Some fishing trips unexpectedly get a golden edge...
This story is a tribute to my late best friend Fluppe. We must go back to November 2019.Fluppe was a die-hard pike fanatic, a man of few words. He didn’t care one bit if the fishing was tough, and that made him my absolute partner in crime for hunting monster pike.
He had a deep love for deadbait fishing, but once live technology hit the market, a new discipline entered his world.
He worked in shifts and regularly had a week of night duty, so night fishing was never a problem for him.
A meter pike was his ultimate dream, and his motto was:
"I only need one bite today — as long as it’s a meter fish."
And so it happened that on that November night, we headed toward the Mighty Volkerak in search of monster pike.At that time, LiveScope technology was brand new, and of course we already had it on our boat.
The evening, however, started with a setback: we couldn’t reach the slipway at Oude Tonge — a large farm fire blocked the entire entrance to the harbor. The whole town was closed off. But nothing could stop us; we had faced worse. So we drove to the Galathese harbor instead. What a delay we had suffered.
Once on the water, the game could begin: searching for big pike and attacking them with our FishImpact shads.
Christophe from FishImpact was also on the water with some friends, and they had already landed a 129! Father and son VanAlken — famous specimen hunters using FishImpact shads — had already caught a 124. Promising signs.
It didn’t take long before, after a 95 cm fish, Fluppe landed two meter pike: 105 and 107 cm.
But then things went quiet. After two hours of searching without success, disaster struck again: a thick fog rolled in, so dense we couldn’t see our own hands.
A very dangerous situation. It was now 3 AM, and we were too far from the slipway to return safely.
I told Fluppe: “I’m not moving an inch. We’re safe here, far from any shipping lanes. I’ll only head back when the fog lifts — even if it’s tomorrow afternoon.”
That was no problem for my best friend. He already had a wide grin on his face thanks to the two meter fish, and patience was one of his strongest qualities.
We drifted around a bit, chatted the night away in the thick fog, and every now and then a burst of laughter echoed through the invisible night.
It was now 6 AM when something completely unexpected happened!
A massive signal appeared on the screen — a pike of truly mind-blowing size swam right under the boat.“Drop it,” I told Fluppe, and he didn’t hesitate for a second.
But neither did the pike!
He wasn’t there for nothing — he shot upward at lightning speed and inhaled the big FishImpact Masterdropper without hesitation.
Fluppe struck hard with a long sweep, and his rod bent all the way around. “Fish on!” he shouted.
Hoho… this fish was of extraterrestrial proportions. The drag screamed nonstop, and our little boat was literally being towed by the monster.
When we first saw the fish at the surface, Fluppe started stuttering and shaking. And you must know: Fluppe was anything but a “pussy” — he was the kind of guy you didn’t want to mess with.
But now the tough exterior was completely gone. To make matters worse, we broke the landing net — that’s how heavy the fish was! But we got it in. I had to lift it into the boat because Fluppe was completely overwhelmed.
The fish was too heavy to lift properly, so the photo had to be taken with the fish resting on his knees — no need to press the lens here!
An insane monster of 132 cm, a phenomenal giant weighing 22.6 kg!
“The happiest day of my life!” was all Fluppe could say.It was now 7:30 AM, daylight had arrived, and as if by miracle the fog lifted. We had had more than our share, so we headed back to the slipway.
The following year we only fished together once — Covid broke out, and the year after that fate struck fatally.
Fluppe died suddenly at work during a night shift, exactly one week before my youngest daughter Lily was born in September 2021.
I am incredibly grateful that I was able to help him catch his dream fish before he left this world.
Take care up there, my friend — catch some giants for us.
WHAT AN INCREDIBLE MONSTER PIKE!!!
When friendships rule, and it gets rewarded with a fish of a lifetime.
Unforgettable memories.