Weekend reports?

Anyone doing any good on muskies??
 
 
 

Looks like it was caught at the igloo... I heard there's a decent bite there.
 
That's pic is funny!

I've seen people bring octopus' to hockey games but not ski's.

Cool Pic,I saved it to our computer.I haven'tdown any muskie fishing in awhile.What are your thoughts on the new regs for them?

A couple 48-50" minimum trophy lakes sure wouldn't hurt, especially since we have a few lakes that are like food factories for these fatties...

Been plugging the past few weeks couldn't raise a fish.  Went walleye fishing last weekend and one came up to the boat following a 14 inch walleye.  He apparently had got ahold of few because some of the ones i caught were missing large amounts of flesh. 

Lol. Don,t remember that one.

Gizmos,
 
It was In-Fisherman, it was from one of their musky videos.  I don't have it though.
 
Lundrunner

In Fisherman.....I think it was Doug Stange and ............can't remember

Wow that May 3rd fish looks as if it had been dead for quite awhile.

I agree totally Dealinsteel.  However, the point I was trying to make is that I really don't think a 50" trophy rule on any of our lakes is necessary, especially by itself.  Nor do I think the rule will help produce bigger and better quality fish.  ALL of the other management efforts that you mention certainly would IMO.  In other words, exclusively pushing for such a regulation alone, would be a waste of time.  It may actually hurt.  If it would be an addition to a list of efforts to better improve the muskie fishery, I might be in favor.  Heres why I think so..... 

Who constitutes a trophy fish anyway?  A 50" ski may certainly be a trophy fish to you and I, but may not be to somebody else.  And is it right to try to educate those people that it is?  A muskie does not reach it's breeding potential until it reaches it's mid 30s and are in their prime in their 40s, so why can't any muskie over 40" be a trophy to someone?  I have caught some fish in the forties that I considered more impressive than some fifties I have caught.  As long as we continue to concentrate most efforts to support C&R, educate young anglers to the sport on proper handling techniques, and continued support of stocking/habitat enhancements etc... the trophies will take care of themselves as they have.  Years ago, you very rarely heard of 30, 40 or 50 pound fish being caught in the area with the exception of Pymy when it was managed and renouned one of the top muskie fisheries in the world along with Chautauqua.  The same went to 40+ and 50+ inch fish.  Now days, you see many 30+ pounders, some 40+ pounders and the ocassional 50 pounder, you also see many more 40+ and 50+ inch muskies being caught.  Why?  C&R.  I have also seen the pressure on our local lakes skyrocket in recent years.  I certainly do not condemn anglers from taking up the sport, but it has effected the fishing and thats why I'd like to see more seminars and information on how to properly/effectively handle these fish allowing them a higher percentage of survival after being caught.  You don't know how many times I've seen guys boat fish, usually netting them, and the fish lay in the bottom of the boat for 10 minutes or more.  And 99% the time its not a 50" fish.  Its usually in the 30s and 40s.  Moraine, for example, has a good many of fish right now, it also has a good many anglers fishing for them.  I'd be willing to bet a very high percentage of those fish aren't being removed from the lake either, so what good will a 50" limit do?  Same goes for Pymy.  Theres a lot of pressure on these muskie out there, so i think we need to properly manage ALL of our lakes that contain muskie potential, and thats many.  Not just manage a few so that the muskie fisherman have more options rather than pouring most of the pressure on just a few lakes and thats another thing that this new regulation proposal may do.  You make Moraine a trophy lake, and you'll have muskie fishermen from all over the country here with all the hype.  I know I'm beginning to ramble on here, but you see, there are more important things regarding the sport that we need to concentrate our efforts on is all I'm saying.  And I'm not saying that I'm am right and you are worng here, I'm just not totally sure that its the right thing to do and a lot of thought needs to go into it before making such a change.  Many efforts have been made in the last 10 to 15 years to make the sport what it is today, I'd hate to see anything jeopordize those positive changes.  It may not, but we just need to be careful as to what we ask for.     

MuskyMastr,

I hear where your coming from, but outlawing nets would be virtually impossible quite frankly.  However you said it...educate...even with a net, there are proper fish handling techniques used that will give that fish a better chance at survival.  We're not netting crappie or walleye here.  People need to learn that you don't hoist a muskie into the boat with the net.  Its not an issue with me anymore either way, I chose to exclusively use the Boga and have for several years now with minimal problems.  The only problem I sometimes have is when the dang fish start spinning on the thing and sometimes get wrapped by the leader.  To each his own, however, as long as they know what their doing with the tools they use, educate themselves about them, establish a good routine in handling the fish and finally show them all the respect they possibly can.  We have a nice weekend coming up here, I'm anxious to get out, but you sure as hell won't see me at Pymy or Moraine!  Talk about ZOOOOOOOooooooooo...Will you be out MuskyMastr? 
 
Tight Lines.

I will be out on the big pond this weekend.  My musky fishing doesn't really heat up until July.  Spent the last 4 days replacing my outdrive and fixing a TON of little things on the big boat.
 
While I use a boga exclusivly now, when I was netting fish, I think I had a pretty good system.  The second that net was under the fish, the guy with the rod lifted the head out by lifting the pole.  That way the net man could get to the hooks before they had a chance to get tangled and make a mess.  Of course messes still happened but that is what side cutters are for.
 
I think the best education to take guys fishing with you.  When they see it first hand they start to understand, and there is no substitute for practice.

dealin',

Quote: "I can see both sides of the issue at hand, and understand both the pros and cons of them.  I think it's amazing how far we have come, even the number of new fishermen getting into a sport (way of life for some of us!) that can be sooo trying and intensive.  It's always important to have people that care so much about a resource that we try to protect it, which is alot of the reason PA has the premier east coast musky fishery."

Great words right there!

I know Kevin, and we've discussed all of these issues many times.  Bottom line is no matter how you choose to handle these fish, handle them with care/respect and have a quick and effective routine that gets that fish back into the water in as little time as possible. And like MuskyMastr said, theres nothing better than practice.

Mika....Its a shame you feel that way, but for me and all the methods I've tried in the past.  Gaff, Net, Cradle, Jaws of Life (kidding).  The Boga has been most effective, safest, quick and easy method for me.  There are a few things you need to do to prevent the fish from thrashing and getting a big hole in its jaw that only comes with experience.  Even the hole in its jaw is a whole lot better than taking off all the fishes slime in the net, getting it all tangled up in the bottom of the boat, and having out of the water for 10 minutes... IMO.

Guys,
If anyone wants to try to help with float stocking I met somebody from 3 Rivers MI who is making a contact list of names, phone numbers, and what water they would like to help with.  The hard part is that they usually stock during the week and on short notice.  If there's any chance at all you could help it wouldn't hurt to be on the list for your local water.  It would be nice to spread those babies out in some weedbeds where they have a better chance for survival instead of dropping a few hundred off at the boat launch.
 
You can e-mail me at h20wolf@hotmail .com and I'll pass your info on as I plan on calling him soon.
 
 

ShutUpNFish,
I didn't receive the email.  Maybe I should clarify my email is H20 (zero not O)  h20wolf@hotmail.com.
 
It would be nice to get some projects going like float stocking and habitat improvement.  A guy named Ken Anderson who is a habitat manager with the F&BC (Linesville I think) came to a 3 rivers meeting early this year.  They seem like they are willing to help with habitat improvements.  I think funding is the main issue, need a private group to fund the supplies but they will help build and install (cribs).
 
I like the idea of a musky stamp.  It may stop some non musky anglers from keeping fish and provide some funding for projects related directly to improving the musky fishery.