With the upcoming closed season for pike in mind, I took a day off leftover from the Super Bowl to head out to the water for a few hours around noon. I thought my best chance would be at the Sempt flood channel, especially since the Alte Dorfen is currently closed. Passing by an almost overflowing flood channel, I reached the highway bridge around 12:40 PM. Water from the surrounding fields was flowing into the narrow channel, making me think that water from the Isar might also be getting pushed into the area around Structure 4. If that were the case, it would likely bring pike into the channel as well. However, I didn’t even make it as far as Structure 4.

I made my first casts south of the highway bridge before slowly working my way north. At first, I was a bit unsatisfied with my choice of bank, as the reed growth on the west side seemed much less dense, and the side I had chosen had fewer spots open for fishing. For my lure, I opted for a new 11 cm green soft plastic fish with an interesting side structure, rigged on a chatterbait. Just as I was considering whether it was time to switch lures by the fifth or sixth spot, I thought I felt the first strike.

I had cast the lure directly across to the other bank, where it landed about 50 cm from the reed edge. Just after it started to sink, there was some resistance, which I didn’t initially interpret as a bite. So, after two reel turns, I let the lure settle again. And that’s when it hit! Not too hard, but definitely noticeable—there was a fish on! At first, I wasn’t sure if it was a zander or a small pike, but after a short fight, it was clear that a winter pike had taken the bait. Not a giant, but at least my first canal pike.

With that, my fishing day ended after just over half an hour, as I had reached my catch limit. Even if it had been below the minimum legal length, I unfortunately wouldn’t have been able to release the spawning-ready female, as she had lodged the single hook right through her jaw plate. Back in the kitchen, she weighed in at 1.8 kg, and I had measured her at 64 cm while still at the water. These days, I use a fish-friendly unhooking mat, especially in winter. The one in the photo above is from China, though you can find something similar here.