Tiger Muskies, Tobeck, Tarps and Trees
My first experience with the pike family was in a backwater of Alaska’s Lake Illiamna. I was a UW fisheries student assisting with an ongoing sockeye salmon research project. On a free afternoon, some compadres and I absconded with a research boat and went exploring. What we found was a seemingly endless maze of islands and inlets each holding a mix of rainbows, arctic char and red salmon.
Eventually we found a structure-filled bay without any of these willing biters. It was then we looked closer and saw these elongate creatures lurking around the structure…
NORTHERN PIKE! We scrambled for the steel leaders and snapped on the biggest spoons and plugs we could find! I lobbed a Magnum Tadpolly beyond the stumps and cranked it past the hovering predators. No longer hovering, the pike switched to full attack mode! “Ike” the pike grabbed the Mag and just kept on going, headed for a root ball. I hit the binders, he came straight out of the water and then…. Fought like a beach towel the rest of the way in… After a summer of catching salmon one after another, the pikes pugilistic prowess was well, a bit underwhelming and my chronic case of “salmon snobbery” continued unabated.
Cut to May 2009 and my first outing on Lake Tapps with Todd Reis of the Cascade Muskie Association and one Robert Lee Tobeck, co-host of the Outdoor Line. Todd is a certifiable muskie maniac and would be our guide for the day. Little did I know how much guiding he would have to do…
For the real estate agent, Lake Tapps is a dream with lake-front property interspersed with natural areas.
For the bass and Tiger Muskie man, structure fishing is the name of the game and precision casting is the key to unlocking the structure.
For Todd Reis, a pair of needle-nose pliers and a boat load of patience would be required to get through this day…
Our first pass of the day involved working the docks along the waterfront homes adjacent to the north end ramp. Tobeck, ever the competitor, worked to get his gear closest to the cover. Unfortunately, Robbie’s over-achieving characteristics manifested themselves in his casting.
He “overachieved” into this beach umbrella…
And, into this bush…
Tobeck "tossing" tirade would also find a stump…
And an innocent log that was just sitting there minding it’s own business!
Now, I could understand being a bit rusty after a winter of downrigger fishing but when Tobeck referred to this intersection as “fishy looking”…I started to scratch my head a bit.
Fortunately, Todd Reis patience would be rewarded as we boated a 46” specimen that turned out to be the largest of the season to date.
It had been a long time since my first pike and this Tiger Muskie brought back some great memories and provided me with an experience I’ll never forget. If this trip was any indication of my future fishing exploits with Tobeck, I think I’ll ask to borrow one of his old helmets. If he reads this blog…I’ll need pads too!