Pete Maina P Pete Maina
Best Handling Practices for Survivability of Toothy Critters
Exactly like many good lessons learned (most importantly remembered) – the majority of my fishing lessons were learned the hard way. Many of these actually involved the catching of fish, but specifically here – I want to cover the topics of handling, release survivability and the social (media) issues involved.
Chas Martin C Chas Martin
Do You Have What it Takes for Fall Muskie Fishing?
Close your eyes and think about the biggest musky that is swimming in your home body of water. Imagine its immense girth, bulging and stretching its scales and skin apart to its brink yet, supported nicely by the ice-cold water surrounding it. Her head is massive and the jawbone is long. I am talking about a giant. A true beast. The musky that I am dreaming of perhaps weighed 35 pounds in June but now, by late October, she is exceeding 40 pounds. This fish has seen very few lures this season, a few in early June, but that is it. She has spent the majority of the open-water season suspended over the main lake basin, chasing pods of pelagic baitfish, but now she has made her way to the primary breakline as the cisco (tullibee) begin staging for their spawn. If you do not wet a line and put a lure in the water, this monster will likely never see a manmade piece of plastic with hooks this year. The ice will form and she will hibernate…
Spence Petros S Spence Petros
Old School Musky Jigging
I was running out of time. It was to be my last trip of the year and my last chance to catch my first big musky (48-inches plus and/or 30-pounds). I had a $100 bet with my buddy’s wife that I’d catch one that year after she taunted me earlier about my lack of big fish success. I was determined to win that bet, no matter what it cost me!