Friday morning fishing report

[Tony Scime]

Went muskie fishing this morning. Had a choice between yesterday or today. Yesterday was northeast winds with bright sunshine, today was east to calm to southwest with some passing clouds. I chose today because I like calm and southwest more than northeast. And the changing winds might trigger a bite.

Was out before sunrise. First took a couple drifts in the triangle with nothing. Then took a drift from Frenchman's to Black Creek along the Canadian shoreline. Took an hour or so, but I wasn't really keeping track of time. Nice looking water all along the way, with scattered humps with fish around them. As I drifted along I felt something funny about my tube, like something chewing on it. But it was gone before my brain decided to try setting the hook. My synapses must be slowing. I checked out the tube. The deep slices on the lure verified what I thought I felt. If nothing else, it told me that a muskie was catchable today.

Boy that shoreline with its miles of weeds sure looks like I should cast. But not today. Somehow the sky went from mostly sunny to all clouds. Looked like it might rain. It didn't. A mini-front. The type that can trigger something on an otherwise uneventful day.

So I headed back up to the Triangle. As I neared the end of my drift I reeled in my tube to clean off the weeds. I decided to turn off the GoPro to limit the length of the clip in case I catch a fish. I do that routinely and usually turn the GoPro back on before the next cast.

I cast out my green tube and started a slow retrieve when a fish takes the bait. I set the hook and start the fight. It crosses my mind that I forgot to turn on the GoPro before the cast. I think about turning it on while fighting the fish. "DON'T DO IT. DON'T DO IT" screams a voice in my left ear. It's Scott McKee. In my head. He knows. You see, this has happened before. When casting I used to start the GoPro after I hooked a fish. I lost the fish every time. EVERY TIME! Give them a moment of slack and that's all they need. At least ten times it's happened. So now I always start the Gopro before I cast the lure at the beginning of the drift. And Scott would tell me I should know better. "DON'T DO IT", he yelled again. God, I wished he'd get out of my head. I thought about the nasty and hurtful things Scott would say about my intelligence if I lost another fish while trying to start the GoPro. "Oh crap" I told myself, if it's a big fish I'll just GoPro the measurement and release". 

It wasn't a big fish. But it was a fighter full of energy. It was one of those muskies which shoot from one end of the boat to the other in a flash. Then right in front of me it skyrockets and pirouettes in mid-air. One of the most impressive and beautiful jumps I've ever seen. Or at least in quite a while. A seemingly slow-motion, acrobatic somersault. I wish the GoPro was on. If I lose this fish it will be now. The large trailer hook pulled out in the explosion when the fish crashed back into the river. But the second hook held. Still it fought but I was able to quickly slide the net beneath her and the battle was over. 

I Gopro'd the measurement and release. She was 40 inches. Impressive how hard these low-40 inch muskies fight. And how does Scott McKee get into my head?

[Scott McKee]

Tony, when a Stringease is past its prime, when my line is a little older than I'd like, when I haven't checked the sharpness of my hooks, whenever it would be easier for me to ignore the mundane while fishing, I hear something you said at the first NMA meeting I ever attended. "Muskies, and especially big muskies will always exploit your weakest link." You have been in my head for twenty-six years. Hearing your voice in my head has certainly aided me catching more muskies. I am more than happy to repay the favor.

[Scott McKee]

On the water, when things are not exactly going my way, I've caught a large number of muskies, including some very large muskies, by asking myself one simple question, "what would (insert club member here) do in this situation?" I think it's a good thing to have member's voices, both alive and passed away, in our heads. It does get a little crowded in the gray soup between my ears the older I get, though.

[Tony Scime]

One thing I've learned in 45+ years of muskie fishing is that there's something to learn from any and all muskie anglers, no matter how many years of experience they do or do not have. Fresh ideas, new perspectives, are always worthwhile. I'm always watching what others are doing. 

[John Jarosz]

The better question is: "How do you get him out of your head?"