Fishing Report Outer Bay musky at last 11/05

[Reel-ist]

Well there must be something about Sunday. Thus far in my life, every time I catch one of the toothy fellahs, it’s on a Sunday. I had lines in the water by about 8:30 this morning. Trolling outer bay looking for pike and musky. Shortly after 12:00 Mother Erie smiled down on me. I had just wound in my line dispose of a bit of salad and was letting my line back out. The last time I looked at the reel counter it said 77 ft. Then all hell broke loose! Line started peeling off like crazy. It almost pulled the rod out of my hand. I started tightening the drag to slow whatever it was down and try to gauge how big this fish was. Once I realized it was a biggun, I had about 122 ft of line out and decided to keep the drag loose enough to prevent some part of my rig from letting go. At one point there was 228 feet of line out. After a bit, I made some headway and then, after a few more runs, I stated to get the upper hand. It took about 15 minutes to get it close enough to see it and another 5 minutes to get it along side the boat. There was no way this thing was going to fit into my net, the basket was way to shallow. I put my rod into the vertical holder to free up both hands and used my lip gripper in one hand and grabbed the leader with the other to get this bad girl into the boat.



She was 48 inches long. My lip gripper’s built -in scale goes up to 30 pounds and that was not near enough to get a weight on this one. That would not only be my P.B. for musky, but the biggest fish of my life so far. All in all a thrilling experience - I only peed a little bit.
Again, apologies for the image, I really have to get a mount for my phone. Just to put it into perspective, this one all but completely spanned my boat floor at the transom. That lure protruding from her mouth is my trusty Berkley Hit Stick 15 in “rainbow” pattern. Magic speed was 3.7 mph (GPS), 15 FOW, 65 lb braid only had approx 77 ft of line out flat-lining and in the process of letting more out. The magic happened at around 12:15.

As you might expect, it took a bit to revive her, but she swam off to fight another day. I don’t know which of us was more gassed when all was said and done.

 

[Dmanwithnoname]

Crazy fish dude, well done. She looks well fed.

Got one around that size trolling with a worm harness on st Clair about 10 years ago out of season while going after early season walleye. I ended up cutting the line after revival as I was in a 14 foot aluminum solo and had no way to get it in the boat. Every time I got close to the mouth it would open wide just to let me know it was pissed. It measured from the oar lock to the transom. Pretty crazy on an ugly stick baitcaster combo from ctc lol.

 

[Bigdaver]

Well there must be something about Sunday. Thus far in my life, every time I catch one of the toothy fellahs, it’s on a Sunday. I had lines in the water by about 8:30 this morning. Trolling outer bay looking for pike and musky. Shortly after 12:00 Mother Erie smiled down on me. I had just wound in my line dispose of a bit of salad and was letting my line back out. The last time I looked at the reel counter it said 77 ft. Then all hell broke loose! Line started peeling off like crazy. It almost pulled the rod out of my hand. I started tightening the drag to slow whatever it was down and try to gauge how big this fish was. Once I realized it was a biggun, I had about 122 ft of line out and decided to keep the drag loose enough to prevent some part of my rig from letting go. At one point there was 228 feet of line out. After a bit, I made some headway and then, after a few more runs, I stated to get the upper hand. It took about 15 minutes to get it close enough to see it and another 5 minutes to get it along side the boat. There was no way this thing was going to fit into my net, the basket was way to shallow. I put my rod into the vertical holder to free up both hands and used my lip gripper in one hand and grabbed the leader with the other to get this bad girl into the boat.

View attachment 81645

She was 48 inches long. My lip gripper’s built -in scale goes up to 30 pounds and that was not near enough to get a weight on this one. That would not only be my P.B. for musky, but the biggest fish of my life so far. All in all a thrilling experience - I only peed a little bit.
Again, apologies for the image, I really have to get a mount for my phone. Just to put it into perspective, this one all but completely spanned my boat floor at the transom. That lure protruding from her mouth is my trusty Berkley Hit Stick 15 in “rainbow” pattern. Magic speed was 3.7 mph (GPS), 15 FOW, 65 lb braid only had approx 77 ft of line out flat-lining and in the process of letting more out. The magic happened at around 12:15.

As you might expect, it took a bit to revive her, but she swam off to fight another day. I don’t know which of us was more gassed when all was said and done.

Congratulations on getting a personal best two years in a row!!!! You’ve raised the bar pretty high!!!! Can’t wait to see pictures of your PB next year!

 

[Reel-ist]

Thanks Bigdaver. It was looking for a while like there were going to be no musky at all for me this year. Needless to say, I think anyone in a boat within a10k radius heard me whoop when that finally made it to the boat.

 

[Reel-ist]

Thanks Dman. I was solo in a 16 ft tinnie, so I know exactly what you were facing. I had a net with me. The diameter was fine but the depth of it was not enough to get the beast more than about half way in. It’s a good thing she was well-hooked, or she would have gotten off while I was trying to figure out how to get her landed. I think it was pure adrenalin that got it in the boat. I was extra careful getting her back in the lake quickly and baby sat her quite a while to get her revived. It would have been a shame to see her perish.

 

[Fshrmn4life]

Thanks Dman. I was solo in a 16 ft tinnie, so I know exactly what you were facing. I had a net with me. The diameter was fine but the depth of it was not enough to get the beast more than about half way in. It’s a good thing she was well-hooked, or she would have gotten off while I was trying to figure out how to get her landed. I think it was pure adrenalin that got it in the boat. I was extra careful getting her back in the lake quickly and baby sat her quite a while to get her revived. It would have been a shame to see her perish.

Great catch that's a beauty!!! Sounds like you're going to need to invest in a bigger net chasing them big girls as the next one could break the 50 mark lol

 

[Reel-ist]

Fshrmn4life :

Several lessons were learned from that most recent musky encounter: bigger net ( all metal construction Beckman will be my next one), a scale with a 50 lb capacity (to actually get a weight on the fish rather than 30+ pounds), and a device of some sort to hold my phone to take proper pictures (instead of laying on the boat floor method). It’s a learning curve for sure.

 

[G.Mech]

Fshrmn4life :

Several lessons were learned from that most recent musky encounter: bigger net ( all metal construction Beckman will be my next one), a scale with a 50 lb capacity (to actually get a weight on the fish rather than 30+ pounds), and a device of some sort to hold my phone to take proper pictures (instead of laying on the boat floor method). It’s a learning curve for sure.

Unless you have a cradle, I would avoid weighing them with a scale. You have to hang them vertically to do so and it's very hard on them especially if they thrash around. If you can measure the length and girth of the fish on a bump board, there is a chart that will give you the weight fairly accurately, I will post it once I dig it out. Glad you are taking the time and making the effort to get the right stuff, it's important.

 

[Tyler0420]

Unless you have a cradle, I would avoid weighing them with a scale. You have to hang them vertically to do so and it's very hard on them especially if the thrash around. If you can measure the length and girth of the fish on a bump board, there is a chart that will give you the weight fairly accurately, I will post it once I dig it out. Glad you are taking the time and making the effort to get the right stuff, it's important.

I hope more and more anglers catch on to using a cradle/sling to weigh fish. I find musky and carp anglers take most care of their fish for the most part. As a carp angler I use a big fine mesh net so no damage to the scales a landing mat so they don’t flop around on the rocks and a retention sling to weigh fish and let them settle before releasing.

 

[G.Mech]

Here is the MCI chart that is pretty well accepted. Most fishermen and even tournaments don't use weight to gauge the size of a musky, they use length x girth in inches. In all honesty, I have never weighed a musky.....

 

[Reel-ist]

Thanks for the tips G.Mech and Tyler0420. I assure you that my intent is to ensure the speedy recovery of any of these big beauties that I have the pleasure of crossing paths with. I have now seen and heard from a few different sources that holding the big specimens vertically is, or at least can be, harmful, and now my plan will be to avoid doing that. I was considering not bringing the big ones into the boat at all if it came down to it. I have not seen a hammock type system up close or in operation. It sounds like the ideal way to go for minimum impact on the fish. Is such a rig with an integrated scale commercially available? I am pretty new to the musky experience and I will defer to your more vast experience for pointers any time you’re willing to provide them. Thanks for the chart and the formula as well.

G.Mech I am not sure what you meant by the term “bump board”. I am familiar with the flat measuring boards. Does this bump board also have something to measure girth too? I am at a bit of a loss as to how to get an accurate girth on a squirming/thrashing fish.

It has kind of dawned on me lately that the experience of catching these sorts of fish is such an enjoyable one, that all the stats, photos and other things can really be just an unnecessary complicating factor unless it’s required to get exact measurements for a derby or to verify a record etc. I am sure it’s quicker and more efficient when there is two or more people in the boat to assist in getting the fish back into the water quickly, but I am most often alone in my little boat.

Also, I am wondering about the practice of releasing a big specimen with a hook embedded in the mouth rather than risking further damage spending time and using a fair degree of force to remove it. The one in the photo above had two of the three hooks on the rear treble buried very well in its bottom jaw and I contemplated clipping the hook off. I have heard that they can shake them or that they dissolve them in short order, but am not sure how to assess the truth of such statements. It sounds like something somebody made up to feel better about doing that. Can anyone weigh in on that?

As usual, the page is a treasure trove of useful information. Thanks for commenting and correcting my ignorant practices and thanks to all in advance for any further tips and tricks and answers to my questions - especially anything that assists in the conservation of such a valuable resource.

 

[G.Mech]

The bump board will give you an accurate length but getting a girth measurement isn't easy by yourself, you have to wrap a cloth tape around the critter. I don't fuss over stats too much either and only measure a girth on bigger fish which I do in my recovery tank that makes it far easier. I always try and get all the hooks out whether I cut them or not. If I do cut them and leave a piece in I cut them as flush as possible and that is only if they are right into the bone. I don't have a cradle since I use the recovery tank but will ask at our meeting tonight and find out what is available, lots of guys use them for revival and for weighing fish.

Don't beat yourself up or allow others to do it either, everyone has to learn somehow.

 

[Reel-ist]

G.Mech:
Thanks for clearing a few things up for me. Sometimes it’s tough to sort out the fact from the fiction. I seem to recall previous photos of your recovery tank on board your boat from a past post on the site. I sort of modelled my homemade live well along the same lines, long and narrow with both an aerator and a freshwater pump. However, even though it spans almost the entire beam of my boat at its widest point, it was not big enough to put the big girl in without a pretty significant bend. She was 1/4 of the length of my little Starcraft tinnie. Without a sling or hammock of my own, I just towed her along side the boat gently with the lip grippers until she started to get a little spunky again. It took a bit of time, but when I released the grippers, she did disappear, right side up, under the surface with a pretty strong thrash of her tail after several minutes under tow. Perhaps a little crude, but seemingly effective.

It took me some time to recover too. It was a really long tug of war for both of us. I have to sit down for the most part in my boat during the reel in process so I am not really using any lower body muscles to assist in the landing. I am always in awe of the power and sheer force that a good size musky can generate and sustain. It is literally a living, breathing muscle.

 

[Lizzy_911_]

@Reel-ist A lot of good info already posted above.
I agree with all of it, and would like to say thanks for being open to some positive, constructive criticism.
As a muskie guy, it's really difficult to try and pass along info when everyone gets offended and think they know it all.
We all continue to learn even after countless years of fishing.
Especially trying a new species.
Thanks!

 

[Reel-ist]

Lizzy_911_
Though I am an older guy, I started fishing earnestly on Erie only a few short years ago. Since that time, I have been actively asking questions on this site and getting great advice this whole time (possibly driving a few guys kinda nuts in the process). Certain guys, including G.Mech. Scrimmy, Wave Runner and too many others to mention here weigh in frequently and have been a wealth of information. By and large, when the limits of my small craft and budget permits, I get equipped or change my tactics as suggested and carry on all the better for it. I would prefer though when posters don’t send the message in “all caps”. That hasn’t happened too frequently though, it’s a very positive atmosphere here.

Learning about Muskie is a bit tougher — when you’re fishing deep into the fall and almost all your fishing buddies have all packed it in for the winter. I caught my first muskie unexpectedly and have been kind of drinking from the firehouse ever since as I try to get up to speed.

You might notice that I put a lot of stats and details when I post. I am sure it’s tedious to some, but I remember earlier along in the learning curve, scanning posts looking for details that I could emulate and learn from and try to be as informative as those earlier posters were to me. I appreciate all the advice and paying it forward is the only way it works. Humility is like hot sauce, a little goes a long way.