What Hunting Big Pike Taught Me About Energy Expenditure

I recently went on a fishing trip to Canada where a number of the guys in our group fished for Big Pike.  I’m talking 50” inchers that weighed 20 plus pounds.  As a group there was 7 pike caught over 40”.  Here’s a picture of one.

40" pike caught out of Ogoki Frontier

One of the guys that went with is a wealth of information about how to catch the big ones.  He grew up fishing the Mississippi River and really knew how to drive the boat.  He also knew right where the big pike like to hang out. 

You see, the big ones don’t cruise around the whole lake, fighting the current looking for smaller fish to eat.  Instead, they lie in wait.  They find an area of calm water out of the drift and wait for all of the smaller fish to swim by in the current.  The big ones have it figured out as apex predators in the waters of the Canadian Shield.  They use the smallest amount of energy possible to get the greatest results. 

I’m not suggesting that we lie around being lazy.   I often find myself reflecting on why many people spend their whole lives just trying to survive.  Instead of using all of our energy 10 or 20% of the time, they spend their days running around the gerbil wheel wondering why nothing is changing.    

I learned that the big pike that we hunted in Ontario have it figured out.  They haven’t only figured out how to catch an easy meal; they've figured out how we could use our energy as human beings to be as efficient as possible.

www.ogokifrontier.com


Jon Howard - Husband and Father of 3 | Ultra Endurance Athlete | Owner - Training Edge Sports