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BayToday Picture Play Gallery: Reeling in the big one

BayToday reader John Gauthier was ice fishing at Sandy Bay Cottages in celebration of the province’s first Family Day holiday and ended up hauling in the catch of the day.
BayToday reader John Gauthier was ice fishing at Sandy Bay Cottages in celebration of the province’s first Family Day holiday and ended up hauling in the catch of the day.

Gauthier is so pleased with his catch that he wanted to share his photos and story with fellow readers.

Gauthier says he had been sitting out on the ice with his dad, uncle, and cousin morning since 7.30am with no bites till 1:42pm.

“It bit like a small perch, almost nothing at all... I sit and I had to wait giving a little slack in the line to lure him in,” he states

Still convinced it was a perch Gauthier gave the line a yank.

“I just started pulling the line up by hang when it started to tug my hand down, it didn't want to come up at all,” he notes.

“After a few minutes of tug-of-war I saw a huge eye and belly pass sideways under my ice hole and I started to get excited...yelling it’s a huge one!”

He let a little of the line out to settle the fish and with a fast acting pull he brought the line up at the right time to get his head in the hole.

“It came up with nothing but exposed teeth 3/4 inch teeth,” he notes.

“As I was pulling the line my Uncle help grab the fish out of the hole and WOW what a monster by this time it was 1:47pm.”

It was no at the end of the line Gauthier hauled in a Northern Pike weighing in at solid 16.2lbs. The total length is 38.5 and the girth is 18.2.

“It’s a trophy fish...biggest I ever caught...so far!”