34-Inch Pike Off the McLain Breakwall: A Keweenaw Summer Adventure
It’s been a non-stop summer — bouncing between rentals, sales, renovations, and our participation with Special Olympics Michigan here in Area 39. Add in friends and family passing through, and it’s been quite the adventurous stretch so far.
Tuesday evening (8/4 – I am a bit late on posting!) we had the chance to bring friends out to the Breakers off the Portage Canal. Did you know the Houghton Breakers is currently closed off? We didn’t either — so we adjusted and headed to McLain State Park to check the breakwalls on that side instead.
Friends and family ventured out on the rocks to check the swimming, while I stayed back to check the fish action off the wall. I had high hopes for a salmon or trout of some kind. A fellow fisherman hooked and lost a small lake trout — and just minutes later, I hooked into a large fish and had to walk it back down the breakwall to shore to land it.
The catch:
- 34″ Northern Pike
- Just under 10 lbs
- Landed off the McLain State Park breakwall, Portage Canal entrance
It was quite the fun time, and it definitely garnered some attention as I landed it — and again as I carried it through the park back to the car.
We finished off the evening with a great meal at the Library, and I got to work fileting and deboning about 4 lbs worth of meat, which got breaded and packed up after frying off enough for a first meal. Cold water pike is great eating!
Just another evening in the Keweenaw — where a closed breakwall just means an even better adventure is waiting somewhere else.