Boy Catches Big Northern Pike—Twice: Unbelievable Fishing Story Leads to Dream Fishing Career

A 14-year-old angler hooks the same 43-inch pike on two different rods during a chaotic, unforgettable night on Nelson Lake in Hayward.

The author at 14-years-old, hooked a giant Northern Pike—twice—while on a family vacation in Hayward, Wisconsin. The catch changed everything. | Walter Mazurek

I’m headed on my annual fishing trip to northern Wisconsin next week. In the process of planning and packing, an old memory surfaced—a fish that probably set the course for a big part of my life. And it still stands as one of my craziest fishing stories ever.

The Setup: Fishing Nelson Lake as a 14-Year-Old

As was the family tradition, we were spending our week-long summer vacation in a cabin on Nelson Lake in Hayward, Wisconsin. I had been fishing nearly all of my 14 years, but at that point, I wasn't especially good at it. I would spend long hours, just hoping to catch something…anything.

My Two-Rod Strategy for Bullheads and Pike

Over the first couple days of this vacation I had discovered that if I sat patiently at the end of our resort’s dock, I could catch bullheads and little "hammer handle" pike pretty consistently. I used a two pole method–one rod set for bullheads with a single splitshot about 10" above my small hook baited with a night crawler, and one rod for pike with a bobber a couple feet above a minnow hooked through the lips. I was fairly satisfied with this plan because I was catching fish.

If you zoom in and read the reporting in the newspaper clipping shown in the photo later in this article, these are the awards referenced. | Kurt Mazurek

A Monster Pike Bites – the Fight Is On

My bobber started to dance and then plunged under the surface. That was exactly how every 16" northern I had caught that week had behaved. I started reeling and everything seemed very normal...until my line neared the dock. A shadowy, fish-shaped figure, larger than any fish I had ever seen, maybe bigger than me, appeared briefly and then took off like a freight train. The drag of my tiny Zebco 202 reel screamed for mercy.

I yelled to my brother Craig, two years my younger, who was fishing on a nearby dock. “Bring the net, the BIG net!”

Fortunately, even though we had never caught anything that would require a net even close to this big, we always had it nearby. Crazy optimists, I guess.

The fish slowed its charge and I gently started easing it back in my direction. It coasted by within sight of the dock  just as my brother arrived. He was in disbelief too. Now we were both yelling to our mom who was reading a book nearby. "It's huge! It's huge! Aaahhhhh!"

The monster made several hard-charging runs, but each time I was able to guide him back to the dock.

"Hey, you've got a bite on your other rod," Craig noticed. That was my bullhead rod.

"Just push the button and I'll worry about it later!" Thinking back on it, that's kind of funny that I didn't just tell him to reel it in—but that was MY fish! I needed to catch every possible fish.

Disaster Strikes… Then a Second Chance

The giant seemed to be tiring. Each time I reeled it in, it got a little closer to the dock, and to Craig with the big net poised and ready. Then suddenly…disaster! The line went slack. "NNNOOOOooooo!"

I reeled in the limp, shredded line with no hook, and no giant fish. Crushed doesn't begin to describe 14 year-old me. Ready to quit fishing forever (or at least for that evening), I picked up the consolation rod that my brother had left in free-spool.

As I reeled, I noticed that this fish felt pretty heavy–heavier than any bullhead I had caught that week. And just as had happened several times in the last ten minutes, the giant shadow of my prized fish appeared under the dock, and again, took off for deeper water. Was this a joke? How was that fish now hooked on my bullhead rig? Was I really getting a second chance? Please fish. Please. Please! PLEASE!

This is a clipping from our local newspaper back home in a suburb of Chicago, hundreds of miles from Hayward, Wisconsin. A few things about this make me chuckle. We specified the water as 16 1/2 feet deep. I have no idea how we would have determined the depth with that kind of accuracy at that point in time. I also love the use of the word "tussle". | Kurt Mazurek

We Land the Fish of a Lifetime

It neared the dock, and my brother lunged with the net. "WE GOT IT! WE GOT IT!"

I grabbed the net, and ran, screaming, headed for land. I put the net on the grass, and I'm pretty sure I just screamed uncontrollably. People came from their cabins, and from across the bay to see what all the commotion was about. I assume it sounded like a child being eaten by a bear.

The giant northern pike dwarfed any fish I had ever seen. 43.25" long. 18 pounds, 2 ounces. And not only was it big, I actually caught the same fish on two separate lines. True story.

For whatever reason, the giant northern pike that had just eaten my minnow and was being pulled around by some mysterious force it couldn’t understand, was still hungry enough to eat a nightcrawler it found on the bottom of the lake. And yes, it was hooked in the mouth—it hadn’t just become snagged by the second line.

How This One Catch Fueled a Lifelong Passion for Fishing

That experience lit a fire for fishing that burns to this day. The excitement of seeing an oversized specimen like that was unforgettable. The challenge to better understand the behaviors of these animals never ends. And the crazy stories all fishermen gather over a lifetime on the water, connect us as people, and in my case led to my dream career.