[bowhunter095]

Fished Beseck from 8-2 today. Had about six inches of ice in the cove I was in but saw lots of open water out in the middle. This was my first time fishing for pike and I learned one thing very quickly........USE HEAVY LEADER! My first flag went up and I didn't even have a chance to set the hook before the fish cut through 10 lb flourocarbon like it was nothing. The next flag was very odd. I set the hook and really didn't feel any weight. Then as the fish came to the hole I noticed he was just holding onto the head of the shiner so needless to say.....he let go and swam away. I finally landed a fish on my third flag which ended up being my only fish of the day, a two pound largemouth. My last flag of was the most exciting. The tipup with the biggest shiner on it got a hit so I knew it had to be something decent. I set the hook on the fish and felt what I thought was the biggest fish I would have ever pulled through the ice. The fight didn't last long though as the fish cut through my line again! Next time I'm using a heavier leader!

I met an older gentleman out on the ice who landed two small pike while I was there. He told me that he fishes the lake pretty frequently and showed me a picture of a pike he caught during the spring. My mouth hit the floor when I saw the 42" fish. He said that wasn't the biggest he's seen come out of the lake either. His friend pulled a 48" fish out of the lake also I couldn't believe what I was hearing! Then he decided to impress me yet again. He pulled up a picture of a GIANT smallmouth on his phone and told me that it was a state record that isn't actually recorded. He caught the fish, which weighed a little over 8 pounds, thinking the state record was somewhere in the 9 lb range. He threw the fish back and later found out the record was actually 7 lbs12 ounces! What a bummer!