fishing report

[carl schenk]

fished tuesday aboard Scott Ks' boat and we both had fish slice up our lures but neither of us managed a solid hook-up.  felt bad at watching Scott constantly on the electric trying to keep the boat lined up because of the wind.  back out in my little boat on thursday morning and let the wind have its way with me.  raised the biggest fish i've seen this year while in UN2, but watched it lose interest at boatside.  spent the next 2 hrs gridding the area with a few different lure colors and sizes but no luck.  headed further down river and got thoroughly worked by the wind but just before quitting for the day a high 30ish fish rewarded me for my effort.   twenty feet out from boat i stupidly decided the fish hadn't tired itself for me to bring it all the way to the boat for netting so as it layed there watching me i let some pressure off hoping the fish would swim a bit more.  fish made the right choice and just stayed still and shook its head.  lure out and good-bye fish.  still not ready to blame the new net.  NEXT TIME!!...

[Scott McKee]

Horse them Carl!  Put the screws to them every chance you get.

[Tony Scime]

Scott's right. If I can help it, I never, ever give them any slack. Keep the pressure on and get them to the boat ASAP. The longer they're not netted, the higher chance of an early unintended release.

Of course, that's ok if you want them to free themselves (I do do that some times - it easier than dealing with the net and unhooking, especially when I'm fishing alone).

[Scott McKee]

Here's today's musky equation:

Longer fight = more lactic acid build-up = greater chance of post release mortality.

Kick their ass every time.  We use heavy rods, reels and line for a reason.  They are not just for throwing around big lures.  Horse them in quick and get rid of them faster.