliff and began to pull the cord towards him, the fish immediately rested, too, and in none! Realizing that in any case I would not raise such prey to a height of four meters, I, gradually loosening the cord and making sure that it did not get entangled in the snags, carefully went down to the water's edge and began to play. But the invisible enemy did not give in!

Then, without hesitation, I wrapped the cord around me at the level of the waist, turned my back to the water and began to walk away from the lake step by step. The fish wriggled and, furiously pounding its tail, desperately resisted. But I pulled and pulled. And when, at last, a huge pike's head appeared out of the water, it even died out. I have never seen such a monster. The predator was kind of hardened, black, very black …

Opening a terrible mouth wide, she moved her head from side to side, trying to free herself from the tee. However, apparently, he was stuck somewhere deep in the mouth and therefore held on tight. The pike darted furiously, throwing up myriads of spray mixed with sand. I stubbornly dragged and dragged until I completely dragged her onto land. For reliability, he pulled five meters away from the water and only then stopped, caught his breath. The pike, every now and then opening and closing its mouth with crooked sharp teeth, suddenly made a sharp jerk, intending to grab my leg. But I was on my guard and quickly rebounded.

… He waited until the fish finally calmed down and, having thrust the end of the rod into the gill gap, he shouldered the catch. The pike was so large that its tail almost reached the ground. Knowing that at this time the village peasants were gathering near the store, I made a detour about six hundred meters to pass them.

- In vain you, hovering, gave round to boast to us. We caught pikes and more than yours. Perhaps twice … - said the old man Sazonych, a local hunter and a consummate fisherman, at the sight of me.

- What are you talking about, Sazonych? - other men pulled him back. - What do you equate with yourself? You know every pool in the district, you know every trickle. And the guy was accidentally lucky, so let him rejoice.

“And that’s true,” agreed Sazonych, and patting me on the back patronizingly with his palm, added approvingly: “Well done. Not every day you get such a fish …

In the future, I also caught larger fish, but that, the first pike, will be remembered for a lifetime.