Main Sections

Big Pike Lure Vacation Fisherman To Lake Champlain

photo by Photo Provided Pikers founder Phil Goodwin.

photo by Photo Provided

Tuesday February 25, 2014

By Cookie Steponaitis

Phil Goodwin was at home in Massachusetts in 1973 when a friend showed up with a magazine and an idea. “It was one of those outdoor magazines,” recalled Phil. “I don’t recall which one but the title of the main article was Northern Pike in Lake Champlain and there was a great photograph of a trophy Northern Pike on the cover. My friend and I decided to make the trip and rented an ice auger in Massachusetts and hit the Champlain Valley. We didn’t know where to stay, where to fish, where to buy bait or even really quite how the ice fishing scene all went.” As things will happen it is often from these small spur of the moment decisions that great traditions began and for Phil Goodwin this President’s Day weekend marks his Fortieth ice-fishing expedition to Vermont and today he is far from alone.
    Pikers, an organization dedicated to ice fishing, camaraderie and fun has grown from the original two who made the trek in 1973 to a group of forty-seven who came this weekend and gathered for dinner at American Legion Post #14. Each individual present has a story, love of the sport and sense of family that connects Goodwin and all the Pikers with a love affair for the lake and strong traditions and commitments to the Addison County area. Piker and local Dan Flynn was also on hand and quick to share his love of the weekend which is in its thirtieth year for him. “I was eighteen years old when I met Phil on one of his fishing trips here and asked if I could come along.” And ever since Flynn and now his two sons look forward and mark the calendar for this weekend of ice-fishing and fun. Flynn’s own record Northern Pike came in at 34.34 inches and was photographed before its release. All Pikers fish catch and release and when asked why Goodwin and two generations of Flynn’s spoke of the aggression and the fight of the fish. “When they decide to take the bait,” shared Dan Flynn, Jr., “they swim a little then turn and swallow the shiner head first. That is when you set your hook and the real fun begins.”
    While Goodwin remarked that as the years went along more friends joined the annual Piker trek to Lake Champlain, the group has actually fished many ponds, streams and lakes around the Green Mountain State. While each Piker will swear that they caught the big one at Kellogg’s Bay the Pikers actually know amongst themselves prime sites spanning every body of fresh water in the region. The Pikers gather at the American Legion Post #14 for an evening meal after each day on the ice and Goodwin paused to explain the Piker’s jacket motto of, “ If you can’t take winter you don’t deserve summer,” and that it takes a minimum of ten years to earn a jacket. Rooky members of the club were sporting hats with propellers on them for their first weekend on the ice and members with twenty years or more sport a golden Pike.
    The partnership with the American Legion is also a part of Piker history and one that Goodwin has kept in force since the beginning and linked with the other Pikers to create the Piker Fund which is monitored by American Legion Post #14 for use in the community. “When I first came up here,” explained Goodwin, “it was suggested that I stop in at the Vergennes Legion. The people were so nice and friendly that I transferred my membership to this legion and we have been coming ever since. That first year I had some steaks in the car and I popped the tail gate of my truck and grilled fresh steaks right there and brought them in to the people in the Legion. Over the years I decided that we wanted to give back and in 1998 I met with financial officer Henry Broughton to establish the Piker Fund, which would be used by the Legion to help out in the community. Our goal was to reach $10,000 and we achieved that early on. I think to date we have given $15,000 or more to the fund.”
    Whether it was the first, tenth, thirtieth or in the case of Goodwin, the fortieth time for ice fishing the result is the same. Joined in love of nature, fishing and a fellowship that spans generations, The Pikers are a group that calls Addison County and Vergennes their second home and this weekend as a time to meet, laugh, fish, eat and be together. The message is a simple one and echoed in groups the world over. Find what you love, share it with people you care about and give back not because you have to but because you choose to.
    So, if you were perplexed by some people in jackets labeled Pikers or still others wearing propeller beanies out on the ice this weekend do not be alarmed. You are witnessing a tradition forty years in the making and with no end in sight. The Valley Voice salutes not only The Pikers for their commitment to fishing, fun and helping others but to all who make winter a celebration and not the season we must all endure to get to the rest of the year. And for those looking for records, to date the top Pike caught was 44 inches long and officially it was caught on Kellogg’s Bay. Unofficially, well that is a story the Pikers are not quite ready to tell.

Printer Friendly

Top

Advertisements

Search our Archives