If you ever travel to Denmark, remember, it's always windy! Our first outing was no exception, the wind had no mercy. We did not see anyone fishing that day, possibly due to the requirement of a day pass? Or are we the only ones who were simply dumb enough to stand in the cold and watch the guides froze as we fished? I think so!

My initial goal was to see one of these big northern pikes. Since I've never hooked one before, I was eager to do so. After an hour or so of cast and retrieve, the chance seemed slim as we came up empty handed. I decided to give the wire leader a rest, and throw on one of my home-made spinners that have always been good to me back home. First cast, I slowly retrieved as it spun along the bottom. Halfway across the stream, a definite tug as the blade stopped spinning. I set the hook immediately and the little Shimano spinning reel started to scream. It fought like a coho! For awhile, I had absolutely no idea what it was. As it reached the surface, I could see the brownish body. "Is it a pike? No.... Is it a sea trout?" This sure was exciting, as I'd never caught either species. A quick glance of the head, and yes it was a sea trout! It began to roll on the surface a few times, just like what a salmonid would behave. I scooped it up with my wet hand, that water sure was cold! Once I got a hold of its tail, a quick lift and photo shoot, it went straight back into the water. The entire event took only a few minutes, but that was enough excitement for us to be overjoyed. A pretty fish indeed, it's always thrilling to catch a new type of fish. I was amazed by the colour of its spots. The rain storm rolled in soon after my first catch, and our first outing quickly came to an end.

Still no northern pike, our confidence dropped greatly after the first outing as we thought northerns are way easier to catch! Thanks to the unusually mild weather, the lakes near Nina's house remained ice free until Christmas. I visited these lake several times after the creek outing but always came back empty handed. During the very last outing before the lakes froze up, I managed to hooked one fish briefly before falling off the hook. So close, I needed that pike photo badly!

The lakes remained frozen for the rest of my trip, it sure was frustrating. I decided to venture back to the creek one last time to see if I could connect with one more fish before my departure. Driving alone in a foreign country can certainly be intimidating, especially when everyone else was doing 150kph+ on the freeway! The creek on that day was semi frozen, the artic wind was cutting through my spine like a knife, but fishing must go on. Surprisingly, despite the cold weather, there were a dozen or so other anglers fishing, maybe they knew something that I didn't? Soon after I started, a hit was felt as I retrieved the same spinner. Fish on! This time the fish stayed on. After a minute or so, the head emerged from the surface, a northern pike it was! It was only about 5lb, but very satisfying indeed.

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