August 16, 2011 in Outdoors, City

Rare pike bites teen’s line in city

Crowd gathers, three men help in a half-hour battle

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review

Tags:fishingnorthern pikeoutdoorsRiverfront ParkSpokane River

Courtesy Buster photo

Joe Buster, of Spokane, landed this northern pike in Riverfront Park across from the Looff Carrousel while fishing for trout on Saturday, Aug. 13, 2011 — two days before his 18th birthday. He said the fish measured 42 inches long.
(Full-size photo)

While little kids were reaching for the golden ring Saturday at the Looff Carrousel, a Spokane teenager hooked the fish of his dreams just outside the door in Riverfront Park.

Joe Buster rides the city bus regularly to fish the Howard Street section of the Spokane River and rarely gets much attention from passers-by as he casts for the occasional foot-long trout or bass.

But he rose to rock-star status after a 42-inch-long northern pike smacked his Mepps Agilia spinner and torpedoed across the pool.

“I was shocked, amazed, bewildered and the next thing I knew my reel was running out line and people were standing all around wondering what the heck it was,” he said.

“I recognized it was not a trout.”

Northern pike, a non-native species, are not common to the Spokane River west of Idaho, although they’re known to wash downstream occasionally from Lake Coeur d’Alene.

Washington’s state record pike, weighing 34 pounds, was caught in Long Lake by local angler Bryan McMannis in 2004.

But catching one in the Spokane River is rare, and the angler didn’t talk if a big one ever was caught in Riverfront Park.

Buster said he cast into the area after seeing baitfish scatter “like bats out of heck” as he scouted from the park footbridge.

“I thought I had located a bass,” he said.

He cast and retrieved the lure and was ready to cast again when the giant fish shot out of the shadows just 10 feet from the end of his rod.

Pike are voracious predators with a rack of teeth that can render an angler’s hand into Hamburger Helper.

“I knew I had to be very, very careful,” Buster said, noting that he was battling a fish of 15-20 pounds on line rated to 12 pounds of strength.

“Two guys came down and got in the water to help me land the fish when I finally reeled it into shore, but it bolted and made another sudden run – and then another after that.”

The contest lasted about 30 minutes.

“There were people gathered on the park grass and lined up on the bridge watching this go down,” Buster said.

By that time, another regular park angler – Buster knows him only as George – was in the water with the other men to help bring Buster’s behemoth ashore.

A bystander took the angler’s cell phone and snapped a photo, which Buster immediately emailed to Pete Roundy, the General Store clerk who helps him rig up his fishing tackle.

“I couldn’t believe it until I saw the picture,” Roundy said. “I was tickled for him.”

“It may not be a state record,” Buster said, “but it broke my own record by a long shoe – and just two days before my 18th birthday to boot.

“It took all my strength to lift it up high,” he recalled Monday, clearly relishing the chance to re-live the moment. “It’s twice as big as anything I’ve ever caught. I was already getting anxious to take it home and eat it.”

Somebody helped him with the unsavory and bloody task of dispatching the lunker and removing the hook in front of a large crowd of gawkers in shorts and flip-flops.

Then reality sunk in. The hand cooler Buster brings to the river is 14 inches wide.

“I started heading to the bus stop to take the fish home when I realized that probably wasn’t a good idea,” he said.

“I looked at George and said, ‘If you can take it and smoke it, I’ll give you half.’”

George was in a much better position to go three miles in the 85-degree heat with a 3 ½ foot-long fish oozing with slime and various body fluids.

“He had his bicycle,” Buster said.

14 comments on this story so far. Add yours!

D Statler on August 16 at 5:41 a.m.
Nice fish !!
philipgregory on August 16 at 7:18 a.m.
Good story. very good.
misjustice on August 16 at 7:54 a.m.
Great fish story!
The_Seer on August 16 at 8:26 a.m.
Long Lake is the Spokane river…
Way to go, Joe… I remember waiting for the bus with you when you were a bit younger. I always enjoyed your British accent, and stories about fishing and playing the trombone in jazz band.
MrNatural on August 16 at 8:52 a.m.
This made my day too…I see this young man with a line in the water almost daily when taking my walk through RFP…perseverance truly pays off…Way to go Joe!
mikewsu on August 16 at 9:03 a.m.
Cool story. Way to go!
Cougardave on August 16 at 9:24 a.m.
It’s too bad more kids don’t fish. It’s becoming a lost art.
Thoreau on August 16 at 9:52 a.m.
Excellent story! I envy that kid. Great job sticking with that pike.
zelda on August 16 at 10:13 a.m.
Wonderful story. Really brought a smile to my face.
leekinny on August 16 at 10:49 a.m.
What’s better than a good fish story? Having a picture for proof. Way to go!!!
Spokane_Citizen on August 16 at 6:19 p.m.
It is interesting to note that this large northern pike, an apex predator in an environment heavily contaminated with PCB’s (such as the Spokane River), would have been a bioaccumulator of PCB’s successively concentrated by each trophic feeding level upon which it preys. I suspect it would have carried a very significant ‘body burden’ of PCB’s.
The_Seer on August 18 at 8:51 a.m.
spokanecitizen: PCB’s taste better when you smoke them. Didn’t you read the article?
deltaelk on August 19 at 7:30 p.m.
I growed up in Arkansas. We use to fish for them big ole gar fish. They coulda eat that there pike. My brother-in-law was on the river one summer evening, his little boy was a wading along the shore, trying to catch crawdads. Suddenly he was a screaming and crying, this big ole gar fish done come up and snatched Chip away from the edge. He had him half swallered by the time we could jump into the water and try and grab him. The fish done turned around and swam away with Chip in his mouth. I tell you what, we ain’t never gonna forget that day no how. Poor little Chip
brendal on August 22 at 6:44 a.m.
Is no one else going to “bite”? That’s where we get “fish and Chip” Seriously, that’s a great story! Congrats Joe!