ESOX

It's fun when they eat.  It's even a little more fun dealing with the aftermath. Had a little of both this weekend.  Fished some "squatchy" looking water, turned some behemoths, and landed a few of the esox variety.  Terrifying eats that don't end as planned- missed hookups, fouled flies, broken rods, trout-sets or plain bad luck all happen.  It's salty when it happens more than once on a trip and you haven't touched a fish yet.

You miss one violent, topwater eat so close to the boat you got splashed.
...................Then another.

Your buddy says "Aw, you got the best of him anyway, it's all about the eat.
...................Yeah. Yeah.


.......Then you walk away with your pike consolation prize. 
 
What a terrible thing for me to say.  Pike are an amazingly aggro, violent fish.  I'll take consistent visual pike eats any day, all day.  I take my comments back.  The pike was the prize in a lake that outnumbers them with musky. I found the needle in the haystack.

It's always fun.