Finally got my 50"!

[zach]

had a five fish morning fishing by myself and got my first ever measured 50"er! a front came through and bam i went 5 for 6 and left before 2pm. 4 of the fish came on the same lure including the big one. floating weeds were sort of an issue and water temp was 78 degrees. i took the fish out of the water for a pic b/c it was my first real 50 inch fish and i wanted a picture, all of the others never left the water and i know it would have been better not to lift it out but come on- i wanted a pic. right when i was ready to give up on this certain body of water it has given up a 48.5" and a 50" to me. when i saw the fish in the water as i was fighting it, it looked huge and i sort of got nervous but i got lucky and it was hooked well. thanks for letting me share my cool morning with you. so far- 13 muskies and 7 tigers on a Father's fishing schedule which means like once every 2 weeks if i am lucky. a person saw me fighting this fish and came over to grab a pic so that is where these first few came from.

some of the smaller ones.

i should have had more pics but when i went to take a picture of my big one the camera said memory card full. i panicked and just erased the last ones i had took to make room for more pics.

[Has Been]

Sweet dude!!

[old man]

wow,nice fish! i have to laugh at the word"finally",though. i've been stuck at48" for 3 decades.

[JOE ESOX]

Awesome... She's a beauty for sure. Is that a sleeping bag i see in the boat? Now that is badass

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[Nalod]

Amazing fish zach! Congrats on breaking the 50 barrier.

--Joe

[NitroMusky]

wow thats awesome zach! that 'particular body of water' had been very good to you the past two years ;)i think you've conquered it now.

btw -the smile on your face is priceless.

oh and I don't know what you're talking about with this fathers fishing schedule...once every two weeks my a$$...I want your schedule!

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[BlueEye]

Congrats Zach - that is just awesome! Great pictures

[1fish2fish]

Great going Zach. Nice fish!!

By the way, how did you get it that little net??

By the looks of the stuff in the boat (sleeping bag, lantern, etc.), this once 'every two weeks'

trip was going to last a while!

Jim

[FX]

Great fish!! Looks like the Bills are gonna win this year

Shawn

[zach]

thanks guys! i have been chasing that magical 50" mark since i started fishing muskies in 1995 when i got my first musky. so "old man" i was stuck below 50" for 3 decades also. came close a few times w/ some 48's, and a 49" but no cigar. yes- that is a sleeping bag, lantern, spot light and 2 headlamps in the boat w/ me along w/ some berry punch which i must have drank a gallon of. i have noticed if i drive down and try to fish that same day often i am too tired to safely make it home w/ my eyes open, so i drive down the night before and night fish until i am too tired and sleep in the boat if its not raining. it was funny b/c when i accidently slept in until 8am a woman in a kayak comes up to my anchored boat and scared the crap outta me by saying "hello? is anyone in there" i shot up like a rocket, scared to death b/c i was sleeping so peacefully w/ the sound of the waves hitting the boat and from no where here's this voice! needless to say i was up for good. the lure i got this good one on has been super hot for me this year w/ 8 fish on it! so i haven't conquered fishing it at all b/c next time out i will probally get skunked nitro, so its not me i just have a hot lure. as for the bills winning? we will just have to wait to see about it. the lesson i learned on this fish is to always have those hook cutters close to all your landing tools b/c i had to cut all 3 hooks out of that fish. the lure was sideways entirely in its mouth and looking at those teeth there wasn't a chance of me sticking my hand in there or pliers reaching the hooks good enough to get them out. bty it was pretty tough holding onto the rod and netting it myself, i got her on the first pass by and felt lucky i did it quickly. i am usually decent at netting them my self but i got alittle nervous trying to net it w/ that heavy net all alone. she is still in that lake, just alittle more educated after seeing my ugly mug and getting stung by some hooks. i hope everyone gets a chance at a good one like this as i concider myself lucky that everything went correctly. usually on the big ones "something" happens and they get free. this fish was very strong and kept diving under the boat trying to go deep. boy did she give me some super strong headshakes! good luck everyone that is going out and thanks for the congrats! i wonder how many casts i have made and how many hours i have put in trolling for this 50"? it is pretty sobering to think about! anyone notice the trolling motor in the water? it usually doesn't get too wet on my boat.

[johnnywalleye]

congrats!!! beautiful fish

[old man]

woman in a kayak story rings a bell. last time i slept in the boat was 9/11. guy pulls up and wakes me;tells me about all the crap in new york city. i went back to the truck and turned on the radio. went home and parked my butt in front of the tv. i had two boys in the service then.9/11,NEVER FORGET!

[solgrande]

Nice zach......got some great pics

[zach]

yeah but i think that taking it outta the water made a tougher release. the little ones took right off, this bigger one took me a solid 10 minutes of working it to get her to swim off even though i only had her out of the water for a very short time. i like to think about how long i can hold my breath and not keep them in the air any longer than that. she did go, but it had me rethinking the time out of water. who's gonna post the next 50"? it won't be me for another 15 years at this rate.

[Nalod]

I will be at the "certain body of water" for the entire last week of July. Seeing pictures like this and also the sizes at the last tournament always gives me hope! I am really getting nervous of the water temps though.

--Joe

[Pike Hunter]

Way to go Zach! Congratulations on your big catch!

[zach]

gotta get more of those musky rockets, they are on fire! most well made plug that is built today imo! no more falling apart or chunks missing and bent screw eyes from them like other lures after a tangle or two w/ a musky! highly, highly recommend them to anyone.

[Musky Lips]

Great fish, looks to be near the North end of the lake that won't be named.....I am very impressed with the people on this forum. Good to hear other fisherman that are humble and also knowlegable about these great fish. Zach, you are a complete nut (I mean that in a good way)!! I feel like a sissy after seeing you with a sleeping bag and lantern. Look forward to meeting all of you in the future.......

[BlueEye]

Great group of musky guys here Musky Lips. I have met most of them in person and they are a lot of fun and always willing to share lots of info with you.

[zach]

after 16 years of chasing muskies- if i wasn't humble before hand, i am now. they make you that way after time. we all get hot sometimes and we all then go a long time between fish so we understand when its hot to enjoy it 'cause i may be awhile before we get to see another fish. it's funny that you say we are humble, because i think the most cocky fisherman out there are the bass fisherman and they chase small fish that hit anything plastic . as for me being a "nut"? maybe (depends who you ask)... i don't get to fish as often as i want because of responsibilites at home, so when i get to go out i call 'em "musky missions" and fish as hard as i can, to do the best i can. anyways welcome to chad's awesome site, he puts hard work into it. i just discovered it last year.

[Musky Lips]

The other hilarious thing you mentioned is "king of the lake we won't mention".......This guy is GREAT!!! He fishes out of season and usually has more than the legal number of rods, exaggerates on the number and size of fish (I don't know about you guys but I will usually not tell the truth either but it is the other way) and likes to cut people off.....as you may already know, he is a complete egomaniac....We refer to him as "musky douche".... just thought it was funny some of you know him as well.....

[NitroMusky]

hey ML

welcome aboard! i like to think that we're the antithesis of douches here and its nice to have another who shares the addiction(affliction?) around here.

give us the 411...where you from etc...

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[zach]

i am told not to comment on him....... those that fish that certain lake all know who he is, i just call him "bob's buddy" !

[Musky Lips]

I don't know if this is a forum or just a place to go for musky addicts. Kinda like a muskies anonymous. Anyways, I live in Chili (not too far from most of you). I usually venture down to "the lake we won't mention" every Thurs. for a couple of days during the season. One of the guys I work with has a cottage there, which is nice because you don't have to sleep in your boat . We have been doing this for about 7 years now and absolutely look forward to it each and every week. If you are ever there Thurs. (after dark) or Friday morning I will be more than happy to cook a meal for all of us (I am the cook usually) .....I know I have seen some if not all of you from time to time... Jamie

[zach]

free meal? i'm in! don't worry i won't invite more than 10 people with me over at a time. hey nitro- free meal, bring the whole family and neighbors it's on! best meal i have had at "()>,":*%#?.$@/" lake was when solgrande hooked me up with some grilled sausage in the parking lot trying to get all my secrets. so, whats for dinner?