Freshwater Fighters: Northern pike
By Dave Reese/Montana Living magazine
There's one species of fish in Montana that has a love/hate relationship with anglers.
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Northern pike. The name alone conjures up images of slashing teeth, long slimy bodies and a head like a crocodile. Bring one of these creatures into the boat and you'd better be loaded for bear. They'll tear nets, dump tackle boxes and make a general mess of things if you're not careful. Thick gloves are recommended for prying your lure out of their mouths.
After a day of fighting these bruisers on a northwest Montana lake, a friend of mine said something I'll never forget: "Pike really don't die until they're in the frying pan." Amen to that, brother. I've had the creatures squirm after being in an iced-down cooler for two days on a camping trip. That's the hate part of the relationship.
Despite their ominous appearance and brutish fight, Northern Pike are the tastiest fish for eating. Their white, flaky meat cooks to a light delicacy with hardly any fishy taste, like a trout or salmon. I compare pike to a cod or halibut in terms of taste. That's the love part of the relationship.
While trout populations still beckon the fly angler, pike are becoming more of an attraction in parts of Montana, where you simply can't catch any other species that's as large and as accessible as Northerns. Sure, you can go after lake trout, but to go after the really big ones you need specialized downrigging equipment. For pike, a 1/16th oz. jig with rubber Mister Twister tail will do the trick. Of course, no pike in its right mind can resist a tasty offering of smelt.
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