More than 120 anglers gathered at Lake Saadjärv under a warm, summery sun to compete in the traditional "Saadjärve Haug" spinning competition for the 15th time. As only boats with engines of up to 10 horsepower are permitted on the lake in the Vooremaa Landscape Conservation Area, the day's fishing proceeded at a leisurely pace.

"The five longest pike count toward the result, with a minimum length of 52 centimeters. The lengths of the five pike are added together to determine the final result. Saadjärv is deep and large, with very clear water, so fishing here is difficult. You need to know the right spots and previous experience also helps," organizer Mart Toots said.

A total of 55 boat crews took part in Saturday's fishing competition at Lake Saadjärv, all trying to catch the longest pike.

"The fish are very finicky. You have to work the lure to entice them and they're very difficult to catch. Generally, if the fish aren't biting, there's nothing you can do to make them bite," Ivo said.

"We use something called a live sonar. It's a device that's like ultrasound underwater. It shows you how the fish are swimming in real time," Marcus said.

"We haven't had a single bite so far. It's been very poor. There are plenty of fish. They're picky, though, and don't want to follow the lure, so you have to work really hard," Kalmer said.

"It could be better, but we're actually happy with the three we've caught. When we first started 10 years ago, we didn't catch anything here at all," Margus said.

Although the day's average catch was around 60 centimeters long, Venno Viirsalu landed the longest pike, measuring 80 centimeters. Edgar Vaht and Allar Kukk took the overall victory, however, with their five pike measuring a combined 324 centimeters.

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