Thom Prüst
Zander fishi... eh Pike fishing!
It's only been a few months since I welcomed Jouke with his two sons Tibbe and Jilles on the boat. The last time we had a really good zander session but this time they were hoping for pike. Unfortunately I have to disappoint them as pike fishing is so slow lately that I strongly recommend that we target zander instead. They quickly agree because they want to catch fish in the first place.
And is doesn't take long for Jouke to catch, as predicted, the first zander. No monster, but of course very nice to have a fish in the boat.

After this first fish we all have a few bites that we miss, but then it's Tibbe who hooks a nice one near the boat. And it's immediately clear that it's a pike. Although we only have a FC leader we manage to land the fish.

We continue fishing and soon it's Tibbe who once again hooks a fish. And again it's a pike but a lot bigger this time. The fish is fighting strong and before I can turn off the Minn Kota the line is tangled up in the e-motor. That's a pity! We take out the propellor and after a few minutes I manage to get the line out. And what do you know... the fish is still on and comes to the surface. A broad back of a big pike is shown to us and then the pike takes an enormous run. The reel screams and then the braided line breaks. It most likely got damaged when it was tangled up in the Minn Kota.
We don't let this huge disappointment get to us and keep on casting. And it