Jackson Fuhrman caught a 29-inch northern pike on a Texas-rigged craw while bass fishing the Cal-Sag earlier this month. But the biggest surprise was its dark coloration.
Fall is magical for fishing and it showed this month.
Fuhrman, 17, an up-and-coming angler, wondered if it was a melanistic pike. Though darker than any pike I’ve encountered, that question was out of my league.
“That’s a nice pike for the Cal-Sag and it is a bit on the dark side, but I don’t think I would call it melanistic,” emailed Vic Santucci, Lake Michigan program manager for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. “Seems like it is in the normal range of individual color variation for northern pike to me. Curious what others say.”
Philip Willink, researcher for the Illinois Natural History Survey and one author of “Fishes of the Chicago Region, gave his take, “Color in fishes is driven by a wide variety of variables: Health, diet, stress levels, age, male/female, genetics, environment . . . the list goes on. For example, fishes in muddy lakes often have more drab colors than fishes of the same species in a nearby lake with crystal clear water. I have collected fishes and put them in a bucket of water only to have them turn pale in a matter of seconds, which is super-frustrating when you are trying to take pictures for a fish book. (Turning pale is a stress reaction.) And then there are some fishes that have a consistent coloration for years.
“Yes, melanism is a matter of degree. The extreme cases are the obvious ones. Most cases are probably not so obvious, hence overlooked. I think there may even be different terms for different causes and appearances, but double-check that.
“The pike in the picture is definitely darker. Could technically be melanistic, or maybe not. I would not doubt that there is some degree of it, but I cannot say with certainty. (Being a bit of a strict scientist here.) Regardless, that is a great looking fish!”
Justin Sharp caught a great-looking and massive lake trout fishing Monday with Capt. Ernesto Amparan, of Thin Blue Line Fishing out of Montrose Harbor. They landed it in 190 feet on a Green Dolphin trolling spoon.
“An incredible catch weighing 27.10 pounds (two hours after landing her) and measuring 38.5 inches in length after we returned to shore for measurements,” Amparan emailed. “This fish is truly a dinosaur of the lake.”
Lakers in Illinois can grow huge, as the state record (39.16 pounds), caught by Atul Mallik on May 31, 2021, fishing on the Massive Confusion in Cook County, shows.
Lake Michigan turns in many surprises, such as Marc DiMenna catching a northern pike Monday, while fishing smallmouth bass in Monroe Harbor, on 8-pound fluorocarbon after a 30-minute fight.
“Didn’t weigh it because it was very stressed, swam away fine,” he emailed. “Retied up, [then] on the next cast hooked up with that big [catfish]. She didn’t show herself until fight was over 30 minutes later.”
Lake Michigan eventually will give up a pike big enough to top Illinois’ long-standing record (26 pounds, 15 ounces) pike caught by Walter Klenzak on Nov. 9, 1989, from what is now Monster Lake in Kankakee County.
Staying near there, Victor Blackful tore up catfish Monday on the lower Kankakee River.
“I got 32 pounds of catfish between four fish with the largest hitting 16 pounds,” he emailed. “Fresh cut shad is working.” Big, beautiful and different make fall fishing something special.