5/7/17 Incredible Esox Adventure

Mike and I met up on Sunday to fish a northern Indiana Muskie lake. The day was clear and cool with winds predicted to be 15-25mph. Not exactly ideal conditions. with the cold and rain we have been experiencing over the last week, water temps have dropped from the mid 60s all the way back to the mid 50s. The highest water temp I saw all day was 56 degrees. The day started off slow with Mike eventually having 1 follow and seeing another fish in the shallows. After about 2 hours had gone by I finally got us on the board by putting a decent sized pike into the boat. With not much happening we decided to make a change and head out onto the main lake and brave the wind to try and find some fish. We did several hours of exploring with nothing to show for our efforts. The wind was picking up and I was beginning to lose hope that we were going to see any more Muskies. One really bright spot for the day was that the Predator PDL made fishing in the wind very easy and much more doable than ever before. In a traditional paddle kayak it would have been impossible to fish the shoreline where we ended the day. This kayak is a true game changer for me. We were fishing a windblown shoreline with only about 45 minutes before I had to quit for the day and head home when suddenly I had a fish following my jerk bait. I don't know why, but I thought it was a Pike. The fish followed all the way to the boat and just sat about a foot or two from my lure just staring at it. I kept my lure in the water and mostly let it slow sink occasionally giving it a jerk. After what seemed like an eternity I jerked the lure and the fish rocketed forward and smashed it. If something similar had happened a few years ago I never would have caught that fish. I never would have left my lure in the water that long. Patience and persistence with these fish will pay off in the long run. Immediately when hooked the fish went airborne and I knew it was a Muskie. After a brief but intense battle the fish was in the net. Not a huge fish but just absolutely beautiful. When the fish was in the net it did a death roll and get tangled up in the line, lure and net all together. It was a mess and in the ensuing confusion, I somehow managed to get my pinky too close to the Muskies teeth and got cut. The blood running down my right hand in the photo is from my pinky, not the fish. I got yet more use out of my first aid kit! The fish and I both got more roughed up from the experience than I would have liked! After Mike was nice enough to snap a few shots for me I got the fish released and started fishing again. the wind and waves were intensifying and the conditions were getting a little crazy. Within 10 minutes of releasing the previous fish, I had another follow from an absolutely mammoth fish. It followed my jerk bait right to the boat and despite my best efforts to convince it to eat, it eventually lost interest and swam off. I was shaking for about 5 minutes after it had swam off. It would have easily been the biggest fish that I would ever have landed from my kayak. Maybe next time! You need to be an optimist to fish for Muskies and not drive yourself crazy! A few more minutes went by and my lure was suddenly smashed by a very nice fish. After that recent follow I was thinking Muskie but it turned out to be a very nice Northern Pike instead. after a short battle the fish came to the net. It was an absolutely beautiful fish with not a mark on it with the exception of where I had it hooked. The unhooking and pictures went much smoother and quicker than the Muskie and before long the fish was back on it's way not much worse for the wear. Before I knew it I was out of time to fish and we had to make our way back to the ramp in some impressive waves and wind! I hate to cut a trip short, especially when the fish are just starting to get going, but what a day! I have been struggling this year to catch many fish and it came as no small relief to finally get some good fish in the boat! I feel energized again and ready to get out as soon as possible! Later that day I was telling the story and mentioned that I had spent a total of 7 hours to catch 3 fish. I was then asked if fishing for Muskies is worth all of the time, effort, and giving up on catching other fish to go for them. I can say without a doubt that yes it is totally worth it. If you have never done battle with a Muskie, you are missing out!