Over my decades of guiding for muskies, I have run into a few, shall we say, characters that stand out. These muskies are unforgettable, not because of their enormous length, massive weight, or stamina during a fight, but because they simply look so odd.
On a recent trip to a rather secluded cold-water musky fishery, well off the radar for most southern musky anglers, I ran into a fish that took the absolute cake for looking weird. While fishing an extremely deep point with a prototype Brute from Livingston Lures, I saw what every musky angler is looking for, a follow.
What started as a deep shadow in gin-clear water quickly turned into a moment of confusion. I saw what I thought was an open mouth, but in an instant, I knew something was not right. In the first corner of my figure eight, the muskie charged hard to strike, but simply could not open its mouth wide enough to eat.
I was hit with a real bit of confusion and left scratching my head. What happened? How could this fish, with its gills flared, launch headlong at the bait and look like its mouth was open while somehow also looking like its mouth was shut?