I "Musk-ie" Tell You a Story.

Get it.

Oh, I am a clever one.

So I know Travis said we were really busy closing up the camp - which we are, I assure you.  However, we did take a full day hiatus to get some seriously overdue fishing in.  Travis is the best for lots of reasons, one of which he takes care of EVERYTHING when planning an adventure day.  All I have to do is make sure I wear enough layers of clothing so I don't get cold and that I pack enough snacks for a small army.

Sidenote: We watched part of the Patriots/Jets game last night and the only thing I really committed to memory was about a player (not sure which team) whose nickname was "snacks" and Travis and I both agreed that would be the perfect nickname for me as well.

Anywho.

Travis had been wanting to venture into a smaller lake in the area to do some muskie fishing.  I had never actually seen or caught a muskie before so I was game.  Travis loaded the tackle box with lots of ridiculous looking lures of giant proportions to help our chances.  I was having to take a break every 10 minutes from casting because my wrist was hurting.  For reel.  Heehee.  See what I did there?

The weather was pretty favorable on Wednesday, although we did have some lightning and thunder the night before.  It was partly sunny with some wind.  I learned muskies like to sun themselves, so this is good.

We had been casting for a while and I had been practicing my "figure eight" at the end of each cast (I'm telling you it will wear you out!) and dutifully watching to see if I got any follows.  Muskie are notorious for just popping up from the deep to watch your lure.  They are a very cautious and calculating fish species.  Chances are you will see some, but may not actually get any to strike.

Well let me tell ya... I got one to strike, my friends.  I  was reeling in a cast and contemplating taking another break to rest my wrist (say that 10 times fast) when BOOM!  There was a bit of a swell on the water surface and it instantly felt like something had slammed into the end of my line.  I was fairly certain it was NOT snagged on a rock.  I "calmly" (read: NOT calmly, but in fact with a voice full of panic) told Travis I thought I had a hit.

Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you I had been using a slightly broken reel.  Which means when you have a huge fish on the end of your line it can become slightly problematic.  I kept reeling in the fish, but letting it take out line if necessary, terrified of losing the fish the entire time.  Travis was getting our massive net ready when the fish went under the boat.  For those of you who don't know, this can be very bad.  Especially when you are using a broken-ish reel.

The pull at the end of my line was all of a sudden gone.  I thought I had lost it!  I have no idea how, but all of a sudden I could feel the weight again, however the line had wrapped around the rod mid-way down and my reel was officially broken at this point.  Meaning I can't bring the line in anymore.  Not a good scenario.

Somehow Travis netted the fish.  I'm telling you, he is awesome!  Best guide I've ever had.  We left the net in the water which was so big at first I didn't even see the fish in there.  I kept asking, "Did we get it?  Where is it?  Is it big?  I can't see it.  Are you sure its in there?"  It is so weird how the fish just kind of stop and stay still once in the net like that.

We wanted to act quickly.  Travis got the hook removed from the fish while keeping the net in the water.  I wish we had a video camera zoomed in on me during this entire process.  It would be hilarious.  I'd like to think that on the outside I was somewhat calm and collected, but inside I was like a little kid flailing my arms around running in circles like someone just gave me a pony while I was being chased by a terrifying monster.  I think my heart may have stopped.

We got the fish in the boat and measured it.  Again, acting as quickly as possible.  We wanted to get my picture and get the fish back in the water.  One slight problem.  I was scared of holding the fish.  I KNOW!  I don't know why.  I have no problem swimming in the water where these fish live, but when it is in my boat and I can see their massively sharp teeth I just can't do it.  Plus this fish was HEAVY.  I'm in decent shape.  I can lift big propane tanks and help Travis move motors around, but I couldn't get this fish off the floor of the boat.  I told Travis we should just get it back in the water (I get really paranoid about keeping a fish out of the water for too long) but he said "You are holding this fish and we are getting your picture!"  Okay, okay.

Here was the first picture he took:

We may have needed a bigger boat, no?

How about this one:

44.5 inches - and what a FAT fish!  

If you can't tell, I am struggling to keep that fish up for this picture.  I probably didn't do it justice.  That fish was impossibly hard and scary to hold.  I could barely hold it up!

After we released the fish back into the water we noticed that my lure had been completely ripped in half!

We also had to search the boat to find the various parts of my broken reel to try and put it back together.  I had to be very cautious the rest of the day with the stupid thing.  It is officially out of commission.  Totally worth it though!

Travis also had four really good follows which we could see from the boat, but nothing actually hit.  Oh well.  All in all it was a really fun day.  We will definitely be back!  

Rare catch - Tiger Muskie!

The 2013 fishing season has been excellent so it was a fitting end to see a very unique catch during this last week.  Tom landed a 31" Tiger Muskie on Red Lake.  This is only the second Tiger Muskie we have seen this season.

  

Tom was by himself when he landed the Tiger Muskie so here's a shot of the angler that caught and released the elusive fish.  

Here is a photo of the first Tiger Muskie this season.  My brother Carson landed a massive 41.5" fish with a growth on top of its head.

A Tiger Muskie is a cross between a Northern Pike and a Muskie.  Pike usually spawn first, but once in a great while a Pike will spawn late enough to match the Muskie spawn and presto - the Tiger Muskie.  Tigers grow faster than either pure strain parent and are usually infertile - part of what makes them so rare.  The dark bars on the light background can look similar to a pure "barred" Muskie, but the giveaway is the more rounded tail lobes (same as a Northern Pike) which are unique to the Tiger Muskie.  A barred Muskie has sharper pointed tail lobes.  

Need help identifying your catch?  Most fish caught are Northern Pike.  I know you didn't forget what a Pike looked like, but here's a refresher - Tom's 43.5" Northern off Red Lake.  See the light spots on a dark background and rounded tail lobes.  

Muskies are rare, but we do see a few each season.  Pike spawn earlier than Muskies do and young pike will prey on the baby Muskies which is one limiting factor to the muskie population.  There are three distinct patterns of pure Muskies (clear, spotted, and barred) and the cross between Pike and Muskie (Tiger Muskie).  Most Muskies caught here are the clear variety.  A common factor in all Muskies is dark markings or no markings on a light background which is the opposite of Pike.  

See Mike's 41.5" clear Muskie caught earlier this year as an example.  

Below is a barred Muskie that Carson caught last year.  It is similar to the Tiger Muskie, but note the pointed tail lobes.  

         Cosmo wants to remind everyone that he is a "Tiger Lab" since he has a rounded tail lobe as well.  

A rare breed puppy for sure!

Another way to identify Muskies vs. Pike is to count the pores on the underside of the jaw.  A Pike will have five or fewer on each side while a Muskie will have six to nine pores on each side of the jaw.  You can't use this to distinguish a Tiger Muskie though since they can inherit the pore count from either parent.  

As a side note, Tom's Tiger Muskie pushed us to a new season high for muskies caught and released - nine!  Carrie and I have a few more days left to see if we can make it double digits!  

Big Fish Week

Most of the group last week targeted Northern Pike and they came away with some beauties.

Troy's 44" Northern on Red Lake



Denise's 38" Northern on Red Lake



Ralph's 40" Northern on Parker Lake



Bob's 42.5" Northern on Red Lake



Cody's 42" Northern on Red Lake



Mike's 41.75" Northern on Parker Lake



Ralph's 38" Muskie on Red Lake



There was a good split on fish caught either by trolling or casting. The group also caught several muskies which is neat to see since we don't typically see many caught through the year.

It's supposed to be 92 here tomorrow which may be summer's last gasp since it is starting to feel like fall in the evenings. Until next time, tight lines!

Double Smallmouth Surprise!

Whitney continues to dominate the leaderboard, this time adding a nice 17" Smallmouth Bass caught on Parker Lake within a stone's throw of the dock. The next night Riley O'Dell wrangled a 16" Smallmouth Bass just a few yards away. If you've visited us before, you probably know how rare it is to catch a Smallmouth on Red Lake or Parker Lake so needless to say, we're pretty excited about these two fish.



Whitney, Riley, and I made the short trip down the highway to Flat Lake to chase Muskie and Smallmouth Bass. While we weren't fortunate enough to land any Muskie, we did catch two more Smallmouth Bass.

We are finally seeing an end to the drought with plenty of rain in the forecast this week. There are several forest fires burning in Northwest Ontario so hopefully the rain will aid the fire fighting efforts. Just a reminder - we are currently under a fire restriction so no open fires are allowed.

More Lunkers!

This week Carrie and Nick Mateja both caught 27" Walleye, creating a logjam on the leaderboard for biggest walleye of the year. We now have four anglers with 27" fish. Ryan Rote added a nice 25" Walleye out of Parker. Carrie's fish is pictured below.



Kari Marquardt also took the lead on the Muskie board with a nice 37" fish. See below. She also caught the first smallmouth bass of the year although we don't expect to see too many more.



The past two weeks have been dry and temperatures are gradually increasing with highs now in the upper 70s. The lake levels are finally dropping back down, but there is some rain in the forecast for the coming week.