July 18 Report

[Tony Scime]

Woke up this am at 4:15, checked the weather report, looked good, so I decided to go out fishing.

Brisk north wind put a chop on the water. I heard that northerlies are bad for tubing but good for trolling. So I started trolling at 5:45. At 5:55 had a muskie at boatside. Had hit hard and felt good. Depth Raider White Raider. Triangle. Fish couldn't shake off so I snagged the lure hooks with the net and did a stick measurement - 42 inches with a curve in the body. Nice fish. Popped the one hook she couldn't shake and she slowly swam away.

I took a quick picture (attached) just to show how easy the net snagging is, at least when using a lure with a few hook points. Easy on the fish and easy on the angler, especially when fishing alone. Less traumatic than netting for the fish, I think. And easy to get an in water measurement with a measuring stick. We have no business taking our fish out of the water in these temps (77 in the east, 76 in  the west).

I wanted to test the west while conditions were favorable so I took a troll down river and worked the shipyards, Staleys and Black Creek areas. Hooked a 34"er at Black Creek. She/he was able to shake free at boatside. That is the best release for the fish, especially in these warm water temps. So put your egos aside and let them escape untouched, if you can (when it comes to muskie fishing, egos are a tough thing to release).

Means a lot to catch a Black Creek fish (more than any triangle fish). Everyone and their grandmother has been catching muskies fairly consistently from the UN2, UN3 and UN13 areas for over a hundred years. That is good, and it's good that it's been as productive this year as it has been. But the real barometer for this fishery is the rest of the river. For decades this river has produced from Strawberry to Navy, both Chippewa and Tonawanda channel. When it does that again, I'll know it's heading to where it once was. And those memories will become reality again. 

The west river has plenty of deep water, over 30 feet ahead of staleys, and plenty of 20 around Black Creek. And it has held a stain better than the upper west, which is real surprising. It has produced numbers of good and large muskies for many years, until the past decade. So don't be afraid to give it a try. I didn't see another boat while I was down there, so no competition, either.

I love the muskie gods!

 

 

[John Miller]

good to know.  I'd love to try these areas, thanks Tony

[Jay Nannen]

Tony it is good to see you so engaged and back into musky fishing.  Hard for a lot of us to understand, but it is probably really hard to be out there fishing and comparing it to how it used to be.  You are an inspiration. Keep bringing them up and telling us all about it.

PS  Glad I picked you for my team this year!!!