To say that George “Coop” Cooper has a passion for big northern pike is an understatement. Each fall the Brainerd-based guide spends countless cold, shivering hours tossing huge lures to trophy northerns.

Is it all worth it? Well, last fall Coop caught many pike between ten and fifteen pounds. These were all eclipsed by a 24-pound 8-ounce giant he caught in October. Read More of the Story…

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Despite the preponderance of fishing videos, books, television shows and magazine articles that expound intricate patterns and high technology as the best ways to catch fish, the best advice remains to simply fish as much as you can and luck will eventually find you. I believe that; it happened to me last night.

My friend Dave asked my family to come over and visit while his family house sat for some vacationing friends. It was on a nearby lake, so we thought about swimming and sailing, but Dave had fishing in mind – from a paddle boat. Now fishing from a paddle boat is not the most dignifying way of angling, but who said self-esteem was an important product of fishing?

I figured we would float around, have a nice conversation and maybe hook into a hammer handle northern or two. There was the chance to hook a bass, too, so we opted to fish with twister tail jigs. Just as I was reeling in my second cast, I felt the unmistakable jerk of a fish hitting my lure. I set the hook and felt something bigger than a runty perch or sunfish struggling against the rod. It was a fairly nice-sized crappie.

“This could be good,” I said. “Crappies tend to run in schools and maybe we’ll catch more.”

Sure enough, within a few minutes Dave reeled in a scrappy crappie the same size as the first. “We’ll just throw them in this live well thing back here,” he said. I turned around and there was a neat little place molded into the paddle boat to hold a five-gallon pail. We just filled it with water and had nice spot to put our fish. “This is actually kind of cool,” I admitted to myself. “Catch a crappie and drop it in the pail without hardly moving.”

The crappies kept biting pretty well for about 45 minutes, in which we put together a nice mess for a meal. Suddenly we both had bites at the same time – bigger fish that zipped around the boat a few times. That was the first downfall of paddle boat fishing – missing your partners head when you swing your rod around to fight a fish. The fish were small northerns that we threw back.

The two northerns seemed to shut off the crappie bite. We could actually see crappies below the paddle boat eyeballing our jigs, but they wouldn’t bite. It was time to downsize. I tied on a tiny white jig and was able to coax a few more into biting.

Just before dark, we tied on floating minnow baits and twitched them across the surface – one of the most exciting ways to catch bass as they swirl to the surface to grab the bait. Unfortunately no bass bit that night, though we did see a few swirls.

When we peddled our way back in, I thought I will never look at paddle boat fishing the same. It was relaxing, quiet, and put us over fish that wanted to bite. Does a $25,000 fully rigged boat do more? Oh yes, but not on that night!

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One of the stickiest questions faced by anglers is how to set the hook on a fish. Now I realize no two fish hits are exactly the same, nor do two different species of fish strike in the same fashion. Regardless, there are little things you can to increase your chances of hooking more fish.

Like most young boys, I loved to catch fish, and I still do. In fact, I enjoyed reeling in fish so much I used to occasionally land a fish, give it a chance to rest, rehook it and land it again! While that may seem a little extreme, it was, but I learned something from it. Most fish have incredibly hard mouths. It was difficult enough to push the hook into the fish’s jaw with my hand let alone doing it with a flexible rod and several feet of stretchy line!

Let’s take the northern pike and muskie for examples. These big brutes are perhaps the most difficult to hook because their mouths are made up of hard boney parts with patches of tender flesh and skin between the bones. This means the hook either hits hard bone or easy to tear flesh. No wonder so many big northern pikes and muskies are the “ones that get away.”

Without a doubt, the best way to handle these big fish is with a good stiff rod. It takes real power to drive the hooks home. Many times I’ve hooked a big northern pike while fishing bass with a light rod and I’ll set the hook as hard as the rod can stand without breaking, but generally not one hook will sink home. The proper gear is a major thing to consider.

Secondly, it is important to always keep a tight line on the fish. Many times, when a big northern pike or muskie chomps down on your lure (primarily speaking of wood baits) their teeth will sink right into the lure and there is no way you can slide the lure through their jaws to set the hook. The hooks usually find a hold during the fight sometime when the fish relaxes its jaws enough for the lure to slide. If you don’t keep a tight line, you may miss the only instant you’ll have to set the hook.

Finally, one of the most important things you can do is something I’ll bet many folks have never done. That is to sharpen your hooks.  More big fish owe their lives to dull hooks than to any other reason.

A simple test for sharpness is to drag the point of the hook across your thumbnail. A sharp hook will scribe a fine white line across the nail, while a dull hook will just slide.

To sharpen your hooks, use a jeweler’s file or small sharpening stone. Make the strokes toward the point of the hook, being careful you don’t exert too much pressure and bend the point. Then just use the previously mentioned test to see if the hook is ready.

If you take all the precautions and get prepared for the time when that one big monster finally hits, chances are it’ll be yours, rather than just another “one that got away.”

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Everyone in Minnesota knows the northern pike. This long, lean fish cruises more Minnesota lakes than just about any other fish. Thus, it has inadvertently earned the reputation of being a “second class” fish to the more glamorous walleye.

Actually the northern pike is a misunderstood fish and one that we too often take for granted. So before you distainfully curse the next “hammerhandle”, keep a few things in mind. First, think of all the times a stringer of small northern pike has turned your fishing trip from a complete washout to a success. Or, think about how tasty a northern pike really is when you fry it up at home. The taste is quite similar to a walleye, isn’t it.

But the most intriguing thing about the northern pike is their unique adaptability; they can go anywhere in just about any body of water they want to. Think about it, you’ve probably caught northern pike in rivers; small ponds; shallow, weed-filled lakes; and deep, cold lakes. Most species of fish cannot withstand such extreme temperture and environmental differences; the northern pike is truly an amazing fish.

Regardless of how the northern pike developed into such a well rounded creature, the most coloful explantion is an indian legend told by Dan Gapen in his book, RIVER FISHING. When the Great Spirit finished with the creation of the water and all fishes, he knew there must be a way to keep the small fishes in balance, or they would overpopulate and destroy themselves. With his vast wisdom, the Great Spirit created the northern pike. He gave this fish a voracious appetite and a long, lean, powerful body so it could pursue and catch any fish that swims. He also gave it a massive set of jaws lined with needle sharp teeth to grasp any unfortunate morsel that may come its way. Finally, this fish was given the ability to exist in any depth of water, environment, or circumstance it may encounter. When he was finished, the Great Spririt called the fish “Keeper of the Waters.” Today, the “Keeper” does its job in most of Minnesota lakes and rivers and actually is a great benefit to the ecological balance of fish populations.

So the next time you catch a small northern pike and curse it for being worm- riddled, good-for-nothing stunted fish, pause for a moment and think about the wonder of nature the northern pike really is.

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