By John Toone
One of my favourite pursuits is to cast for northern pike in shallow weed beds. There’s no mistaking their bite and fight, and as table fare, they are among the best. The northern pike trophy appears prehistoric-strong and often rather perturbed. Yet in spite of their majesty, the northern pike is of a mixed reputation.
Guides favour walleye to pike, because pike lures have multiple treble hooks and clients have multiple issues with coordination. Also, the Y-bones along the back of a pike can challenge the average filleter. And despite their larger size, too many people mistake pike flesh as inferior to walleye. Immature fish are called snakes or hammer handles. Outdoor enthusiasts need be careful with our tone and the way we speak amongst ourselves. What starts as good intentions can wreak havoc for future generations. It ain’t right to be cruel to animals. And if you don’t have something nice to say, shut the hell up. We may think we’ve found good reason to favour one species or another, but lord have mercy, we sure don’t have a great track record. Moreover, this divisive rhetoric takes the fun out of fishing by giving young people the wrong impression of what constitutes a trophy.
When I was young and even more stupid, we had this spot in the city for rock bass and sauger. Problem being was that for every “good fish” that we would catch, we would also hook several bullhead. And we would take pleasure in killing the bullheads, because we could and because we thought it would improve our chances of catching the better fish. Over our shoulder and up the bank, and the bullhead would use their pectoral fin spines to shimmy their way back into the water. How could we disrespect a fish with such tenacity?
These are not proud moments, but lesson learned. The first fish that my son and daughter caught was a bullhead. Their exotic look only helped secure interest in a way of life that involves catching and eating fish. From their perspective, if a bullhead is what I catch first, imagine what is to come.
The Manitoba Master Angler program awards a diamond badge as the highest level of achievement for anglers who register one trophy fish in twenty different species. Each one of these trophies is of equal value, and that’s a sportsman’s approach to fishing. We all have sordid histories of how we got where we are, and if we become so far removed to forget, then it should hit you hard where it hurts.
Thou shalt not get caught up on appearances, because we are ugly folk. Sure, rainbow trout are so well packaged that you wanna peel back their skin and eat them like an ice cream sandwich. You may not think the same of a bullhead. But as you incorporate fish into your diet you will find a place for both exotic and utility fare. Trash or trophy, it’s what fuels a love of the outdoors.