'A fish of a lifetime'
Dave Hartman and his son, Liam, 10, pose with a 29-pound northern pike they pulled up from under the ice at upper Twin Lake the day after Christmas. Courtesy photo
This one didn’t get away.
Dave Hartman and his son, Liam, 10, caught a 29-pound northern pike the day after Christmas on Twin Lakes.
It was Liam’s first time ice fishing, and his biggest catch ever.
“We caught it in upper Twin,” Hartman said. “Liam’s eyes got pretty big when we pulled it out. We were jumping up and down and everyone on the lake was coming over to see what the commotion was.”
The big fish wasn’t quite a record. Kim Fleming of Coeur d’Alene caught a 40.13-pound northern pike in lower Twin Lake in 2010, according to Idaho Department of Fish and Game records.
The ice fishing trip was the idea of Liam’s fourth-grade teacher, Aaron Fox.
The Hartmans used a dead smelt for bait and bringing the pike in was a team effort.
The key to ice fishing?
“Staying warm,” said Hartman. “You have to dress right. I’d only been ice fishing a couple of times before this. We’re definitely going back.”
He said he toyed with mounting the fish, but opted to make it a meal or two, or three.
“Everybody was telling Liam it was a fish of a lifetime,” Hartman said. “We’ve got lots of pictures and great memories.”