Musky Weekend (10/10-10/11, 2015)
 

I decided to give the pike a break this weekend and finally try for the king of the Esox, the elusive musky. I had never caught a musky, nor had I ever even fished for them before, so I was definitely starting from square one. I had an idea of where I was planning to go, and had a few questions which Chrisper answered for me (thanks man). I spent some time thinking about lures, presentation and strategy and was ready to go.

Saturday 10/10/15:

Got to the spot, launched my kayak and began my search. In addition to never having fished for musky, I also had never fished this particular water body. I spent a bit of time learning the area, and tried a variety of lures without a bite. However, I did have a decent size musky roll on the surface right next to the yak, and I think I even saw him flip me the fin. Unfortunately, the wind picked up and made fishing very difficult from my small kayak so I packed it in early and called it a day. Saw a few other guys out there, and ended up meeting Gatto.

Sunday 10/11/15:

I only had a few hours to fish but I was determined to give it a shot. I started where I had seen the fish on Saturday, and after a few casts, I saw a decent musky in the 30's swipe at the lure, but it quickly disappeared. Unfortunately, it was very difficult to do a figure 8 out of the kayak from a sitting position. I continued to pound the area to no avail, and after about 15 minutes I decided to move on.

As I worked my way down the shoreline, I began to second guess my decision to leave the other area. I continued to fish without seeing anything, and the voice in my head kept telling me to return to the prior area. I decided that I was going to fish down a little further, before I headed back to where I had seen the fish earlier. This proved to be the right decision.

A few minutes later, in mid retrieve, I felt a jarring strike. Though I didn't see the fish, the massive headshakes told me this was the one I was after. After the headshakes, the fish peeled drag and rather than heading to the surface, it dove deep. The fish stayed deep for the majority of the fight. After a short but tough fight, I finally saw the musky and it was a good one. I positioned the kayak in shallow water, and jumped in to 2 feet of water in my jeans and sneakers. I led the fish over to me and finally had my musky in my hands. She was 43 inches long and way fatter than I had even imagined, and her body looked more striper than musky. Using length/weight charts I found online, I would estimate her weight to be right around 25lbs. After a few quick photos, I put her back in and she strongly swam out of my hands quickly, disappearing into the deep. Since I was dripping wet, I decided to call it a day and head home after only fishing for about 1 hour and 45 minutes. This definitely ranks as one of the most memorable first fish of a species I have caught, and definitely my biggest freshwater fish in NJ. I am looking forward to getting out and chasing them again.

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k3...psvepedev2.jpg
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k3...psbbuypjoq.jpg

In the second pic, you can see her massive girth.

Re: Musky Weekend (10/10-10/11, 2015)
 

One whole weekend, one GREAT FISH!! Congrats on the 1st dude! And obviously on the PB too, 43" is gonna be tough to trump,lol!

Great job, great catch!!

Re: Musky Weekend (10/10-10/11, 2015)
 

Wow... Just wow. Congrats man. Wow...

Re: Musky Weekend (10/10-10/11, 2015)
 

Gotta love when a plan comes together !!! Awesome fish.

Re: Musky Weekend (10/10-10/11, 2015)
 

Great job man! Well done in only 2 attempts!!!

Re: Musky Weekend (10/10-10/11, 2015)
 

I think it took me about 10 trips, 8 follow figure 8 fails, and one missed hit to get my first a few years ago. That is one of the thickest 43" musky I've seen! Definitely a healthy fish, congrats!

Re: Musky Weekend (10/10-10/11, 2015)
 

Congrats man, sounds epic from the yak!

Re: Musky Weekend (10/10-10/11, 2015)
 

Re: Musky Weekend (10/10-10/11, 2015)
 

Very well written and a great accomplishment, congrats

Re: Musky Weekend (10/10-10/11, 2015)
 

Awesome man, definitely an accomplishment to go out there almost blind without some one helping. And in a kayak none the less. I do a little kayak muskie hunting myself and it puts you at such a disadvantage not being able to do figure 8s and just not being able to see as far if at all in low light conditions. Took my 3 or 4 trips in the kayak before I caught my first one. Which happened to be 18" and another 3 or 4 trips before I hooked into a good one. Congrats on a healthy beautiful ski.

Re: Musky Weekend (10/10-10/11, 2015)
 

Great catch from the kayak! That fish is looking super duper chunky. WOW! Wonder how fat she'll be at the end of December. Way to go on a mission and accomplish your goal. Congrats on the PB dude. AWESOME SKI!!!!!:D

Re: Musky Weekend (10/10-10/11, 2015)
 

Thanks guys! I'm definitely going to be fishing for them more often, such an amazing fish.

Re: Musky Weekend (10/10-10/11, 2015)
 

Amazing fish!

Re: Musky Weekend (10/10-10/11, 2015)
 

Muskies can be caught by most good fishermen that put some effort into it.. The problem is, many of us don't want to invest the time needed to hook and land them.. Most of us go for the "high percentage" stuff.
You did the right thing actually targeting them, and your plan came together very nicely... Next time, you may spend a full week fishing for one, and never even see one,or even get a hit.. Or you might fish a half day and catch 2... thats muskie fishing... Very very nice fish for your first one!.... bob

Re: Musky Weekend (10/10-10/11, 2015)
 

Trophy for sure. Great job on the catch and nicer job with the release. Can't imagine any aspect of musky fishing is easy from a kayak. It's good seeing some real healthy fish being caught in local waters. Great job and even more impressive being it was your first shot at musky fishing. I guess muskies are now "The fish of 5,000 casts" since you definitely brought the averages down!