Sam, this picture deal is great!
I'm one of those computer idiots. This is a major step for me!
About that fish. Ryan (my son) and I went on a muskie hunt to the French River in ontario. It's a 15 hour drive from here, and known for being trophy water. Not a lot of muskies but there are some giants up there.
This fish was 52" and estimated 35 pounds. It was released.
We planned this trip for a year! It was to be a one week stay. We caught two muskies, lots of pike and walleye. We ran across this big saddle between two islands, it went from 80' of water to 6' with a good weedbed and some rocks. Prime stuff! All our big fish came from this area. The biggest pike was 38", the biggest walleye was 28".
We usually get out early and fish just past lunch, head in and relax for awhile and eat an early dinner. Go back out about 5:oopm and fish till dark. A long day chucking muskie plugs! And a very long week! This fish was caught on a bucher shallow raider, a 9" plug. All our good fish were caught on this one lure.
We use 400 shimano calcuttas with 65 pound power pro with a 80 pound steel leader. 7' heavy action muskie rods. We fish with the drag screwed down tight!!! What you do is cast the bait and work it back to the boat, when it's 2' from the rod tip you push the button to go into free spool and go right into a figure eight controlling the spool with your thumb. Go once around and if there is no fish cast right out again. Muskies have this nasty habit of following baits right to the boat and when they see the bait making the eight they may strike. To make the figure eight you push the rod tip into the water and do a nice eight with the bait. Sometimes go around for 10 times or so if a fish is following. They will go away a short distance to size the bait up and come back and eat it right at your feet!
This fish hit Ryan's bait just before the figure eight!!!
We never saw it until it came out of the water with the bait in it's mouth. The fish was under the boat, hit the bait and surfaced close enough to reach over and touch it! Only 2' or so of the fish came out of the water, then it sounded, Ryan sets the hook. He connects and now has this fish on with only two feet of line out and no drag!!! :mrgreen: He had to control the fish with his thumb on the spool. It was on now! The fish comes back toward me and then jumps the first time, dives again and heads out toward the front of the boat. It comes up again and tailwalks away from us just like a sailfish. It crosses the front of the boat and to the other side. Jumps again. It swims back to the back of the boat and I fear that we have lost it. It is back behind the motor, if it comes up again it will hang the line in the prop. But Ryan is able to pull the fish back and away from the motor, it goes to the side of the boat for one last jump and then he swings it to me for the net job.
It is the greatest feat of angling I have ever seen and we will remember it the rest of our lives.
05-08-2006, 05:20 PM
Giant French River Muskie
Nice Fish & report :up:
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