Finally got my first Musky

[FishinFool247]

Well after a few months and several trips targeting musky, I finally got my first one. The fish of 10,000 casts turned into a lot more than 10,000 casts for me..lol I have had a bunch of muskies follow my lure back to the boat without striking my lure and one tail swipe my bait at the bank, but this is the first one that decided to sink it's teeth into my lure. Most of my trips up until yesterday have been out with Chrisper4696 on his John boat. We had a bunch of action while musky fishing together lately, and last trip Chris managed to put the first musky in the boat, which was a beautiful tiger musky.

Yesterday I made the best bad decision ever by deciding to go out for musky solo on my Kayak. Well my kayak isn't built for fishing or musky fishing in any way. I have a sit in 9ft kayak that has zero room for anything including a net suitable for a musky. Well after a few hours of fishing I decided to move to deeper water and fish a weed edge, and a couple casts later I get nailed. The fish brought my lure and line to a dead stop soon as I hooked up, and that's when I realized it was a big fish. the fish didn't go crazy and take off on a run until I started trying to bring him in towards me. I couldn't believe the power of this fish I was amazed how hard it was for me to even budge him or turn him in the right direction. Before I casted, I noticed there was someone swimming all the way across the lake wearing one of those head condoms. By the time I landed the fish the swimmer had already made their way to where I was fishing and even stopped to watch me with my struggle for a little while before heading back. The swimmer made it all the way back across the lake before I landed my fish. Not having a net or another helping hand made it very difficult to land the fish, not to mention the shear power of the fish had my boat going whatever direction he decided to go.

Once I finally got a hold of him he was exhausted to the point where I was actually able to grab his tail without him trashing out of my grasp. I tried taking a few pics which didn't come out to good due to how big the fish was and I was still shaking from the adrenaline rush of my first musky fight. I started to try reviving the fish after I got a pic, and the fish went belly up on me. I tried reviving him for a few minutes and realized that there was no hope and this beautiful musky wasn't going to make it. I had no intention on killing the fish or keeping it, that's the last thing that I wanted to do.

After I realized the fish wasn't going to live, I had to get him back to shore which wasn't and easy task either. I held the beast by the gill plate with one hand and paddled all the way back to the boat launch with my other hand. By the time I got back to the launch I thought my arm and wrist were going to fall off. I had another fisherman that was launching his boat take a few pics of me with my fish and by then I was soaked with water, fish slime, blood, and sweat.

This was the greatest catch of my life and I was thrilled, yet I was very disappointed at the same time because I killed this trophy. I definitely learned from my mistake, and I don't plan on going muskie fishing solo on my kayak without a net ever again. I think I'm going to end up mounting this one so I can remember this epic battle every time I look up at him on my wall.

I couldn't be happier to have this 41 inch extremely girthy Tiger as my first Musky, and I hope to catch many more without compromising any more lives.

[Andrushkin33]

Congratulations on your first.

Sad to hear that it passed away but those things do happen.

Andre

[jimcnj]

Congrats!
Must have been fun.

Don't be so hard on yourself. All fish die-eventually.
Lesson learned.

[jimmythegreek]

congrats on your first muskie! These fish are very fragile in the warmer months, and many die-hards wont even fish for them in the summer months due to delayed mortality. The reason we fish with such heavy gear is to make the fight as short as possible and let the fish have enough energy to revive themselves. I dont think Ive ever seen a kayak based muskie fisherman, I dont think you could have the tools necessary in a kayak. 3 things you must have while musky fishing are wire cutters to cut hooks, good long nose pliers and jaw spreaders, and the proper net. Theres no way you can leave a muskie in the water and dehook them, if the fish is that calm its gonna die. Dont be too hard on yourself for the loss, just please learn the valuable lesson and let others learn from your mistake as well. Thats a beauty by the way, an old fish too

[Jersey Charlie]

So what pound test line do you recommend and what type of lure? I have always wanted to fish the Big D above Dingman's for Musky. I once saw a duckling disappear on the river, figured it was a Musky that got it.

[justin1982]

Awesome fish, congrats... Don't beat yourself up, it happens

[catfishonthelake]

This is a great example of how NOT to fish for muskies. With all the posts that have been on this site about having the proper tools for targeting these fish, it is mind-boggling that you would go and specifically target them without even having a NET???? I don't suggest fishing for muskies from a kayak, but to not even bring a net is irresponsible and poor sportsmanship, and above that dangerous. I'm sure people are gonna jump on me for this but the whole "don't beat yourself up" thing is a bunch of crap. This site should be promoting conservation and good fishing practices. There is no doubt in my mind that this fish would've survived had you been prepared. I thoroughly regret giving you advice on how to catch muskies and will not make the same mistake again.

[Skunk City]

Like pretty much everyone above has covered, these fish are no joke. Targeting them in a 9ft kayak with limited space for equipment and no net is just asking for trouble. Always plan for WORST CASE SCENARIO (huge pissed off fish, deeply hooked, etc.). Unless I am targeting Bass, my net is ALWAYS in my kayak and that has helped me land, photograph and release many 35"-40" fish from my kayak without hurting me or the fish.

Hopefully you pick up a large net, a more capable kayak, and a camera mount to take pics yourself if you choose to continue targeting this awesome species.

[stevejordan]

sweet first musky! is it going on the wall?

[buzzbaiter]

Personally I wouldn't have mentioned "it died" part. Up til then it was a good story ;)

I make it a rule not to upload pics of fish that died. First of all seeing it would make me feel like sh*t and secondly I think its bad luck. We have all been there - I've had a 18" wild brown, 21" bass and numerous large pickerel pass away on me before I stopped using barbed lures and multi treble lures. It really does make a difference. Just pinching barbs down can increases survival by half I'm willing to bet. Most pike I get on single hook buzzbaits and spinners baits. So far - knock wood - no casualities I'm aware of and thats over 300 fish last few years.

[FishinFool247]

This is a great example of how NOT to fish for muskies. With all the posts that have been on this site about having the proper tools for targeting these fish, it is mind-boggling that you would go and specifically target them without even having a NET???? I don't suggest fishing for muskies from a kayak, but to not even bring a net is irresponsible and poor sportsmanship, and above that dangerous. I'm sure people are gonna jump on me for this but the whole "don't beat yourself up" thing is a bunch of crap. This site should be promoting conservation and good fishing practices. There is no doubt in my mind that this fish would've survived had you been prepared. I thoroughly regret giving you advice on how to catch muskies and will not make the same mistake again.

I think it is pretty crappy of you to reply to my njfishing post instead of the FB messages I sent you. You could have very easily just replied to me on FB instead of the internet. I know now that the way I fished was in poor judgment, before that I didn't know it was going to be so much of a struggle and it could end up killing the fish.
The reason I posted this and said the truth was so nobody else makes the mistake I made. If you look back at my messages on FB I explained what happened and that I learned my lesson. Since you want everyone on njfishing to see your reply, I will copy the texts to see if others agree with me. I think that not responding to my texts and replying to my NJFISHING post was not right of you. So here is our FB chat that you stopped replying to and decided to bash me on the Internet instead.

Me: Thanks a lot for all your advice you gave me on gear and stuff! I started my Musky career off with a 41 inch girthy tiger musky, I caught at (name of lake I fished). it took me well over 10,000 casts, and every single one was worth it..lol How much do you think he would weigh?

You: Why did you kill it? That's not cool.

Me: Well I had some difficulty landing him in my Kayak without a net, and by the time I got a hold of him....he pretty much went belly up and I couldn't revive him.....it was the last thing that I wanted to happen....I don't plan on fishing solo out of my Kayak anymore for musky after I killed this fish.I really need to get a boat ASAP because the kayak apparently isn't made for musky fishing. I really do feel bad about killing that beautiful fish, and I hope it never happens again.

You: (no response) (and then your reply to my post on the internet) and then you delete me as a friend on FB.

Doe's anybody else think that this is messed up?

[muskynut]

That's awesome......find a good taxidermist....because they are the prettiest fish that swim.....Capt. Dave:D

[FishinFool247]

That's awesome......find a good taxidermist....because they are the prettiest fish that swim.....Capt. Dave:D

Thanks! I sure will, and I have to agree they truly are beautiful!

[dakota560]

People need to lighten up for crying out loud. We all makes mistakes, many of them innocent ones which this was. There's always the "Holier than God" crowd which feels compelled to be the judge and jury of everyone else. Masters of the Universe who do no wrong. I can understand people being upset when a trophy fish dies, I do as well. BUT clearly it was not the intention of the angler in this case to kill the fish and he posted an honest assessment of what happened in the hopes as he said that others will learn from his experience. In the process of doing so, he puts himself out in front of the court of public opinion where some feel obligated to tar and feather him regardless. I'm sure anyone complaining have themselves at one point or another in their life been in a similar situation whether they'd admit to it or not. I give this young man credit for putting in the hours and catching a truly trophy fish. If he fishes with Chrisper I can assure you he's an upstanding guy. Shit happens and in this case it did. Was it intentional...no. Could it have been prevented......yes but how many times have we as fisherman done things which weren't necessarily the smartest things in the world because of our desire to catch a trophy fish. I'm sure he won't make the same mistake again and I'm also sure others will learn from his honest post. I give him credit for having the courage and class to post the entire story. Ignore the haters, they always have something negative to post regardless of the circumstances. What matters is you had a great day, your enthusiasm for the sport is compelling and you learned a valuable lesson in the process. Unfortunate the fish died but it happens at times. Make a great mount and you'll have a memory of a lifetime!

Dakota

[RyanMac14]

Nice fish buddy. You learn from your mistakes which many of us have in all walks of life besides fishing. You made your mistake and good on you for putting it out there for people to learn that certain fishing really is no joke. Congrats again on the trophy and hope your stuffin does it justice.

[GetANet]

bla bla bla bla !!! Nice fish, sucks it died but now you know.
Being properly prepared for the fish you pursue is the only way.

[Jigman13]

Nice fish. Ya live ya learn...she'll make a good mount.

Always have your PEN15 on you and be sure you have a set of BA1100Ns within reach.

[AndyS]

Nice fish !! Congrats, definitely contact a taxidermist.

[Predator]

I understand catfishonthelakes displeasure. Im sure the first advise on proper gear Mark gave was to always have a giant net. It's Musky fishing 101. Kinda like a slap in the face if you ask me. Just hope you learn from it and not repeat the mistake. Too bad that old Musky doesn't get a second chance.

[Andrushkin33]

You know after reading all this I understand where Catfish is coming from. After all advice was given it will sting you when person will do a 180 and do complete opposite of what was suggested.

I would hate to see another pike go belly up on me after all the techniques and advice that was bestowed on me but all of you guys here. That would be like a slap in a face to you guys at least in my opinion.

Sure Fool was probably half expecting to catch anything but as all of us know that's when some of the best fishing moments happen. When we least expecting them and that's why all of us should be ready for anything.

Catfish was right when he mentioned that site should promote conservation and in my opinion there is plenty of advice regarding this.

But "drama" should of been handled in a private matter and not posted outright. God knows we have enough of it already.

Much love to all.

Andre

[catfishonthelake]

I'm not going to belabor this any more and reply to more comments. I probably should have done this in private, and for that I apologize. I was, however, pretty fired up as FishinFool has been asking me lots and lots of questions, and to turn around and see a beautiful, dead, 41 inch tiger absolutely set me off.

I have my reasons that you were taken off Facebook, just as you had your reasons for editing out your original comments on this thread which took inappropriate shots at my personal life.

I just sincerely hope that this serves as a lesson to anyone interested in pursuing muskies. We have a finite number of legal fish in our heavily-pressured waters and it is our responsibility as anglers to protect them. I have been targeting muskies exclusively for over 4 years, caught almost 30 of them last year and I have yet to have one die on me. I've had hook cutters, long-nosed pliers and invested in a proper net before I even owned a boat.

Once again, I apologize for the way this was handled. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I do not believe that just because it is legal to keep a fish that it should be done. Chapter 22 of Muskies Inc. started the musky program in this state many moons ago and as an organization they promote catch and release for all fish on all waters. We do not have the benefit of natural reproduction in this state. Harvesting other species for food or even clubbing a potential state record is one thing, but unintended deaths due to unpreparedness should be kept nonexistent when all the information and tools to avoid it are readily available.

[FishinFool247]

I'm not going to belabor this any more and reply to more comments. I probably should have done this in private, and for that I apologize. I was, however, pretty fired up as FishinFool has been asking me lots and lots of questions, and to turn around and see a beautiful, dead, 41 inch tiger absolutely set me off.

I have my reasons that you were taken off Facebook, just as you had your reasons for editing out your original comments on this thread which took inappropriate shots at my personal life.

I just sincerely hope that this serves as a lesson to anyone interested in pursuing muskies. We have a finite number of legal fish in our heavily-pressured waters and it is our responsibility as anglers to protect them. I have been targeting muskies exclusively for over 4 years, caught almost 30 of them last year and I have yet to have one die on me. I've had hook cutters, long-nosed pliers and invested in a proper net before I even owned a boat.

Once again, I apologize for the way this was handled. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I do not believe that just because it is legal to keep a fish that it should be done. Chapter 22 of Muskies Inc. started the musky program in this state many moons ago and as an organization they promote catch and release for all fish on all waters. We do not have the benefit of natural reproduction in this state. Harvesting other species for food or even clubbing a potential state record is one thing, but unintended deaths due to unpreparedness should be kept nonexistent when all the information and tools to avoid it are readily available.

Thanks for the apology, I appreciate it. I'm sorry for my original reply that I made, which I edited seconds after posting! I can assure you that I have learned my lesson from my mistakes, and I wont let it happen again. I have caught many large fish out of my kayak without a net and released them unharmed and I didn't know the struggle I was in for until I hooked up on that musky. I appreciate all of the gear advice you gave me, and I understand why you were/are upset that the fish died. I just thought you could have simply replied to my message and let me know how upset you were on FB messenger. Hopefully you can understand where I'm coming from and that the last thing I wanted was this. Tight Lines!

[dakota560]

I think everyone reading this thread can understand both points of view. Good to see you both had the decency once cooler heads prevailed to say what you did, speaks volumes about each of you. Lesson learned by all, I'm quite sure this one musky will probably in a convoluted way save countless others from the same fate so maybe there's a silver lining here.

[yumasdad]

Congrats on your first MUSKY. It sure was thick old fish & hopefully it had passed it's strong genes on through the years.

Yes, these fish are a valuable game fish & a resource that should be treasured & treated with the upmost respect. The points raised are valid in respects to being properly prepared when fishing specifically for MUSKY.

Hopefully not only you & others will earn from this &maybe many other trophies live to swim, chew & make more muskies. Yes, Musky are breeding well at least in the north lakes as I have witnessed the STATE biologists removing fish from lakes to harvest the eggs & sperm. TIGERS are hybrids are not suppose to be able to re-produce as with all hybrid species.

I learned the lessons about being prepared when fishing in MUSKY waters the hard way too. I caught my first while bass fishing @ ECHO. It was a nasty 24" hammer handle tiger with a really bad attitude. The fish made it swim off but turned my thumb into hamburger meat! From then on my boat has multiple pairs of pliers & gloves along with a MUSKY worthy net-and a good first aid kit.

We all can do a better job out there.

It's those hard lessons in life that stick with you.

[catfishonthelake]

Thanks Dakota. Glad this got cleared-up and you have a valid point that yes, maybe this will be beneficial. Tight Lines to you as well Kyle.

Just a note on muskies breeding......the muskies in New Jersey, the true strains, go through spawning motions just as they do everywhere else. Mature females produce eggs and males produce sperm. However, in their native range, female muskies lay their eggs on sand or pebble rock. They do not make beds like bass or have their eggs stick to vegetation like other species. Because all of our lake bottoms are mud or muck, the eggs do not have the proper environment to hatch. That is why the state nets them, milks them, raises them and releases them. We have limited, or more likely, no natural musky reproduction in this state.

On another note, there are no tiger muskies in Echo Lake. Echo Lake is stocked with only pure strain muskies, and to that effect, it is stocked with only Leech Lake strain muskies. Some muskies can have very distinct markings and are mistaken for tiger muskies.

Not saying this stuff to be argumentative, lol, these are just the facts. If you don't believe me, you can ask Craig at the hatchery who oversees the making of all of our muskies.

[Andrushkin33]

Glad you guys cleared this up and as Dakota said it does speaks volumes.

Cat I have only one question for you. Why you not updating your blog anymore that was always a good and educational read?

Andre

[catfishonthelake]

Glad you guys cleared this up and as Dakota said it does speaks volumes.

Cat I have only one question for you. Why you not updating your blog anymore that was always a good and educational read?

Andre

Thanks for asking man. To be honest, I just don't even have the time. I'm writing for 3 magazines, blogging for Field and Stream, working 2 jobs and going to graduate school, and I'm lucky to even have time to fish or spend with my wife. The blog took more time than one might think, and I just kept losing track of it and finally gave up. I keep renewing the domain and may get back to it at some point if life gets a little less hectic.

[FishinFool247]

Thanks Catfish, Dakota, and everyone else who contributed. I hope that this post ends up being beneficial to others as well, because that was my intent. Tight lines to all!

[yumasdad]

Thanks Dakota. Glad this got cleared-up and you have a valid point that yes, maybe this will be beneficial. Tight Lines to you as well Kyle.

Just a note on muskies breeding......the muskies in New Jersey, the true strains, go through spawning motions just as they do everywhere else. Mature females produce eggs and males produce sperm. However, in their native range, female muskies lay their eggs on sand or pebble rock. They do not make beds like bass or have their eggs stick to vegetation like other species. Because all of our lake bottoms are mud or muck, the eggs do not have the proper environment to hatch. That is why the state nets them, milks them, raises them and releases them. We have limited, or more likely, no natural musky reproduction in this state.

On another note, there are no tiger muskies in Echo Lake. Echo Lake is stocked with only pure strain muskies, and to that effect, it is stocked with only Leech Lake strain muskies. Some muskies can have very distinct markings and are mistaken for tiger muskies.

Not saying this stuff to be argumentative, lol, these are just the facts. If you don't believe me, you can ask Craig at the hatchery who oversees the making of all of our muskies.

There are two places I know of where MUSKY are spawing-ONE OF THE SPOTS I CAN HIT WITH ROCK FROM MY HOUSE when the time is right. That would explain why the FISH & GAME boys set up a pen to capture them in the spring as they their thing. We are very protective of our hood MUSKIES & were up in arms when they were doing this. We were told that they would be returned by FISH & GAME we have our doubts. Nobody has seen hide nor hair of them since & their are eyes on the hood all the time. Tell Craig to send our fish back to GWL. Not local spots to stash away for the few in the know. I of the locations of a few of those spots but would never ever give them or even try to go there.

As far as the TIGER in ECHO know the difference between a HYBRID TIGER & pure strain. Though I have seen pure strains with vertical bars that you would almost think are tigers. I know what I saw @ ECHO & it was a tiger. I saw another caught by a friend on my boat two years from ECHO. Just because the state or watershed did not stock them does not mean they are not there. Tell that to the stripes in SKUNKY...I have seen the pictures & have talked with plenty of guys who have been spooled out who could explain what happened or what train they had hooked on.

[catfishonthelake]

There are two places I know of where MUSKY are spawing-ONE OF THE SPOTS I CAN HIT WITH ROCK FROM MY HOUSE when the time is right. That would explain why the FISH & GAME boys set up a pen to capture them in the spring as they their thing. We are very protective of our hood MUSKIES & were up in arms when they were doing this. We were told that they would be returned by FISH & GAME we have our doubts. Nobody has seen hide nor hair of them since & their are eyes on the hood all the time. Tell Craig to send our fish back to GWL. Not local spots to stash away for the few in the know. I of the locations of a few of those spots but would never ever give them or even try to go there.

As far as the TIGER in ECHO know the difference between a HYBRID TIGER & pure strain. Though I have seen pure strains with vertical bars that you would almost think are tigers. I know what I saw @ ECHO & it was a tiger. I saw another caught by a friend on my boat two years from ECHO. Just because the state or watershed did not stock them does not mean they are not there. Tell that to the stripes in SKUNKY...I have seen the pictures & have talked with plenty of guys who have been spooled out who could explain what happened or what train they had hooked on.

:confused:

I'm not even going to entertain a response. Tight lines.

[Abrasion]

I think it is pretty crappy of you to reply to my njfishing post instead of the FB messages I sent you. You could have very easily just replied to me on FB instead of the internet. I know now that the way I fished was in poor judgment, before that I didn't know it was going to be so much of a struggle and it could end up killing the fish.
The reason I posted this and said the truth was so nobody else makes the mistake I made. If you look back at my messages on FB I explained what happened and that I learned my lesson. Since you want everyone on njfishing to see your reply, I will copy the texts to see if others agree with me. I think that not responding to my texts and replying to my NJFISHING post was not right of you. So here is our FB chat that you stopped replying to and decided to bash me on the Internet instead.

Me: Thanks a lot for all your advice you gave me on gear and stuff! I started my Musky career off with a 41 inch girthy tiger musky, I caught at (name of lake I fished). it took me well over 10,000 casts, and every single one was worth it..lol How much do you think he would weigh?

You: Why did you kill it? That's not cool.

Me: Well I had some difficulty landing him in my Kayak without a net, and by the time I got a hold of him....he pretty much went belly up and I couldn't revive him.....it was the last thing that I wanted to happen....I don't plan on fishing solo out of my Kayak anymore for musky after I killed this fish.I really need to get a boat ASAP because the kayak apparently isn't made for musky fishing. I really do feel bad about killing that beautiful fish, and I hope it never happens again.

You: (no response) (and then your reply to my post on the internet) and then you delete me as a friend on FB.

Doe's anybody else think that this is messed up?


1: it's his fish. He can do whatever he wants and fish for them however he wants.

2: stop being an elitist

[UglyStick]

I'm so glad I didn't see this until the whole thread played out... I'll just say I agree 100% with Catfish and Jimmy.

With all of the available information on the interweb, including this site, including material even shared by myself, it is so sad to see people engaging in this type of behavior.

This has nothing to do with a person choosing to keep a legal fish or people being elitists, or even chalking it up to just "live and learn"... It's being irresponsible...

[Chrisper4694]

Wasn't going to even respond to this because of how many arms there are to this situation and I don't really know how to defend two people on opposing sides.

I taught myself how to musky fish and actually had my first one from a kayak. It was 42" and I had a very big net strapped to the back of my kayak. I Horsed it in quick and maybe luckily right in the net and unhooked quick. Two guys in a bigger boat were nearby and I was able to get a quick pic and release the fish. My point being, when you have to learn by doing, trial by fire, the outcome can be swayed in either direction. I realized that this particular experience could've turned sour. I eventually got my hands on a Jon boat and an even bigger net.

I invited fishinfool with me a bunch of times but we couldn't get him one. I could've let him borrow my net this week while I was away. One of you other equipped muskie guys could've invited him out too maybe.

Bottom line, there's a bunch of ways this could've went down properly. I've fished with him and he's a good guy. He made a huge mistake not bringing a net. Honestly, it's not an excuse, but he probably wasn't even expecting to hook anything. Again, not an excuse, he's the first one to say it was stupid but he had the balls to post it here. He didn't say let me go musky fishing without a net and kill one for fun, trust me. Reading about doing something and actually doing it are two totally different sides of a coin.

[JerryC]

congrats!!!!