by David Duncan

Created on: February 08, 2008

A cool breeze gently blew across Beaver Lake, finally bringing a welcome bit of relief to the back of my neck from the heat. It was the Fourth of July 1998. Since eight o'clock that morning, my friend, Steve, and I had been out in search of our favorite quarry, Esox Lucius, the Great Northern Pike. Now, it was five o'clock in the afternoon and we had put in a full day's fun of chasing after this fish.

Despite it's size (only an acre or two at best), Beaver Lake provides some of the most consistent and predictable (if there is such a thing possible with this particular fish!) Northern Pike action in our metro area. Better yet, this lake is nestled in beautiful city park only a fifteen minute drive from home.

As a child growing up in Southwestern Minnesota, I fished for Pike in rivers and large lakes. Inner-city lakes didn't exist in my hometown or the surrounding area. So, I grew up thinking you could only find Pike in "big water." When Steve first introduced me to this lake earlier that summer in 1998, I wondered how such an aggressive predator fish with its reputation for a big appetite could thrive in a lake of this size. My first conclusion was that our state's DNR (Department of Natural Resources) constantly re-stocked the lake with other fish that made a healthy balance with the Northern Pike? Although the DNR does routinely monitor and stock this lake with a mix of other fish like Sunfish, Bass, and Catfish, the real "secret" to great Pike fishing in this lake lies in two natural design features not found in every inner-city lake in our area.

Northern Pike thrive in cool, oxygenated water, especially when the weather heats up (http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/fish/northern/biology.ht ml). So, the first lake feature that leads to a healthy Pike population is an underground spring that runs year around and the full length of this lake, North to South. With a steady current, oxygen, nutrients, and aquatic life are frequently replenished, along with winter fish "kill" being low. With a good number of prey making it through the change of seasons, the Pike never go hungry in Beaver Lake!

The spring does help provide a stable environment for the Pike to thrive. But, it is the second lake feature that I feel is the characteristic that helps anglers to easily locate Pike. From the North to South, a deep, weedy channel cuts along the bottom of the lake. It is in this channel, that Steve and I found our "honey hole" for Pike anytime of the season, even on warm days when Pike

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