We've all heard rumours of legendary pike that are seen but rarely, if ever, landed. If they are, they’re usually a fraction of the imagined size.
But after hearing tales of a huge pike lurking in a tiny one-acre lake, fished mainly by beginners, Lee Hartley- Janes and his 12-year-old son, Aeson, set out to catch the beast – and the result was this whopping 32-pounder!
The pair regularly fish at Warmwell Holiday Park, in Dorset, where they target the main lake for carp and pike. But after being told of a huge predator that had been causing anglers some bother on the complex’s small lake, they decided to investigate.
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“We weren’t expecting a huge fish, as we all know that stories always sound better when exaggerated, especially when we anglers get involved!” Lee joked.
“Nevertheless, we figured the fish was likely to be over 20lb, and worthy of gracing anyone’s photo album.”
On the first day of their campaign the pair had no luck, but the next day, everything changed.
“We noticed a quiet corner into which small fish were being herded,” Lee revealed.
“No more than 12ft from us, a huge pike erupted out of the water, showing us her massive head and half of her short, fat body. That was the last we saw of her that day, but we soon returned, this time in gale-force winds.”
After changing bait to a ‘kebab’ made from different fish chunks, popped up a foot off the bottom, the pair had a run 45 minutes later.
“Aeson had gone to the toilet when the fish took – I’d usually have let him have the rod – but I immediately hit the run to avoid the fish being deep-hooked,” Lee explained.
“I could tell she was big – slow but incredibly strong."
“She headed straight for the aerator, but I managed to work her back towards the net, where she proceeded to tail-walk three times before being landed! At 32lb, she’s an incredible fish.”
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