Aidan Traynor had a beauty of a pike with a belly full of eggs ready for spawning.  The pike was caught on Ross Lake in Galway  and weighed in at 21lbs. The fish was caught by Aidan on a jerk bait and was landed by Mike McNamara, who also posed with the pike.

pike
Mike got to pose with Aidan’s 21lb pike…

 

The reason Aidan couldn’t pose for a picture with his monster pike was that he got the treble right through his finger. It’s a cautionary tale for anyone – when you are handling big strong fish and using sharp hooks take care.

ouch
…while Aidan got to pose with his jerk bait…

The pike was released safely and she slowly swam through the shallows for little rest before she took off into the darkness again. Aidan tells us his finger feels much better too.

ouch!
A sharp hook will go right through when a big fish gives a shake – take care.