Response by Aaron O'Flaherty - August 2004
As far as I am aware, the largest Pike ever caught in Ireland was at the end of the 1800's in Lough Derg . It weighed in excess of 100lbs and was deemed to be over 7ft long. The age of a pike can be estimated by its weight as it grows by 1lb per year , making this pike in excess of 100 years old.

In the 1970's, I was told by various different sources that there was or used to be a very large pike or trout that inhabited the Park Lake. It apparently used to attack anglers and was known to have bitten through an angler's wadders, taking a chunk out of his leg and dragging him under water. This could have been told to keep kids from playing in the water but it became an urban myth at the time or is it true!!

Another thought I had about the giant pike was that people said the row boats had to be removed from the Lake because it had attacked one!! coincidence or truth the plot thickens....

YOUR RESPONSES:

Marty - Mar '07
Come on Mike, let us Lurgan ones have our big story big fella! You Scots have the Loch Ness Monster and we all believe it .....

Mike Rae - Nov 05
This story on the 100 year old /100lb pike is HIGHLY unlikely. I am an avid pike angler from Scotland and i think this as the pike only grows for 15 of a possible 25 years and that if you take the pike caught at Grarup lake in Denmark of 58lb as the largest rattified pike of our time then a 100 lber is very unlikely......arnt urban myths great things!! The pike of millions of years ago possibly reached this size but as this was of a different strain i dont think it really matters.

mike rae.....bailiffs angling club....scotland