What would be your perfect day on the water? This is a question that most of us ponder as we go through our fishing career. Spending close to 150 days a year on the water has made me very jaded to what could possibly be a great day. As an avid tournament angler, I am always searching for a big limit of five fish. Over time I have taken for granted quality fish that would make most people just happy to catch. This came to head earlier this year during a tournament.
During the first 15 minutes of my day, I was able to put two solid fish in my well and casted out for another. In my head, I was on the pattern that I had practiced so hard to achieve. Was this perfection? Turns out, the next cast I hooked what I thought was a monster. Line stripping off my drag got my heart rate jumping until I saw what I had. After a lengthy fight (which scared most of the small school of bass that I was chasing away) I landed my first ever northern pike.




7/16/2012 - story and photos courtesy Rob Lever - We Love to Fish