Pre-Wedding Muskies

[BlueEye]

Well its now only 2 days before my wedding and I am shaking harder that one of Zach’s crankbaits! Speaking of which, thank you again Zach for the AWESOME wedding present (see picture below). Katie and I were thrilled and I was told specifically by the future wife that I was NOT allowed to use this lure for fishing but rather to save it. I told her the lure would mean a lot more to me if had some teeth marks in it so she agree that I could use it if I wanted.

In an attempt to ease my nerves and get my mind off current events, I decided it would be fun to head out fishing with my buddy, Mike Sperry, for a day. I took my younger brother (Todd) along and was really excited for him as this was his first time ever going musky fishing. Mike and I are casters by heart and I knew Todd would be in for a long day of casting and was interested to see how well he would hold up. He did FANTASTIC and infact out casted Mike and I in terms of total time (but not total fish . While Todd couldn’t get any hooks into any ski’s this time around, he did manage to catch a fish SMALLER than his lure – a truly hard feat to accomplish if you ask me!

It wasn’t long after Todd boated that beast that I got my first rip of the day tossing a big bucktail. The fish hit in about 2-3 feet of water as I casted towards shore. I didn’t get 2 turns of the handle on before the strike. Once we got the fish in the net (38 incher), we noted that some old scared over hook marks giving away the fish had been caught before and reminding me again why I love musky fishing so much. Here was a fish that now most likely made the day for myself and someone prior to me and was released again unharmed to hopefully make the day for another lucky angler down the road. It’s no wonder why the size and quality of the fish in that lake is some of the best you will find anywhere in the world.

We fished everywhere yesterday from the Bridge all the way up to the flats and I could say that we were able to raise fish in every spot. Mike landed another small guy (30 inches) and we had several bigger guys (mid-40’s) to the boat but unable to get hooks in them. One of the highlights of the night was when I forgot to pay to attention to my lure at the boat and pulled it out of the water too quickly only to realize there was a 40†fish following deep on it that I never saw. Well I pulled my lure out of the water to make my next cast and the fish was so hot after it that it actually came ENTIRELY out of the water 2 feet and did a back flip right at the boat. I could have touched the fish as I was looking at it almost eye level. It scared the heck out of me but was amazing to see and something I won’t forget anytime soon.

We ended the day with 2 fish and 5 follows. The fish are certainly on the feed now and I am hoping the weekend tournament sets up well for everyone. It seems like both a trolling and casting bite are on right now depending on your preference. Best of luck to each of you fishing the tournament and wish me luck as I discover what it is I have really been fishing for in life this Saturday This one has been following my bait for a while now and it’s time to get some hooks in her – she is a certain derby winner!

[zach]

thanks for the report chad- i bet that one that jumped would have had no problem on the 8 if he was that hot! the weather didn't look too bad and looks like everyone had a decent time. i love it when they hit right after the lure lands, catches me off guard everytime it has happened. 2 fow huh? wait until bob hears that and almost trolls himself up on shore. lmao. good to see you got bit and now its on to the important stuff! best luck and thanks for posting again! bty in that musky pic i can see your pink backpack. nice, i use one just like that as my fanny pack when i try to pick up the ladies. any idea what the water temp was?

[BlueEye]

Hahah - Zach that pink backpack was my brother fiances that she used to pack his lunch in for him for the trip the night before. I wish I had such cool equipment as Todd to help pick up the ladies

Water temp was 64 in the north end. Will probably cool down a little after all this rain here.

Hope this helps!

Chad

[ray koziatek]

Uh chad 2 days before the wedding talking of picking up ladies.....

I hope you got a prenup so she cant take 1/2of the lou.

Did ya fill her in on the cruise yet

and i thought i was gonna have a cold hard winter.

maybe jerry will let us stay in the barn.

I see it now Dear members , i know the site has been screwed up for a week but the wife has me doing other things (rub bunions) ill fix it next fri.

[chowder]

Great report! Years ago I was casting for panfish& perch w/ an ultralight spinning rig out of a kayak. I brought in a fair perch which I planned on resting in front of me, on the kayak to unhook, when a tremendous tiger (which like yours must have been following the perch deep) made a sliding leap over my lap and the top of the kayak, grabbed the perch and swam off.

[joeclutch]

i was just reading this, this morning, congrat's on the wedding coming up AND the muskie's! also, those are great looking lures. if i may just ask, where did you guys go fishing?