Fishing Report 8/28

[Scott McKee]

Things started out with a bit of bang today for Carrie and I and they ended with quite a shock.

We started the day casting in UN13.  On my first cast with a Bull Dawg, I had a very nice low forty something follow.  Good start.  After working the area over pretty well, we worked our way trolling, casting and jigging down the Chip past Boyer Creek.  We didn't see another fish down the west side.  On our run home we stopped to see if we could get the following musky to go.  Nope, but I did watch him porpoise ten feet from the boat and I'm almost positive he had a big smile on his face.  Like I said, "another fish".

I was done, but Carrie suggested we speed troll above Frenchman's upstream and then down and call it a day..  Why not?  On our downstream my 5" Wiley Musky King in Brown Pikie stopped dead.  I knew it was a decent fish. 

It's at this point when the story gets a little weird.  A bowling bowl dropped out of the sky and smacked my boat.  Or maybe another boat crashed into my ride.  I know there aren't any rocks here to hit.  Did I get hit the head with a golf ball?  I didn't think there was supposed to be any lightening today?  I blurted out in a half scream, "What the hell was that?", as a very nice musky was thrashing 70 or so feet behind my boat.

Something really odd had happened to me almost immediately after the fish hit.  It felt like someone hit me in the back of the head with a baseball bat knocking out a few fillings. What in the hell?  After a second I determined my implanted defibrillator had fired.  It's a miracle I didn't drop the rod or loose the fish.  At this point I was a little nervous and Carrie was really upset, but she did a great job composing herself and netted my 43" tiger musky perfectly.  This whole saga was viewed by a family of anglers anchored just above Frenchman's.

How's that for a daily double?

According to the cardiologist who checked my defibrillator tonight, my heart was in atrial fibrillation and was beating at 207 beats per minute when the device fired.  The funny things is I never felt my heart go into A-fib and my heart always beats a little faster when I have a decent fish on.  Apparently the whole episode lasted only twenty seconds.  207 beats per minute with a 43"?  What would a 53" do to me?  (I am willing to find out by the way.)

I refer to my defibrillator as "my beeper".  My Guardian Angel is more like it.  I love the Zippo lighter buried in my chest.  It's worth it's weight in gold and a whole bunch more.  This was the first time my beeper went off and the 43" is my biggest tiger yet.

I have always given my heart and soul to musky fishing.  Today musky fishing almost cashed them in.   I don't think I'll forget this fish for a very long time.  At least I hope so.  Good luck everyone.

[Scott McKee]

What reel are you going to throw on that bad boy?  I wouldn't get a Lexa for Double 10's or anything large you want to crank.  I love mine for D-Raiders, Jakes, creatures and lures I work more with the rod. 

[John Pensyl]

Gotta figure out exactly what I'm going to use it for. Gonna pair it with an original Toro 60 (5.4) and try to use it for big bucktails and jigging for now. If I can get the same feel or better while jigging I get from my 8' MI rod it will stay and ill throw a 60hs on the 8 footer and use it for snapping stickbaits. Blew up my spring/bucktail rod trying to overload it casting a hellhound so I have a reel without a home right now. Boooooooom!

[Josh Ketry]

Wicked fish Scott, and what a story to go with it! Congrats!  You have to have your doctor program in a default setting on that thing so it doesn't go off when the fish hit.  Raised the BPM setting to 225 for the days you are on the water.

Big Nasty is an awesome rod, John.  Figure 8s will take on a whole new meaning. 

[Jerry Miller]

Scott, I have yet to catch a Tiger MUSKY and I dream of it! The one you're holding is a dream that is wet in nature! (OH NO NOT THE DREAMS AGAIN!!!) I guess I'm just not pretty enough to get a Tiger yet (inside joke)! HAHA!! That is a SPECTACULAR FISH BRO! I love it so much, I super imposed my head, on your body, and treated it like a 13 year old finding a Playboy for the first time! OH BABY!!

Jerry