6/19/15 Close Calls, Near Misses, and Eventual Success

I managed to get out on Friday night for a few hours of Musky fishing. I packed all of my gear the night before and went to work early so I could get out in time to hit the water. The temperature was much cooler (low 70's) than the previous several weeks and it was overcast all evening. I figured that it would be a good day to fish. I was not disappointed. I started off throwing the bucktail that I have had luck on all spring. Within the first 30 minutes I had my first follow. The fish seemed moderately interested but never actually hit my lure. Within about 15 minutes I had a small fish follow my lure to the boat. He chased it around an oval a few times before disappearing. I kept going with the oval and after 5 times around I switched it up and started moving the lure very erratically. When I did that the fish reappeared and briefly chased the lure again without hitting it! He had still been there the whole time just watching the lure. It goes to show that you should never give up boatside until you are sure that the fish is gone. After that, I went back to the spot where I had the first follow. On my first cast there was a fish following my lure. I can only assume it was the same fish as before as it was in the exact same spot and looked to be about the same size. The fish chased the lure around and struck it right at the boat. I set the hook and pulled the lure from the fishes mouth. I could actually feel the fish in the rod very briefly so I know I came very close to catching that fish! A while later I had a slow follow by a fish that did not seem really all that interested in my lure. After that I went several hours with no more action at all. I made a complete lap of the lake with not so much as a follow. When I got back to the spot where I had the slow follow, I had another follow by a fish that looked like the same one from earlier. I had two fish that I'm pretty sure followed twice in one day, so another lesson learned is to always return to a spot where you had a follow to see if you can trigger that fish again later in the day. As I was nearing the boat ramp, and the end of the day, I had a massive fish follow to the boat and then disappear just as suddenly as it had appeared. There were 3 people sitting on the boat ramp that were watching as I attempted in vain to get the fish to come back by continuing to figure 8 for quite a while. I was really disappointed and I felt like it would have made a great ending to the trip. At this point I was thinking that there was no way that I was going to catch a fish before the end of the day. Two casts after the follow, I was in the middle of my retrieve when I felt the telltale thump of a fish hitting my lure. I set the hook and the battle was on! This Musky put on quite the acrobatic display with several jumps including one where the fish went end for end twice while in the air! The people on the boat ramp were pretty impressed and were asking me what kind of fish I had on. After a minute or two I felt like the fish was ready to come to the boat. I had my new Lucid grips at the ready. I pulled the fish in close and reached out. The fish thrashed and took off for one more last ditch effort. I pulled it in close again and was able to get it on the grips. It was a beautiful fish! I didn't measure it but it was certainly bigger than the last couple I had caught. I'm guessing somewhere in the high 30 inch range. After giving me a hard time trying to get it's picture, I released the fish and decided to head for home. I had an amazing 4 hours on the water with 6 follows and 1 fish in the boat. Musky fishing doesn't get much better than that.

6/13/15 Pursuit of a Prehistoric Piscivore

There is a fish that has eluded me for my entire fishing career. This fish is an enigma to me. It inhabits swamps and backwaters across our state. The Bowfin is a prehistoric fish that has been around for hundreds of millions of years. This strange looking fish has several very unique features including a mouth full of teeth, a fin that runs over half the length of it's body, some unusual spawning colors, and the ability to breath both water and air. As a kid I had hooked two and been broken off both times. During my fishing trip last weekend, I saw several of these fish in the shallows. So I did a little research and returned to take a shot at landing one. They are fish eaters and a lot of people mentioned that spinner baits can be very effective for them. With that as my starting point, I starting fishing a spinner in a swampy area. It only took a few minutes before I got what I was looking for. I was moving the spinner over a log and as it passed by there was a big boil. I felt something try to take my lure. I kept it moving and WHAM a decent bowfin hit right at the boat. He gave me a crazy fight before coming to the net. He rolled so much that my line was wrapped around his head about 7 times. This male measured out just under 23''. He had a very strange green color on him that I later found out is their spawning colors. Males also have a black spot surrounded by yellow on their tail. After releasing that fish I didn't have any more luck on Bowfins so I hit the lake with my fly rod and caught close to 40 crappies on a Clouser Minnow. I can't believe how many crappies I have still been catching! It is pretty unreal. In the pictures below, you can see the sunken weed edes to which these fish were relating. Anywhere there were weeds like that, you would find fish. I got some sweet footage that once again I will have to post when I can get it edited. Later in the day I caught an 18'' Largemouth. When I got it in the net I noticed a huge Bowfin following it. It then just sat a few feet away watching the fish in the net before finally swimming away. What a bizarre fish! Always a good day when you get a new species in the boat especially one this unique. I will be chasing them again in the near future!

6/6/15 A Visit with an Old Friend

My friend Larry from the Three Rivers Fly Fishers and I went on a fishing trip Saturday afternoon. Larry is new to kayaking but no stranger to fly fishing. Including this trip he has been in a kayak a grand total of three times. This would be his first time fishing from his kayak. For his first trip out he did really well. I took Larry to a lake that is my absolute favorite for kayak fishing. I was shown this lake by a friend about 5 years ago. To get onto it, you have to put in on an adjacent lake and paddle through a small channel that is narrow and full of laydowns. It's so narrow that you have to walk one section of it. You paddle throught this channel that more or less resembles a swamp. You turn a corner and it opens onto this beautiful 15-20 acre lake with only a handful of cottages on it. It's tough to get to but has always been well worth the trip. So much so that I have made a point of making the trip at least once every spring. The lake is an absolute panfish factory. Whether it's big hog bluegills or slab crappies, you will not leave this lake disappointed. I started out the day by making a lap throwing a large spinnerbait looking to catch a couple Pike. While this did not work out I did land a nice 18'' Largemouth Bass. While fishing I saw several large Gar, My lure got hit by a Bowfin and Pike that did not get hooked, and I spotted tons of crappies in the weeds. After making that initial lap I decided to break out the fly rod and hit the weed edges for those crappies. This turned out to be a great decision. I was throwing a Clouser Minnow to submerged weed edges next to deep water. I have no idea how many crappies I caught but I would say it was somewhere over 50+ fish. There were times that I would catch one on 5 consecutive casts. It was ridiculous. The minnow would hit the water and several crappies would rush it. The takes were very quick and exciting to watch. After all of the Musky fishing I have been doing recently it was really nice to catch a bunch of fish. Larry struggled for a while until I brought him over and showed him where I was casting and what I was looking at. After this he did pretty well and brought a dozen or so crappies into his new kayak. Most of the crappies were 8-10'' long but the big crappie of the day measured in at 13 1/2''. It was a beast. All the fish were released. While I was fishing a couple of guys were hanging out around a table in their yard. They were watching me catch all these fish and told me not to tell anybody about their lake. Later in the day those same guys came down to the lake with rods and tackleboxes. One of them attempted to get into a small flatbottom boat and somehow managed to tip it over and fell into the lake! I suspect that alcohol may have been a factor. Later in the day, suddenly there was a voice from behind me. Surprised, I turned around to find an older lady in a canoe right behind me. She somehow managed to sneak up on me! I asked her if she had paddled over from the other lake and she said no. So I asked her if she lived on this lake and she said yes I live in the house right in front of you. She made a comment that she had never seen anybody stand up and fish from a  kayak before. She was extremely nice and when she realized we were releasing all the fish, she said "oh! you guys can come back any time!" I thought it was funny and worth sharing. All in all it was a wonderful day and I'm pretty sure that Larry is now hooked on kayak fishing. I forgot my camera so cellphone pics will have to do! Hope you enjoy them!

6/4/15 Muskie Madness

I got out last night after work for a few hours of Musky fishing. I was waffling on whether or not to go and boy am I glad I made the decision to get on the water! I've been putting more time and effort into catching muskies this year and I am glad to say that I am seeing more success. I put in some extra effort to not make the mistakes I made two weeks ago. I made sure to bring my GoPro and an extra battery. This would turn out to be a very good thing as I got some spectacular footage that I will get up when I can get it edited. I received my new pair of fish grips after the fiasco I had 2 weeks ago with a large Musky. The new pair is extremely nice. The grips rotate with the fish and there is a spring in the handle that acts as a kind of shock absorber. I also took the extra step of tethering it to the kayak with parachute cord to ensure that I don't lose another pair to a thrashing Musky. I purchased a new small tackle box that fits into the pocket behind my seat. It is large enough to fit 8 or 10 good sized musky lures, extra leaders, pliers, bolt cutters, and spreaders. The water is starting to warm up so I figured that a bucktail would be a good choice to start with. I was not wrong! After just a few minutes I moved my first fish. It was low and slow behind the lure so I put my bait into an oval at the boat. This peeked the Musky's interest and he came in for an extremely close look but did not hit my lure. If nothing else I had a follow! I then paddled to the other side of the lake so that I could drift with the wind and cast from a standing position. After a few minutes of drifting and casting I spotted a small Musky chasing my spinner to the boat. When I began my oval, the fish took off. I did about 5 more ovals before giving up and pulling my lure out for another cast. When I pulled the lure up, the fish suddenly reappeared at boatside. I said a swear word and quickly dropped my spinner back in the water. The fish shot over to it. About an inch from the lure the fish suddenly changed direction and swam away! I couldn't believe it! I could have sworn the fish was going to smash that spinner. Those crazy Muskies! Just about 10 minutes later as my lure approached the kayak, I suddenly noticed a large fish right behind it. I sped it up slightly and the fish lunged forward and nipped at the lure. I could feel the fish in the rod but he just as quickly let go of the lure and swam off to his right. Yet another missed opportunity! About an hour went by until my next action. I had a fish follow right to the boat and strike my bucktail as I was starting my oval. I somehow managed to not hook that fish. At this point I was getting pretty frustrated. It was getting late in the night. I was telling myself that if I just kept fishing, I was bound to hook up eventually. On one cast I was reeling in my line when I heard my GoPro beeping indicating that the battery was dead. It shut off and I thought to myself "Now that the camera isn't running I'm going to catch a fish" As if on cue, I had a follow when my lure got to the boat. The fish hit my lure boatside and I still somehow managed to not hook up! Frustration. Just keep casting. Just keep casting. Just keep casting. Shortly before 9 p.m. I had my 8th follow of the evening. A nice fish followed my lure into an oval. He went around completely one time before striking my lure. I set the hook and suddenly all was right with the world. The fish erupted violently and jumped and splashed around the kayak. It was a short lived battle but the strike and the sudden surge of energy from the fish is something I will not forget. Before long I got my fourth musky on the fish grips. What a fish! I took a few seconds to admire and unhook it. I briefly lifted the fish for a photo before putting it back. When released from the grips, it just sat there as if in some trance. Without warning the fish kicked it's tail and was gone. It was a great end to an action packed night! The rabbit hole draws me in deeper and deeper.