As they were packing on Feb. 12 to leave the Chain O’Lakes, Josh Monahan spotted a large red mark 4 feet down while fishing in 9.
“As soon as I started to come up to the mark, the big northern smashed the spoon like a freight train,” he messaged. “The fight lasted about 10 minutes on a [3-pound] panfish rod. Needless to say, I was not convinced I would get the big girl to the top side! What a battle! I’m sure glad I stayed that extra 15 minutes!”
The pike came on an 1/8th-ounce jigging spoon tipped with a minnow head.
FOTW, the celebration of big fish and their stories (the stories matter, as this one shows) around Chicago fishing, runs Wednesdays in the paper Sun-Times. The online posting here at chicago.suntimes.com/outdoors goes up at varied days of the week, depending on what is going on the wide world of the outdoors.
To make submissions, email (BowmanOutside@gmail.com) or contact me on Facebook (Dale Bowman), Twitter (@BowmanOutside) or Instagram (@BowmanOutside).
