Hi guys,
Last week I went to Rügen in Germany together with two friends for some serious pike fishing. There is no other reason than the chance to catch really big pikes we go there. The amounts and surroundings here in Karlskrona is in a total other league than what Rügen can offer. But the chance to catch those really big pikes of +120cm is way much bigger than here back home in Karlskrona. Of course I don't complain about the German wiener schnitzels, weissbiers nor cheap liquids in the border shop!
Our trip began very early on Thuesday morning, 03:30 to be precise. A short detour to Helsingborg to pick up my friend Jakob and then down to Trelleborg where the ferry to Sassnitz in Germany waited for us. For me this was the third trip to Rügen area, the second time for Jakob and actually very first time for Jesper. We booked this trip in March already so the last couple of months we've been very excited about going.
First day we didn't fish, we took this day to get our gear ready and have a calm evening without stress and talking about all those fish we were about to catch! Early Wednesday morning we paid our fishing licenses and went down to meet our guide Rico from Bodden Angeln. I've been fishing with him before and really like his way of thinking and there are few anglers that are so determined of where to find the fish. We didn't have the best forecast supporting us but still very eager to get started. The first day of fishing was for sure a day to remember for all time...
During the first 6 hours we didn't catch a single fish. I had a really nice +10kg pike following all the way to the boat early in the morning, but not a single bite for any of us. Then we started to fish a bit deeper where the stream was a bit stronger and the depth reached all the way to 7-8m. Plenty of baitfish around this spot so Rico, our guide, decided to put in the anchor and really gnaw this place with our rubber lures. Out of nowhere, Jakob strikes a good fish. Not a to good fight but in the net we could see that this was our first meter pike of the trip, and also the very first fish. 109cm and our hope was back for sure! I didn't take more than 5 minutes after releasing that fish before I felt a good bite in my other line end. Set the hooks pretty good and at first I couldn't decide if it was a good fish or not. The fish took a pelagic retrieved McRubber Blue/Pearl and when she got closer to the boat, she started to pull the line out quite good and I understood that this is a really good pike!
She reached the surface some minutes later followed by screams in the boat. This fish was huge! Rico landed her safely in the net and the happiness was to its limits. In the boat we measured her to be 122cm and pulled down the scale to 12,8 kg excluding the weight net. I was so happy and still shaking for a long time after releasing her.
This was not the end of the day. It didn't take more than 5 minutes once again before Jesper striked a good size fish as well. Soon we realized that this could be one more pike above the 10kg margin. When we saw her in the surface we all screamed again, could this fish possibly be even bigger?! In the boat we measured her to be 123cm and this lady wasn't as fat as mine but still pulled the scale to 12,0kg! Insane, 3 huge pikes in less than 30 minutes! We couldn't believe it.
As all the other mornings, Jakob went up a bit earlier to make good breakfast. Big load of scrambled eggs, bacon and coffee gave us an optimal start every morning. Breakfast and a good load of candy and other stuff is of great importance to keep focus when you want to perform at your best in the hunt for great pikes. 
Day two and following days we faced some very tough conditions. No wind at all, very strong stream some days and pikes got really hard to find. All in all we fought good and ended up with 31 pikes caught on us 3 guys. Jesper had a really tough time after his 123cm and didn't catch a single pike for more than 2 days. But we knew this in advance. Rügen is a really special water and if you are unlucky, there might be those times when you don't catch a single fish. It's all about to stand out and have a large portion of patience. At home we are able to choose between hundreds of variating fishing spots and always we have something to target our casts at. Sometimes we make casts to rocks, sometimes to weedbeds, reeds or other interesting areas. In Rügen, you either make loooong drifts in what might look to be nowhere, or you anchor up and make your casts in underwater canals. Hard fishing for us since we are used to have something to target our casts on.
In total we caught 6 meter pikes of 123, 122, 109, 105, 102, 100cm plus one meter pike that I lost by the net. Even if it sometimes feels almost impossible, Rügen is like a drug to you. We all were convinced to go next year as well. But before that, maaaany hours will be spend in our lovely city Karlskrona. This trip really opened my eyes for a new thinking when fishing for pike. Something that I will try to adept in Karlskrona next season....
// Daniel Wickman
2014-11-27
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