The time is June 21, 2000 at about 8.00 p.m. in the east bay on the Réservoir Gouin near the Pointe aux Dorés fishing camp. I am with Paul ??( last name I forget but he is the new guy this year)...he has never fished for pickeral before, just a lake trout fisherman.

It is raining, not hard but enough that we have our wetskins on. Jean Bureau and Henri Shroc are in the other boat fishing with us. We have just finished our third beers of the evening and are fishing in about 2 feet of water from shore near a little island in the middle of the bay because the pickerel seem to be in the rocks along the shore feeding on the minnows.

Black jig heads tipped with white power grubs and pieces of worm seem to be the winning combination in these waters.

We have caught about a three dozen pickerel, has been a good evening, but we are cold and wet and Paul is out of matches for his cigaretttes. I couldn't care less about the smokes but my bladder can't handle any more beer and I want to go back to the camp because I am wet and cold and the pickerel seem to have turned off for about the last 10 minutes.

We are talking about heading back to camp for some vodka shooters when Paul has a bite and begins to reel in a small fish. We are in about 3 feet of water so the fish comes in quickly. It is a small pike about about 18 inches along.

Paul plays with it by letting it swim around beside the boat as we are now right on the shore with the boat. We are cursing the abundance of "snakes" (pike) in these cold northern waters.

Suddenly Paul's fishing pole bends almost straight down. I look down in the water and I see the head of this very large pike which has the smaller pike sideway in its mouth. Paul is fishing with 6 lb. test line so I tell him to let off the drag and let the fish run. Our boat begins to drft out in to deeper water driven by the wind and dragged by the large fish which is runnig with the smaller fish in its mouth.

After about 10 minutes Paul reels the fish (after it has made several runs) and brings it along side of the boat. I try to land it with my net but the fish falls out of the net (net is not large enough) and makes another run still with the small pike in its mouth. Paul reels the large pike in several more times and each time it makes another run. Finally Paul manages to get the fish up along side the boat and tells me to use his gaff hook.

I grab the gaff by the handle but forget to put the loop over my hand and around my wrist. I try to gaff the fish under the chin and into the gills, but the cold and wet and with the arthritis in my hands and wrist, the gaff slips out of may hands and heads down in to the deep dark waters of the Gouin.

The large pike makes another run away from the boat, still with the small pike firmly clenched in its mouth. Paul lets it run and he starts reeling. Suddenly we see the small pike floating on the surface of the water, belly up. But Paul says he still has a fish on!!!.

This is weird, I think, but I am feeling dejected as twice this monster has eluded us and I have just lost the gaff hook. As Paul reels the fish in, he thinks he has lost the fish. But then we see it is the same large pike but with the jig head just slightly hooked into the side of its mouth!!

The fish is tired and slowly Paul brings it along side of the boat. I slide the net under the fish for a second time, and gingerly balance it on the top of the net rim as it will not fit into the net. Slowly I swing the fish over into the boat. Much shouting and laughing and excitement as I get out the camera to take this picture. Jean and Henri are in the other boat shaking their heads at the spectacle that has just takn place...

The fish measured 43 inches and weighed 19.5 pounds....Paul decided to keep it despite my exhortations to let it go...It was a big hit in the camp, every one was down to see it and take pictures, including the camp cook..we expect the picture of this fish to be on this year's brochure from Pointe aux Dorés fishing camp...but I regret that I had not leaned more on Paul to let it go...next time.