56" SLR Musky Today !

[choo-choo]

I am still shaking from the "Fish Thrill" of my lifetime today. I fished with my musky guru friend Bruce aboard his penn yan "Bear Necessity" today on the St. Lawrence.We were covering lot's of water searching and occasionally clearing lines of weeds and some fleas when we got an absolute violent ,screaming hit that nearly tore the rod holder off the boat. I grabbed the rod that was being kept from going overboard by a safety tether....and it was game on. The Beast surfaced and thrashed out about 150 feet and it took my breath away and scared me to death at the same time. I tried to get Bruce to take the rod and fight the fish because I was afraid of losing it! He said "no way" Ive got to clear lines and steer the boat. Well she sounded and thrashed around, took me a long while to get her close then panic set in again, no wire leader on that particular lure and the lure was buried out of sight in the musky's mouth ! She jumped, cleared the water and sounded again... and I thought it was all over but got lucky and was able work her back and steer her to the net !Bruce could not lift her into the boat(neither could I)...the 2 of us had to lift her!

Here's a pic from my cell phone

We did have a little time removing and cutting out the hooks, but we were able to get her back in the water and she revived and released really well...awesome day, awesome fight, and awesome sight watching her swim off and out of sight towards the bottom. I will never forget that fish...and I'm sure I will never top her.

Edited October 9, 2015 by choo-choo

[old man]

Wowser!

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[315angler]

Excellent fish!!!

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[dannydock]

Congratulations. ..awesome fish

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[Fisherman72]

Nice job

[Missdemeanor]

 Holy Smokes....Congrats

[EsoxOnly]

Awesome report and amazing fish. Thanks for sharing! Congratulations.

[jimmay]

Nice. Congrats.

[fishing fool]

Great fish and awesome story ,way to go!!

[muskiedreams]

Great fish!!

Please don't take me wrong but I am concerned about muskies being released safely with as little trauma as possible. Here are some improvements that can be made over what was done. 1) Larger coated net with tighter and thicker mesh to help keep from damaging the fins (you can see in the picture the net is torn through the tail fin). 2) Always use a high quality steel leader or very heavy fluorocarbon leader and check it often for damage. 3) Keep the fish in the water while removing or cutting hooks if possible. With some larger boats it may not be possible but everything you can do to minimize time out of water or anything that will rub slime off the fish will reduce the chance of delayed mortality. Wet any surface the fish will come in contact with. If you can, lift the fish out of the net while it is in the water instead of lifting the fish out of the water with the net.

 

Again, please don't take this wrong.

Edited October 8, 2015 by muskiedreams

[Ronix 51]

Great fish! Awesome catch and one that many anglers will spend a lifetime to try and accomplish!

I don't mean to be a downer but I'll be that guy and mention that if that's how a "guru" handles a fish especially of that caliber then it has me re-thinking the definition...

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[Gene Shenk]

_{Nice Fish and Congrats!}

 _{Oh and by the way if you don’t want to be a downer and spoil what was an awesome moment for the guy you might just want to start another thread about improved ways of handling Musky’s at the boat,  instead of dropping it on his post.}

[Tigerhunter]

Nice fish!

 

_{Nice Fish and Congrats!}

 _{Oh and by the way if you don’t want to be a downer and spoil what was an awesome moment for the guy you might just want to start another thread about improved ways of handling Musky’s at the boat,  instead of dropping it on his post.}

There is a "pinned" thread at the top of this forum discussing safe catch and release practices. I thought the exact same thing as Ronix when I saw the word "guru".

[Ivan]

Nice fish choo-choo.  The St Lawrence produces some of the largest, if not the largest, muskies on the planet.  Low density or numbers go hand in hand with that.  The resource/muskie population is very fragile and important there.

[EsoxAC3]

First SLR muskie post ive seen this fall.... I was starting to get worried, lol.

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[Legacy]

wow

[ontherise]

Is that the only picture?

[choo-choo]

Great fish!!

Please don't take me wrong but I am concerned about muskies being released safely with as little trauma as possible. Here are some improvements that can be made over what was done. 1) Larger coated net with tighter and thicker mesh to help keep from damaging the fins (you can see in the picture the net is torn through the tail fin). 2) Always use a high quality steel leader or very heavy fluorocarbon leader and check it often for damage. 3) Keep the fish in the water while removing or cutting hooks if possible. With some larger boats it may not be possible but everything you can do to minimize time out of water or anything that will rub slime off the fish will reduce the chance of delayed mortality. Wet any surface the fish will come in contact with. If you can, lift the fish out of the net while it is in the water instead of lifting the fish out of the water with the net.

 

Again, please don't take this wrong.

Hey no problem muskiedreams, I love and respect these muskies and so does my friend Bruce. The musky's well being is THE most important thing and we do everything possible to make sure we have a quick release with as little damage and trauma as possible. Maybe a tighter mesh net would be better, but it is a very large high quality net with a 42" long hoop opening. We use steel leaders for all most all of the lures but there are a few that he likes to use heavy mono instead of the steel/wire leaders. There was no way we were going to lift that musky out of the water without it in the net due to the size of the fish along with the high sides on the boat and transom, especially in the chop.

Thanks for all the nice comments from you guy's and well intentioned criticism. It was a great thrill for me, and Bruce was real happy too. He and his wife Anne have been catching and carefully releasing these awesome fish for over 30 years on the St. Lawrence, And I am very lucky to have them as fiends and musky teachers.

No musky magic today, trolled long and hard with only 1 slam / release /nobody home to show for it.But the thrill of yesterdays fish of a lifetime for me made todays skunk easy to take....besides it was a beautiful day out there weatherwise.We're gonna try again next week,can't wait.

Good luck to all you guy's and I hope you all can land a long, giant,heavy musky sometime...quite a thrill.A fish I will never top....but will try !!

Edited October 9, 2015 by choo-choo

[choo-choo]

First SLR muskie post ive seen this fall.... I was starting to get worried, lol.

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There have been a few others taken and released in the last 2 weeks...2 which were an hour after dark..wink wink Edited October 8, 2015 by choo-choo

[EsoxAC3]

Great fish! Always exciting.

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[muskiedreams]

choo-choo, I'm glad you understand that I was not trying to bash you. I just saw that picture with the fish laying in the back of the boat with the net torn through the tail fin and became concerned. I realize that with a big boat, it is not possible to keep the fish in the net at boatside while removing or cutting the hooks and you just have to do the best you can. I do hope your friend considers using a fin saver type muskie net. They have thicker netting and a tighter mesh so it won't tear through the fins as easily, and if it does, it probably won't go as deep. The netting also has a coating that helps to keep the net from removing protective slime. I believe the hoop and the bag are also larger. Also, with the coating, the hooks don.t penetrate through the cord of the net as easily.

 

Again, Great fish. I would be happy getting a 50". I know someone who got a SLR 56" this year while jigging. His description of the experience was incredible. He tells me that in the SLR they fight harder than anywhere else he has fished for them.

[muskiedreams]

First SLR muskie post ive seen this fall.... I was starting to get worried, lol.

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SLR anglers are much quieter about posting about their catches than in other waters. It is just that way in low density and/or natural trophy musky waters and small waters. It can be the same way on some walleye waters and trout streams. I don't think it matters so much with the SLR because the water is so huge and success rates so low.

[Kevin J Legg]

Great fish and I'm glad you took the release criticism so well ( many wouldn't have) I honestly believe they were simple trying to educate everyone. I've never fished for muskies, although I have caught a few small ones incidentally. Every year I say I'm going to put in some time and target them but once hunting season starts.............. Perhaps I should troll a few hours after chasing ducks.

Good luck to all of you Muskie hunters. It's a beautiful time to be on the SLR!

[JOE ESOX]

Nice fish! Spent the last couple days trolling up there. Only muskie was a small one but the pike were big and hungry. The muskie population is so fragile there and the guys on this site are just trying to look out for them and educate on safe handling/release practices. I think there are always things we can change/improve no matter how experienced we are.  I bet you will remember that fish/experience for the rest of your life! There is nothing like the rush you feel when you know a giant is on the end of your line...and in the St. Lawrence... there is something magical about that river to me.  This is what makes muskie fishing so special and makes the guys that hunt them so crazy about protecting the species. Thanks for sharing choo choo and keep it up!


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Edited October 13, 2015 by JOE ESOX

[choo-choo]

Nice fish! Spent the last couple days trolling up there. Only muskie was a small one but the pike were big and hungry. The muskie population is so fragile there and the guys on this site are just trying to look out for them and educate on safe handling/release practices. I think there are always things we can change/improve no matter how experienced we are.  I bet you will remember that fish/experience for the rest of your life! There is nothing like the rush you feel when you know a giant is on the end of your line...and in the St. Lawrence... there is something magical about that river to me.  This is what makes muskie fishing so special and makes the guys that hunt them so crazy about protecting the species. Thanks for sharing choo choo and keep it up!

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Thanks Joe Esox, Kevin J L and all you LOU guy's.

Joe Esox,I am sure I will remember that muskie for the rest of my life as you said. Not many fishing trips in our fishing lives can compare to a fishing trip, when you hook, fight, land and release a fish of that size. It was a Very special feeling holding her tail in the water, feeling her gaining her strength so quickly, and then pull so hard and swim away, free once again.

Awesome fish....Beautiful river.....amazing experience and thrill.