My Boy Catches First Northern Pike

I have been fishing for many years with my older boy Isaak and he has not had the best of luck, but this weekend he iced his first northern pike.

I have not had a weekend with my boys both Evan and Isaak in a long time but this past weekend, the older boy Isaak joined Evan and I for a weekend of watching movies, snowmobiling and some ice fishing.

I have fished a lot with both boys over the years and Evan and I have had a little luck together here and there but Isaak and I, it has been a little tougher.

Many times Isaak and I go and I catch fish after fish and he is using the same bait, fishing the same way, I even have him positioned in the boat to get all the spots first but he just has never gotten into anything really good.

Sunday morning the three of us got up extremely early to head over to Croton Pond in Newaygo County for some ice fishing. After a few hangups, we finally got on the ice and were set up to fish.

I get my little guy Evan set up first and before I could get our tip ups set up he already ices a nice perch. I get Isaak set after just marking a bunch of fish on my fish finder but not one bite. I set up some tip ups and low and behold Evan Ices another perch and then he starts ribbing Isaak a little bit. You know how brothers are, always trying to compete with one another even though there is a 12 year age difference between the two.

I finally get our tip ups set and finally get to do some fishing of my own. I had marked fish in several spots but they just were not hitting. I finally get a couple bites but they were just nibbles and that was it.

A couple hours go by and several holes later we wound up in the holes we started with. We have been wanting to try a bit of jigging for walleye and perch since the wax worms, minnows and wigglers weren't doing the trick.

Isaak had been jigging longer than the two of us and so long I think he was just lifting the rod in order to move around a little a stay warm. Then he gets a real hit and then realizes, he's got one on. I don't think I have ever seen him this excited while the two of us had been fishing ever.

Isaak gets the pike on the ice and just yells at the top of his lungs with excitement. No it wasn't a 50 inch pike, nor a 40 or 30 inch pike, it was just a little over 20 inches, but I tell you, the smile on his face and the excitement that was oozing from him, you wouldn't know the pike wasn't a wall hanger.

My boys both have lists of fish they would like to catch but Isaak was thrilled to finally catch his first pike and on a little tiny ice fishing pole. And finally he was the one who caught the biggest fish on one of our excursions on the ice.

It was a fun ride back to the house hearing the excitement from both boys after a day on the ice.