A huge pike caught in the Boundary Waters would have broken the Minnesota state record except for one technicality.

The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, stretching from northeastern Minnesota and southern Ontario, has been a haven for generations of outdoor enthusiasts. That includes Jacob Skorloken, who caught one of the largest pike in state history during his 21st annual canoe trip to the area last month. The 39-year-old paddled, fished and camped in the BWCA with his father, Steve, and a few other buddies.

“It was the third day of our 10-day trip, and we had stopped at a favorite deep hole on Crooked Lake, part of the Basswood Lake system,” Skorloken tells Outdoor Life. “I was alone in one of our three canoes when I dropped a 3/8-ounce blue and black jig over the side.”

He says he let the jig sink to the bottom. After lifting the rod tip, he felt something huge hit the lure in about 18 feet of water.

“My dad and brother-in-law were in another canoe nearby and I told them right away it was a big canoe,” Skorloken said. “But I thought it was just a good walleye.”

After struggling deeply for a few minutes, the fish made the first of three torrid runs. He took off 50 yards of 6-pound line and placed a deep arc in Skorloken’s 6-foot-6 spinning rod. It’s a miracle my 6-pound line didn’t cut in the 20 minutes I fought that pike,” Skorloken says. “I just got lucky. The jig hook was barbed perfectly in his mouth. The thin line must have fit between his big sharp teeth, so it didn’t cut the mono.

The fish was too strong and difficult to reel in with light tackle, so Skorloken had to paddle after the pike just to keep it from reeling him. His father and brother-in-law followed him, holding their canoe against his to give him some stability.

“I finally got the fish to the surface, but I couldn’t reel it in,” Skorloken said. “We finally put it in our net and started to lift it, but the handle of the net started to bend. That’s when we paddled to shore and (my brother-in-law) grabbed the hoop of the net to keep it from breaking.

After reaching the shore, Skorloken headed far north to take a few photos and took some basic measurements. He said it measured 47.5 inches long with a girth of 18 inches, which would have broken the Minnesota catch-and-release record by three-quarters of an inch. (This record is actually a tie between two 46.25-inch pike, one of which was caught in Basswood Lake.) But because they didn’t photograph those measurements, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources can’t not consider the fish a potential state record. . However, that didn’t stop the agency from bragging about Skorloken’s pike on social media. “We were so excited about this fish, so happy to see such a huge pike, that we just didn’t think to take photos of its measurements,” Skorloken says.

After they returned from their 10-day camping trip, Skorloken contacted the DNR about the pike. It was then that he learned the technical aspect of the record that he had neglected in his enthusiasm.

“It would have been great to have the record, but I already have a replica of the pike made by a taxidermist, so I will be able to relive that memory every time I see it on my wall,” Skorloken said.

The mount will also be a constant reminder of the appeal that Boundary Waters still holds, even after all the years of exploring the area.

“I’ve been fishing there for 21 years and I love this region more than anywhere else in the world. I first went there with my dad when I was 18, and I will be returning to Boundary Waters for many years in the future.