Jim Harter’s Sept. 15 attempt to catch perch at Rifle Gap Reservoir turned out to be a big disappointment. But things perked right up when he realized the reason.
The bite that finally came on a 1/16-ounce white twister jig clearly wasn’t from a perch. After nearly a half-hour of tense tugging with 4-pound test line, the Aurora resident spotted the huge northern pike that had frightened all the small fish in the area.
“The strange thing was, the pike body-slammed the boat 3 times. I couldn’t believe the line didn’t break,” Harter said.
Harter, who was fishing alone, then faced a new challenge – how to get a 44 1/2-inch, 23 1/2-pound fish into his 14-foot aluminum boat.
“I had a really small net,” he said with a laughed.
Pike catches aren’t common at Rifle Gap, where they were transplanted illegally by bucket brigade from nearby Harvey Gap Reservoir, a noted fishery for the toothy predators.
