Fishing Report 8/21

[Scott McKee]

It was a bittersweet day down the west River today.  Carrie started us out with a dink off the cattails on a black bucktail as the fog was just burning off the water.  We grabbed the cheapies and trolled the Shipyards to Bayer Creek along the Canadian shore both shallow and deep.  Nothing.  Below Bayer Carrie had a 36" male destroy her (my) Carpe Diem 10" Believer.  The little guy went ballistic.  Unfortunately he came in with five hooks points buried in his gills.  I did the best I could cutting and removing hooks, but he couldn't keep himself upright and most likely bled to death despite our best efforts to revive him.  Very sad.  Carrie was obviously upset and started to tear up.  I tried to console her.  She replied to my, "It's not your fault's" and "It happens sometimes'." and the "There was nothing we could do's", with "I feel like I killed someones dog."  Muskies aren't pets no matter how much we think they are.  When you are pulling or chucking around huge lures with massive treble hooks hanging from them, accidental deaths like this will happen.  It still sucks that the fish died, but the only way to guarantee we won't kill muskies is to never fish for them.

After her fish died, neither of us felt like fishing much anymore.  We cast Navy Island because we were there.  Nothing but tons of floating weeds.

Time to take a nap and then back at it tonight.

[John Miller]

Situations like these make a strong argument for jigging and casting single hook lures versus trolling.  I am often reminded of the difference in fish injury between the two when I catch one of the many single eyed Niagara specimens and I have caught quite a few.  I do troll, not as much as I jig or cast, primarily because I am more successful utilizing the later techniques.  But I will say that the trolled fish i catch are far more likely to get implaed by trebles in the gill plates and face then fish I catch using other methods.  Fish injury is definately something to consider when deciding on your primary method of capture. 

[Jay Nannen]

Carrie I want to tell you how much I admire how hard you have worked to become a skilled angler and how thrilled I am by your success.  Never forget that at the end of the day as much as we love muskies and all the fish we pursue they live and die just like we do.  Some are killed by predators.  Others die from changes in water temperature or changes in their environment,  and sadly some from being caught by us.  Not so very long ago every musky that got caught was killed and had its head cut off and hung above a garage door.  Hopefully the good we do by helping improve their habitat and advocating correct methods of catch and release more than make up for the few fish we kill.  You are a terrific angler and i hope you keep fishing and inspiring the rest of us for years to come.

[Carrie Keane]

Thanks Jay, that makes me feel a little better :)

[Tony Scime]

Fish Report 8/21

I trolled and tubed 6:30 to 12:30. Caught nothing.

I saw some anglers catching bass. They looked like they were having fun. I was tempted.

Honestly, my faith in the muskie gods is being tested.

A few fish will die when we catch them. All we can do is try to minimize the damage and handle and release them the best we can.   

[jojo wilczewski]

Good Day

Wished with some rookie youngsters yesterday 4:30-8:30. Bass cooperated they both caught some of the biggest bass of there lives, and the young one certianly did. I love it  when our bass dog the kids into tring to hand off the rod because they are so strong. One jar of Gulp $20. Half tank of gas $10. Scobby snacks almost nothing. A little guy "ringing the dinner bell" j(jiggling his  drop shotted Gulp minnow) and screaming I feel a bite as his rod gets dogged, PRICELESS...

Switched to the trolling for teeth at dark 8:30 - 10:30 Nutin  Almost no weeds.

Folks lets not forget about Accidental Angler Mortality the average is 30%. Hopefully we can do better and lower it to 10 %. That means for every ten fish, we kill one! The only thing we can do to prevent it is not to fish. Thats not going to happen, what we can do is try to do our best and quickest releases and what we can to help the habitat.

ALA BALA BALA

jojoout

[John Pensyl]

Launched at 330am, trolled for 2 hrs, nata. lost a fish on a cowgirl casting un1 while still dark. Had a swing and a miss leaving me with a shredded tube as the sun came up. Cullen lost a decent fish jigging shortly after. Slid down to frenchmans and hit a 39" jigging around 8. Cullen had a mid 30s fish chase in a bulldawg casting toward beaver about an hr later, fish overshot boatside and and Cullen had to use evasive maneuvers to keep the bait out of the fishes side. 2 casts later same fish hit, then continued to follow my my bucktail thru a couple figure 8s and then lost interest. Fish still wasn't done as it followed that bulldawg back to tube boat cullens next 2 casts. Tried the east river for a while after that but no takers, quit by noon, consistant action but only 1 fish to show for it. Today was very similar minus the fish...... Not even a follow, well not counting bass and perch chasing there plastic and wooden friends.

[Tony Scime]

 John:

As a troller by birth (so maybe I’m a bit biased), yet a lover of tubes, I feel compelled to respond to your comments regarding the damage trollers do to angler caught muskellunge versus single-hooked jiggers/casters. I’m guessing that you wrote without really considering what you were sayng, but nonetheless I found your comments to be a bit unfair, unrealistic, and in need of a response.

First, I’m guessing (maybe I’m wrong) that many of the damaged muskies you have observed are in areas you frequently fish. If so, those are areas dominated by jigger/casters, and not trollers. So we can only guess how those fish were damaged - by trollers, by jigger/casters, or by natural causes.

Secondly, I believe that both jigging/casting and trolling have an equal place in our fishery and, based upon my experience, I believe that both can be effective, though imperfect, methods of catching and releasing muskellunge. I’ll address issues concerning both methods.

As a trolling advocate, I will say that there are things trollers should do to minimize the risk of damage:

1. Don't use over-sized lures (I haven’t been using lures over 8" in the river, mainly because most of the fish are under 40"). I think that big lures do more damage to small fish, simply because of the reach. For example, I would never use a Plow in the river because it’s more than  1/3 the size of most of the muskies we catch. Its length alone make it more likely to do damage to a smaller muskie.

2. Our lures should only have two trebles. Three trebles aren’t necessary and cause more of the problems you cite.

3. We should blunt the barbs on our hooks to do less damage.

4. I also believe that straight lures are less likely to do damage than jointed lures. The joint allows the lure to reach into areas of a fish a straight lure cannot bend into. All my day fishing is done with straight lures.

Incidentally, each of the above can also apply to jigger/casters. I think that if you apply these four things you’ll rarely experience the problems you cite while trolling. If you check my release reports, you’ll see that almost all of my trolling fish were caught with straight 8" Depthraiders with only 2 trebles. All were released without injury (although some required hook cutting).   

As a lover of tubing, let me make a few observations concerning jigging/casting:

My major concern with caster/jiggers (myself included) is that we tend to pound the same areas over and over. Many of these fish are subjected to multiple angler interactions.  I doubt that the releases are always successful or always go without damage. The pure numbers of fish caught in small areas may make it a more damaging presentation than trolling. When I fish around Strawberry, there are always casters/jiggers in the area and very few (mostly zero) trollers. In fact, I believe that while most trollers (all four or five of us) spread the pressure throughout the fishery, most caster/jiggers tend to  spend 98% of their time fishing limited areas (the best areas, I might add). The only people I see casting/jigging past the shipyards in the west river is, um, McKee, Keane, and me. And I go there everytime I’m out. The jigger/caster mantra I’ve heard is "don’t leave fish to find fish". I believe that this is a very short-sighted and ill conceived concept which I’ll more fully address at another time. Trollers leave fish to find fish constantly.  I do it purposely, because I know that when you see fish in one area of the fishery, they’ll be active elsewhere, and that’s the best time to find new spots. In the short run we may catch less fish, but I think in the long run we are better anglers. Anyone can pound the best spots to death, figuratively and literally, and think they’re good, I’ve seen trollers do it many times in the past (ie the South Gap). I find it disheartening.

So I think in the long-run, that the trolling approach is better for the health of the fish and the fishery  because the casting/jigging approach, for reasons I don’t fully understand, tends to concentrate the pressure in very limited (the figurative and literal heart of the fishery) areas.

As you should know, I’ve tried (with no success) to get casters/jiggers away from the prime areas. I’ve stated my objective in doing so was to make them better musky anglers. That is only partially true. I’m also concerned about the concentrated pressure they put on limited areas. I see caster/jiggers doing that, and not trollers.  However, I try not to be critical. I know that most anglers only have limited time on the water and that they want to maximize their chances given the time constraints they have. I understand that.

Incidentally, I've been using treble trailers on my tubes. I've had more difficulty removing the large single-hooks than the smaller trebles. I think it's because of the size of the barb (a good argument for blunting). I've also noticed some recent damage (large holes and sores) in the jaws of muskies which may have been caused by forcibly removing these large-barbed hooks. I think that some guys may hesitate to cut the large hooks because that would ruin the jig. But I really don't know.

All that being said, I do agree that casting blunted-barbed single-hooked (no trailers) lures is the best way to minimize damage to angler caught muskies. But realistically, I think trolling and other presentations are acceptable, and I wouldn’t be overly critical of any method as long as the angler does the best he or she can to effectively release the muskies he or she catches.

So let’s do the best we can to minimize the damage we do and fish without guilt.

Tony

John Miller said:

Situations like these make a strong argument for jigging and casting single hook lures versus trolling.  I am often reminded of the difference in fish injury between the two when I catch one of the many single eyed Niagara specimens and I have caught quite a few.  I do troll, not as much as I jig or cast, primarily because I am more successful utilizing the later techniques.  But I will say that the trolled fish i catch are far more likely to get implaed by trebles in the gill plates and face then fish I catch using other methods.  Fish injury is definately something to consider when deciding on your primary method of capture. 

[John Miller]

Tony, being that you are one of the most experienced active anglers on the Niagara, I value your opinions on the fishery and methods of angling greatly.  But I must say that I feel my comments were very realistic and I said what I intented to say.

Your interpretation on my comments were a bit off, but none the less thought provoking. In fact some of the points you made have been heavily considered and acted on by myself.  I will refer to those points shortly.  But first let me explain the point that I feel you misinterpreted.  My comment about trolling causing more hooking damage to fish is more so on a case to case basis, not meant to be interpreted as jigging is better for the overall health of the fishery than trolling.  There are several reasons that I feel jigging is not great for the overall fishery, but again that was not the focus of my comment.  Rather I meant that wether the fish is caught down the west river or in the front of Strawberry Island it has a greater chance of suffering from mutliple hook point damage and also getting hooked in body parts that were not intended to be hooked.   I have seen the tail hooks of trolling bait such as Trophy Divers, Perchbaits and Ernies get into the gill rakers and anterior portions of fish. In fact often time trolling fish roll up in the bait only to be dragged across the surface once the tail treble finds a home in the flesh.   Being the accomplished troller that you are you must have experienced this on a great many occassions over the years.   I am certain that I seldom experience this type of capture while jigging or throwing spinner baits.  I stand by my statements.  It's just common sense that a bait moving 3 - 5 mph with 6 to 9 razor sharp hook points is more likely to cause injury to areas other than the mouth.  Do I think injury can occur using single or double hook points on a bait, of course!  That is not to say I think trolling is a poor overall choice, like I said I troll too so i am not pointing fingers at anyone who uses the technique.  I am sure you will agree that the only way to prevent hurting the fish that we admire so much is to stop fishing for them, something I am not willing to do. 

Your point about jig barbs tearing larger than necessary holes in the mouth of fish can be an issue if the angler is still using thick diameter salt water tin hooks, I switched to thin diameter hooks years ago.  Also if an angler is not willing to cut a $2 jig head to help a fish that is hooked poorly, shame on them.  Fact is though that most jig fish fall off the hook once it reaches the net bag and/or pressure is released from the line. 

You mention jiggers and casters focusing their efforts in the heart of the fishery....very good point and something I am not fond of, but guilty of myself for the reasons you pointed out....... time restraints.  But also lets not forget the cost of fuel!  Its not cheap to venture down stream searching for new spots that just don't "seem" to be as productive. Although, I am sure that eventually I will release a giant in these areas.  As far as fuel costs, I know because I have made trips down both rivers over the years and  more trips than usual this season.   My 1984 motor just isn't as fuel efficient as I wish it were.  To me its just not the same catching a recycled musky from the same old spots anymore.  If it weren't for the fuel issue I am sure much more of my time would be spent down river.  Like you, I hope others will spend some time trying new areas. 

Thanks again for adding to the discussion.  Like I said if we really want to do whats best for the fish, then we shouldn't fish for them.  Fish injury and accidental death will occur, its up to us to try to limit that injury.   

 
Tony Scime said:

 John:

As a troller by birth (so maybe I’m a bit biased), yet a lover of tubes, I feel compelled to respond to your comments regarding the damage trollers do to angler caught muskellunge versus single-hooked jiggers/casters. I’m guessing that you wrote without really considering what you were sayng, but nonetheless I found your comments to be a bit unfair, unrealistic, and in need of a response.

First, I’m guessing (maybe I’m wrong) that many of the damaged muskies you have observed are in areas you frequently fish. If so, those are areas dominated by jigger/casters, and not trollers. So we can only guess how those fish were damaged - by trollers, by jigger/casters, or by natural causes.

Secondly, I believe that both jigging/casting and trolling have an equal place in our fishery and, based upon my experience, I believe that both can be effective, though imperfect, methods of catching and releasing muskellunge. I’ll address issues concerning both methods.

As a trolling advocate, I will say that there are things trollers should do to minimize the risk of damage:

1. Don't use over-sized lures (I haven’t been using lures over 8" in the river, mainly because most of the fish are under 40"). I think that big lures do more damage to small fish, simply because of the reach. For example, I would never use a Plow in the river because it’s more than  1/3 the size of most of the muskies we catch. Its length alone make it more likely to do damage to a smaller muskie.

2. Our lures should only have two trebles. Three trebles aren’t necessary and cause more of the problems you cite.

3. We should blunt the barbs on our hooks to do less damage.

4. I also believe that straight lures are less likely to do damage than jointed lures. The joint allows the lure to reach into areas of a fish a straight lure cannot bend into. All my day fishing is done with straight lures.

Incidentally, each of the above can also apply to jigger/casters. I think that if you apply these four things you’ll rarely experience the problems you cite while trolling. If you check my release reports, you’ll see that almost all of my trolling fish were caught with straight 8" Depthraiders with only 2 trebles. All were released without injury (although some required hook cutting).   

As a lover of tubing, let me make a few observations concerning jigging/casting:

My major concern with caster/jiggers (myself included) is that we tend to pound the same areas over and over. Many of these fish are subjected to multiple angler interactions.  I doubt that the releases are always successful or always go without damage. The pure numbers of fish caught in small areas may make it a more damaging presentation than trolling. When I fish around Strawberry, there are always casters/jiggers in the area and very few (mostly zero) trollers. In fact, I believe that while most trollers (all four or five of us) spread the pressure throughout the fishery, most caster/jiggers tend to  spend 98% of their time fishing limited areas (the best areas, I might add). The only people I see casting/jigging past the shipyards in the west river is, um, McKee, Keane, and me. And I go there everytime I’m out. The jigger/caster mantra I’ve heard is "don’t leave fish to find fish". I believe that this is a very short-sighted and ill conceived concept which I’ll more fully address at another time. Trollers leave fish to find fish constantly.  I do it purposely, because I know that when you see fish in one area of the fishery, they’ll be active elsewhere, and that’s the best time to find new spots. In the short run we may catch less fish, but I think in the long run we are better anglers. Anyone can pound the best spots to death, figuratively and literally, and think they’re good, I’ve seen trollers do it many times in the past (ie the South Gap). I find it disheartening.

So I think in the long-run, that the trolling approach is better for the health of the fish and the fishery  because the casting/jigging approach, for reasons I don’t fully understand, tends to concentrate the pressure in very limited (the figurative and literal heart of the fishery) areas.

As you should know, I’ve tried (with no success) to get casters/jiggers away from the prime areas. I’ve stated my objective in doing so was to make them better musky anglers. That is only partially true. I’m also concerned about the concentrated pressure they put on limited areas. I see caster/jiggers doing that, and not trollers.  However, I try not to be critical. I know that most anglers only have limited time on the water and that they want to maximize their chances given the time constraints they have. I understand that.

Incidentally, I've been using treble trailers on my tubes. I've had more difficulty removing the large single-hooks than the smaller trebles. I think it's because of the size of the barb (a good argument for blunting). I've also noticed some recent damage (large holes and sores) in the jaws of muskies which may have been caused by forcibly removing these large-barbed hooks. I think that some guys may hesitate to cut the large hooks because that would ruin the jig. But I really don't know.

All that being said, I do agree that casting blunted-barbed single-hooked (no trailers) lures is the best way to minimize damage to angler caught muskies. But realistically, I think trolling and other presentations are acceptable, and I wouldn’t be overly critical of any method as long as the angler does the best he or she can to effectively release the muskies he or she catches.

So let’s do the best we can to minimize the damage we do and fish without guilt.

Tony

John Miller said:

Situations like these make a strong argument for jigging and casting single hook lures versus trolling.  I am often reminded of the difference in fish injury between the two when I catch one of the many single eyed Niagara specimens and I have caught quite a few.  I do troll, not as much as I jig or cast, primarily because I am more successful utilizing the later techniques.  But I will say that the trolled fish i catch are far more likely to get implaed by trebles in the gill plates and face then fish I catch using other methods.  Fish injury is definately something to consider when deciding on your primary method of capture. 

[Tony Scime]

John:

There's a lot of validity to what you've said. That's why I've listed things trollers can do to lessen the likelihood of the injuries you cite. However, although I have observed and experienced those problems on occassion in the past, I don't believe they're all that common. In fact, I can say I haven't had any of those issues  this year.

Although casting/jigging has less risks to a caught fish, I know that it if it was my prime method that I would spend most of my tme in the same areas as everyone else. I've always prefered getting away from the crowd, and trolling gets me away faster. However, if anglers are going to fish the same areas over and over, jigging/casting will probably do less damage to the fish they catch and should be the preferred method.

And I always found exploration to be one of the most enjoyable aspects of muskie fishing, whether here or elsewhere. And I believe trolling is a better tool for learning new water. More importantly, I also find trolling a useful tool in the river to gauge the fishery relative to the past. I think I'm beyond the point where I fish just to catch fish.  Learning about the state of the fishery interests me more, even if it means I'll catch less fish. I don't believe casting/jigging is as an efficient method, because they take more time to cover water. Currently the river really isn't  measuring up to the past. Not even close. But I'll keep checking.

Tony
 
John Miller said:

Tony, being that you are one of the most experienced active anglers on the Niagara, I value your opinions on the fishery and methods of angling greatly.  But I must say that I feel my comments were very realistic and I said what I intented to say.

Your interpretation on my comments were a bit off, but none the less thought provoking. In fact some of the points you made have been heavily considered and acted on by myself.  I will refer to those points shortly.  But first let me explain the point that I feel you misinterpreted.  My comment about trolling causing more hooking damage to fish is more so on a case to case basis, not meant to be interpreted as jigging is better for the overall health of the fishery than trolling.  There are several reasons that I feel jigging is not great for the overall fishery, but again that was not the focus of my comment.  Rather I meant that wether the fish is caught down the west river or in the front of Strawberry Island it has a greater chance of suffering from mutliple hook point damage and also getting hooked in body parts that were not intended to be hooked.   I have seen the tail hooks of trolling bait such as Trophy Divers, Perchbaits and Ernies get into the gill rakers and anterior portions of fish. In fact often time trolling fish roll up in the bait only to be dragged across the surface once the tail treble finds a home in the flesh.   Being the accomplished troller that you are you must have experienced this on a great many occassions over the years.   I am certain that I seldom experience this type of capture while jigging or throwing spinner baits.  I stand by my statements.  It's just common sense that a bait moving 3 - 5 mph with 6 to 9 razor sharp hook points is more likely to cause injury to areas other than the mouth.  Do I think injury can occur using single or double hook points on a bait, of course!  That is not to say I think trolling is a poor overall choice, like I said I troll too so i am not pointing fingers at anyone who uses the technique.  I am sure you will agree that the only way to prevent hurting the fish that we admire so much is to stop fishing for them, something I am not willing to do. 

Your point about jig barbs tearing larger than necessary holes in the mouth of fish can be an issue if the angler is still using thick diameter salt water tin hooks, I switched to thin diameter hooks years ago.  Also if an angler is not willing to cut a $2 jig head to help a fish that is hooked poorly, shame on them.  Fact is though that most jig fish fall off the hook once it reaches the net bag and/or pressure is released from the line. 

You mention jiggers and casters focusing their efforts in the heart of the fishery....very good point and something I am not fond of, but guilty of myself for the reasons you pointed out....... time restraints.  But also lets not forget the cost of fuel!  Its not cheap to venture down stream searching for new spots that just don't "seem" to be as productive. Although, I am sure that eventually I will release a giant in these areas.  As far as fuel costs, I know because I have made trips down both rivers over the years and  more trips than usual this season.   My 1984 motor just isn't as fuel efficient as I wish it were.  To me its just not the same catching a recycled musky from the same old spots anymore.  If it weren't for the fuel issue I am sure much more of my time would be spent down river.  Like you, I hope others will spend some time trying new areas. 

Thanks again for adding to the discussion.  Like I said if we really want to do whats best for the fish, then we shouldn't fish for them.  Fish injury and accidental death will occur, its up to us to try to limit that injury.   

 
Tony Scime said:

 John:

As a troller by birth (so maybe I’m a bit biased), yet a lover of tubes, I feel compelled to respond to your comments regarding the damage trollers do to angler caught muskellunge versus single-hooked jiggers/casters. I’m guessing that you wrote without really considering what you were sayng, but nonetheless I found your comments to be a bit unfair, unrealistic, and in need of a response.

First, I’m guessing (maybe I’m wrong) that many of the damaged muskies you have observed are in areas you frequently fish. If so, those are areas dominated by jigger/casters, and not trollers. So we can only guess how those fish were damaged - by trollers, by jigger/casters, or by natural causes.

Secondly, I believe that both jigging/casting and trolling have an equal place in our fishery and, based upon my experience, I believe that both can be effective, though imperfect, methods of catching and releasing muskellunge. I’ll address issues concerning both methods.

As a trolling advocate, I will say that there are things trollers should do to minimize the risk of damage:

1. Don't use over-sized lures (I haven’t been using lures over 8" in the river, mainly because most of the fish are under 40"). I think that big lures do more damage to small fish, simply because of the reach. For example, I would never use a Plow in the river because it’s more than  1/3 the size of most of the muskies we catch. Its length alone make it more likely to do damage to a smaller muskie.

2. Our lures should only have two trebles. Three trebles aren’t necessary and cause more of the problems you cite.

3. We should blunt the barbs on our hooks to do less damage.

4. I also believe that straight lures are less likely to do damage than jointed lures. The joint allows the lure to reach into areas of a fish a straight lure cannot bend into. All my day fishing is done with straight lures.

Incidentally, each of the above can also apply to jigger/casters. I think that if you apply these four things you’ll rarely experience the problems you cite while trolling. If you check my release reports, you’ll see that almost all of my trolling fish were caught with straight 8" Depthraiders with only 2 trebles. All were released without injury (although some required hook cutting).   

As a lover of tubing, let me make a few observations concerning jigging/casting:

My major concern with caster/jiggers (myself included) is that we tend to pound the same areas over and over. Many of these fish are subjected to multiple angler interactions.  I doubt that the releases are always successful or always go without damage. The pure numbers of fish caught in small areas may make it a more damaging presentation than trolling. When I fish around Strawberry, there are always casters/jiggers in the area and very few (mostly zero) trollers. In fact, I believe that while most trollers (all four or five of us) spread the pressure throughout the fishery, most caster/jiggers tend to  spend 98% of their time fishing limited areas (the best areas, I might add). The only people I see casting/jigging past the shipyards in the west river is, um, McKee, Keane, and me. And I go there everytime I’m out. The jigger/caster mantra I’ve heard is "don’t leave fish to find fish". I believe that this is a very short-sighted and ill conceived concept which I’ll more fully address at another time. Trollers leave fish to find fish constantly.  I do it purposely, because I know that when you see fish in one area of the fishery, they’ll be active elsewhere, and that’s the best time to find new spots. In the short run we may catch less fish, but I think in the long run we are better anglers. Anyone can pound the best spots to death, figuratively and literally, and think they’re good, I’ve seen trollers do it many times in the past (ie the South Gap). I find it disheartening.

So I think in the long-run, that the trolling approach is better for the health of the fish and the fishery  because the casting/jigging approach, for reasons I don’t fully understand, tends to concentrate the pressure in very limited (the figurative and literal heart of the fishery) areas.

As you should know, I’ve tried (with no success) to get casters/jiggers away from the prime areas. I’ve stated my objective in doing so was to make them better musky anglers. That is only partially true. I’m also concerned about the concentrated pressure they put on limited areas. I see caster/jiggers doing that, and not trollers.  However, I try not to be critical. I know that most anglers only have limited time on the water and that they want to maximize their chances given the time constraints they have. I understand that.

Incidentally, I've been using treble trailers on my tubes. I've had more difficulty removing the large single-hooks than the smaller trebles. I think it's because of the size of the barb (a good argument for blunting). I've also noticed some recent damage (large holes and sores) in the jaws of muskies which may have been caused by forcibly removing these large-barbed hooks. I think that some guys may hesitate to cut the large hooks because that would ruin the jig. But I really don't know.

All that being said, I do agree that casting blunted-barbed single-hooked (no trailers) lures is the best way to minimize damage to angler caught muskies. But realistically, I think trolling and other presentations are acceptable, and I wouldn’t be overly critical of any method as long as the angler does the best he or she can to effectively release the muskies he or she catches.

So let’s do the best we can to minimize the damage we do and fish without guilt.

Tony

John Miller said:

Situations like these make a strong argument for jigging and casting single hook lures versus trolling.  I am often reminded of the difference in fish injury between the two when I catch one of the many single eyed Niagara specimens and I have caught quite a few.  I do troll, not as much as I jig or cast, primarily because I am more successful utilizing the later techniques.  But I will say that the trolled fish i catch are far more likely to get implaed by trebles in the gill plates and face then fish I catch using other methods.  Fish injury is definately something to consider when deciding on your primary method of capture.