We have been able to musky fish before the season closes. Normally the close happens before the ice is off the lakes. We've never had the opportunity to fish for them in March since we started pursuing them in a serious manner. No way we weren't taking advantage of this opportunity. Chasing muskies with flies its not a numbers game. They are tough enough to catch on gear, throwing flies into the mix lessens the odds even more. We knew those odds would go down with water temps in the upper 30s, but we had to try. We also know these fish will be at the heaviest they will be all year. My brother checked one of our favorite local lakes last week to confirm it was open enough, and plans were made. It felt good to pull into this lot again. Things were slow to start and we did a lot of searching. Still some ice in spots. Time for a fly change. Not sure if it was the fly change, the location, the timing, or all three...but things picked up. Anyone that has fished musky knows you normally have very small windows of opportunity. It can often be as little as 10 minutes of feeding activity in an entire day. We quickly had three follows including one large fish. Then it happened. My brother got our first musky of 2012. Musky fishing is definitely a team sport, and I think I was more excited than he was. Immediately after releasing that fish, my brother's phone rang and he had a serious matter to tend to. Tough to leave when the bite is happening, but they are just fish. That left us with an urge to get back out there and take advantage of this rare opportunity. The weather over the next couple days would turn cold, windy, and snow showers. I couldn't make it out until the afternoon, so my brother set out about an hour early and told me to meet him there. And of course, he caught the fish of his life before I could be there. He snapped a few pics during the fight to make sure he had some proof in case he lost it. I am pissed at myself for not being there. 1) To share in the moment, 2) to see a fish like this in person, and 3) to get good pictures of a great fish. This was the only shot he took with the camera on timer. A truly awesome fish, and probably the biggest fish in this particular lake.
That's cool, thanks for sharing the pics. Actually that's pretty dang impressive! Its hard enough to get a big mountain trout in on fly rod/reel I couldnt imagine a Musky.
Fantastic!!! Any idea on length of these fish? The one on the bottom looks to be a 42-45" fish....but man she has some girth. Our lakes are opening early too.......we have till 3/15 for pike/tigers before things close down until May, I'm hoping to get out this weekend for an outing with my little boat, .
Thanks to a mild winter I don't have to work overtime. Battery sales are down which means I get more time to spend with my family. Great pics Vito.
First fish was 40.5" and second was 48". Both measured on a bump board. Sucks the whole fish isn't in the pic. I agree the big fish doesn't look that long because she is so fat! Won't be long before she drops about 5 lbs of eggs and slims down in the spring/summer. Everyone woman wants to slim down when its warm out.
@ 48" that's well over 30lbs......fish of a lifetime for sure and on a fly rod to boot. Out here our pike hit 30lbs at about 50", and they aren't even close to being as thick as that girl is. Congrats again!!
Dang Matt! You may suck at hunting but you sho know how to rustle you up some fish!!! Congrats to you and your bro! ***disclaimer: the post above is in jest and does not accurately show how the poster actually feels but it was added for potential humorous input***
Congrats on the Muskies Vito! I'm ready to get out on the water too.. another few weeks and I'm chasing crappie!
Very cool. Nice looking fish. I'm not much of a fisherman but my GF loves it. She has caught a couple muskies. Her dad was a guide. Looks too cold for me. I'm a summer time fisherman. Congrats.
Very freaking cool!!! I will be chasing crappies in a few weeks myself. We can't go after muskies until May here in Wisconsin now.
Vito... my brother and I have been testing the creek in front of the house every couple days looking for some early walleyes to be running. Our ice went out way ahead of time. They close the season March 15th and close the creek at the same time. Can't be near it with a fish pole in hand. We keep hoping for a couple early walleyes. So far it's a bust. Oh well, 10 more days to try.
