Mid May Long Sault pike frenzy

[Freshwaterphil.com]

Despite high wind warning, we headed back to the Outaouais / Ottawa river for some more live release smallmouth bass fishing, as the shore fishing doesn't stay this good for more then 4-5 weeks, usually just until the season actually opens around June 16th. We got there around 9:30 AM, along with "Largemouth" Ari and Levi "Conservationist". Jimmy's first cast landed a nice 2 LB smallmouth bass, again using the pike rig under bobber with a live minnow. The fishing then died down for a few hours, with the kids catching 4 perch on worms. As the wind picked up, we switched to artificial lures, which paid off as Jimmy caught another 2 pounder on a crankbait. The wind really started gusting around noon, we decided to head to the St Lawrence river in Ontario, where the wind prediction was a lot lower. We arrived to my usual carp fishing spot about an hour later, only to find close to a dozen carp fishermen already there, visiting from England. These guys have all the "fancy" and latest carp fishing equipment, they caught a few while we were there. We didn't get any hookups, so we left for another spot after a few hours. We ended up in the Long Sault park, we had total wind shelter on one side of the road, and crystal clear water. Unfortunately nothing was biting for the first hour or so, as we fished for perch, carp, pike and bass. Then out of nowhere, I got a nice hit on a Thunderstick top water lure. I set my hook, and the fish took off, Ari grabbed the camcorder, Jimmy woke up from his snooze, I had a nice Northern Pike on the line. I brought him in a couple minutes later, it measured 32 inches, weighted in at 7.5 Lbs. As I climbed the bank, to unhook it, Jimmy started casting the Thunderstick, and noticed it being followed by more pike. I quickly switched my carp rod for a leader and blue / silver hammered spoon. First cast hooked up to another Northern pike, measuring 33 inches and weighing in just over 9 lbs. Suddenly they were everywhere, we tried a few more casts, had some follows, but they were gone again as fast as they showed up, all in a matter of 5-10 minutes. We got some live video footage of the catches, click: Northern Pike fishing in Quebec and Ontario to view them.