Late winter/early spring is the perfect time for trophy northern pike right here in northern Illinois.
Corey Fox showed just that with his beautifully marked 35.5-inch pike, weighing 15.4 pounds, caught from the Iroquois River on a jig and twister over the weekend.
FOTW, the celebration of big fish and good stories, runs Wednesdays on the Sun-Times outdoors page. The story part or fishing of the moment, such as this one, matters as much as the big fish part, generally.
Send nominations by Facebook (Dale Bowman), Twitter (@BowmanOutside) or email (straycasts@sbcglobal.net).