Last January I was at the dam in Gays Mills throwing around some spoons trying to get a pike to come and play and I saw the most awe inspiring thing I have ever seen while pike fishing.
The carp typically school up below the first dam on the Kickapoo River every winter. This right in my hometown of Gays Mills. These schooling carp have an interesting secondary effect. The smaller carp attract the big predators like pike.
Getting back to casting my little cleo for a wayward pike. I was there about ten minutes. The carp were schooled up in the open water just below the dam like usual. There had to be 300-400 carp schooled there. There was every size imaginable carp there. I typically work the edges of the carp to get a pike to play.
Then it happened. The water is typically really clear there and I can see down a good eight feet. The carp all parted quickly. It was like the Red Seas being parted in the bible. The only difference was there was no bearded guy with a long staff parting the carp. There was an enormous pike parting the school of carp with a smallish carp sideways in its mouth. I swear I couple hear the jaws tune playing. My biggest pike to date is 41 inches. This pike had that one by about 6 inches or so. It was so wide across the head I was left with my knees shaking. I guess the monster at 48 inches and 30 pounds. She did not come back that day. This one did.
Not a monster but it did keep me pacified until my next planned trip.
I went again about two weeks later and landed this one.
Season closed and I had to wait until May.
May season opened on the 4th and the water was high and dirty. Not many people went to the dam to fish because of it.
The Wednesday after the opener the water was down and a little cleaner.So I decided it was time to try the HUGE pike. I had gone to Cabelas during the closed season and stocked up on lures I thought the monster would like.
I had new 30 pound power pro on my Shimano 4000 reel and inspected my Falcon medium heavy spinning rod and was ready to dance with the big girl.
My second cast in to the dam area was rewarded with a follow by the resident monster. She looked like a mini submarine turning at shore. I threw right back in there and my lure was freight trained. It was a relativity short battle. I caught this 38 incher. It still boggles my mind that I was actually disappointed in a 38 inch pike. No more takers that day.
Mother’s Day was last Sunday and I was in my hometown so I broke away from the family and went to the Kickapoo to try again. I cast and cast for almost 2 hours. I changed lures at least 20 times during those two hours. I told myself it was my last cast and I looked in my box and put on a bass lure with a white and chartreuse skirt. I was just to lift it out of the water and there she came. She hammered the lure and the one hooked lure just bounced off her armor plated mouth and swam away. No more hits after another hour of casting.
I took my daughter to school Monday morning and then drove the 32 miles to Gays Mills to try to catch the monster of the Gays Mills dam. Ten casts in my lure was slammed by a fish. This fish ran off lots of drag and it had me excited for a while. Five minutes later I landed her. It was not her. It was another nice pike but only a lowly 34 incher. No more hits after two more hours of casting.
I just got back from the dam. I casted from first light to about 8:45am. There were no hits. The weather is supposed to get really warm the next few days and cool down a little on Thursday. I plan a return trip on Thursday.
