TIP 5: SLOW DEEP FISHING... IN THE WINTERTIME!!!
This story takes place in early October 2021. Today, I had three clients in the guide boat: Jan, a loyal Belgian customer, joined by two foreign friends, Dieter and Axel. The night had been extremely cold, and the fog was very dense. For safety reasons, I had to limit myself to only a few spots. Dieter fished weekly on the large Alpine lakes in Switzerland but had never caught a meter‑plus pike. It was his first time on the Volkerak. I told them that today probably wouldn’t be the day, because in my experience, windless and foggy conditions on the Volkerak rarely predict anything good. Because of this early winter chill, I chose deeper water and slow‑worked lures close to the bottom. And yes — on the very first drift, Jan hooked a pike (he often caught the first fish on previous trips too!). He got the bite on a very slowly presented SG Eel near the bottom. Not a monster pike, but a nice one, no blank, and Jan already had a Volkerak personal best of 130 cm, so all was well. About half an hour later came the second bite — and it was for Dieter. A Storm SeekerShad fished slowly ahead of the drifting boat did the trick, and Dieter said: “This feels heavy.” His drag screamed long and loud!
Dieter was so emotional he nearly cried from happiness. “I may never catch a pike this big again in my life!” he sobbed. I replied:
And then, barely 40 minutes later, the unbelievable happened: Dieter got his second bite and shouted: “Wow, this one feels even heavier!” A fierce fight followed, and when I first saw the pike, I shouted: “Hey, there’s a second one swimming with it!” A smaller pike was casually swimming alongside, focused on the twitching tail of the Storm SeekerShad hanging from the mouth of the giant pike. The three men couldn’t believe it — and it wasn’t even spawning season. But because the fight lasted so long, the big female passed the boat several times, and all three clearly saw the second pike. I joked: “I’m going to net them both,” and unbelievably… I succeeded! But the second pike, an 80‑something fish, wasn’t tired at all. As soon as I lifted the net into the boat, it jumped right back out. Laughter all around… and joy, because then came the highlight:
A fish we always work so hard for, one reaching the letter G on the AnyWareFishing measuring board: a beautiful, fat Mighty Volkerak pike lady of 124 cm!!!
Fun detail: long story short — it was clearly Dieter’s day! He caught six pike in total. Axel, however, was unlucky, and we had to fish late into the evening so he could land at least one before heading home. Everyone caught a pike. What a day!!!
SLOW DEEP FISHING!!!
A very unusual day, but once again an absolutely fantastic one!
Unforgettable memories.