New PB Ski
 

I went muskie fishing in the rain today with Dale and Jeremy, my first muskie trip of the year. I got a flag and lost a fish just before noon. The fish was on for a second but it didn't have the hook in it's mouth. Jeremy went home around 1 but Dale and I stuck it out. We started to lose hope as the day went on but at 3:40 the flag where I lost one earlier went up and I hooked into a heavy fish. After a good fight I got her on the ice, snapped some quick pics and sent her back down the hole. She taped out at 41", new PB ski! Caught her on a 14" live sucker in about 30' of water. When we got back to where we were sitting I checked some old pics because I thought I might have caught her last year. Sure enough it was the same fish that I caught last winter at 39". It's crazy that my PB muskie, tiger, and pike were all recaptures. Catch and release works!

https://scontent-b-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/...3d&oe=5522A229

https://scontent-a-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/...f6&oe=552BB96B

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Great job Matt - beautiful fish

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Congrats

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That's a face only a Momma Musky could love!!!!!
Glad we stuck it out!!!!

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Wow nice fish, twice too!!

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Very cool. You use quick strike rigs or circle hooks?

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Neither. Quick strike rigs are good for open water because you can set the hook right away, but through the ice by the time you get to the flag muskie can swallow the bait and the trebles which most likely is a death sentence for the fish. Circles are bad because you don't get a good hook set unless the fish is running and the fish has the hook deep in its mouth. I use single 5/0 octopus hooks.

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Never went after musky through the ice just pike and a vet from Canada told me to use a quick strike rig, stay near the flags and whack them immediately. I'm usually too far to use the quick strikes but big circles have almost always worked great on big pickerel. I can see how it wouldn't work with a bigger bait though. Do you use that knotable thin metal leader or just heavy flourocarbon or mono? I use the circles so I can use thin line and hook them as far from the teeth as possible.

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I use 80lb floro, and I had a pike snap that on the hook set this week. I wouldn't recommend lighter line.

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Nice fish Matt!

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Glad you guys were rewarded for sticking it out today. I would've stayed if I didn't have dinner plans!

Sweet fish Matt. Congrats on the pb!

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Congrats nice fish! Did you fish the sucker near the bottom or higher in the water column?

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I suspend the bait off the bottom.

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Nice fish Matt! Congrats on the PB! It's been a good week from you from what I've seen. Keep it up dude!!!:D

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Really nice fish!! Gotta be fun hand lineing that thing in.. congrats on PB.. kinda funny u catch bigger pike then musky.. but that could change real quick !!! Get em!!

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Congrats on the PB. Beautiful fish. Looks like a blast. May give it a try I need to make up for my flagless first day

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Yesterday was one of the most horrible conditions that I have fished in a very long time. Continuous rain and raw bone chillin !!! I knew that if we were able to tolerate the weather that it was a prime day for a big fish to chew. Miserable conditions are usually good for fishing as I have had some great days in the worst. Most people would never consider fishing in the weather we had Yesterday!!!!

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Lol... It was pretty awful. The water was swirling around a few of my holes like a toilet bowl. Soggy bottom to the fullest extent!

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Hardcore guys

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Congrats on PB. Nice job on the release

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Nice catch dude! Congrats on the new pb! Good info too. I might be fine tuning my terminal stuff and fixin diff rigs now. Extra props for stickin it out thru that crappie weather!!

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congats man!

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Way to go Matt...Nicely Done buddy. Congrats.