Story byPress-Republican, Plattsburgh, N. Y. CHRIS GAIGE, The Press-Republican, Plattsburgh, N. Y. Sun, February 15, 2026 at 11:32 PM UTC·4 min readTUPPER LAKE — When Cayden Egelston plopped the 10.29-pound northern pike he caught down on the scale, Northern Challenge ice fishing derby organizer Scott LaLonde had a hunch that would be heavy enough to seal the deal. It was early, before 10 a. m., and catches were accepted at the derby — an annual event on Lake Simond on the first Saturday of February — through 3 p. m. But, by the Northern Challenge’s standard, this was a monster catch. Last year’s largest northern pike weighed in at 7.79 pounds. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“After I saw that one, I said, ‘oop, that’s probably the lunker pool winner,’” LaLonde said. Sure enough, Egelston’s catch held down the podium by a comfortable margin.
