Could this be the biggest river pike in the world?

Could this be the world’s biggest ever pike caught from running water?

That is the question being asked this week after French angler, Fabien Suzan, landed the huge 45lb 4oz specimen from the River Adour in South-West France. Measuring 125cm it is one of the biggest pike ever landed in Europe and possibly the biggest from a river.

Fabien took the fish on a 30cm imitation eel lure from the lower regions of the waterway close to the Pyrenees mountain range. The 35-year-old, from the nearby town of Larreule, has fished the river all his life and had previously witnessed the monster predator lurking in the water before deciding to go after it:

“I waited until around midday as that is when the water temperature gets high enough for the fish to start moving around on this river. I didn’t have a touch for the first two hours, but I insisted on staying in the area because my gut told me something was going to happen. I then saw the tail of the pike through the rushes and cast my lure towards it and the take was instant,” he said.

In recent years, huge pike have been reported from a number of waters across Europe, including Holland, France, Poland, Germany and Italy, leading to more UK anglers venturing overseas in search of that elusive big predator. However, this year has proven difficult for Fabien:

“This year with high water levels on the venue, fishing has been difficult but perseverance and passion paid off for me as around 80 per cent of my outings have resulted in me walking away empty-handed. Observation is important, though, and sometimes it pays off as it eventually did for me with this fish,” he added.

Biggest Pike in the World

1: 55lb 1oz (25 kg) the World record landed by German Lothar Louis in October 1986 from Greffern Lake in Germany.

2: 55lb (24.9kg) in 2007 Italian angler Carlo Aimonetti came just one gram short of a new world record with the capture of a huge fish from alpine river fed Lake Maggiore in Northern Italy.

3: In 2009 Sylvain Legendre rocked the predator world with the capture of a huge pike estimated at around 55lb from D’Annecy Lake in Haute Savoie, France, the current French record.

4: The UK record is 46lb 13oz, caught by Roy Lewis in October 1992 at Llandegfedd Reservoir in South Wales.

5: In December 2012 Jeff Dandy caught what would be the biggest English pike at 46lb 1oz from Esthwaite Water in the Lake District, however he failed to photograph the fish, so despite being witnessed by a fellow angler it was never confirmed.