musky hunter article

[John Pensyl]

Anybody else see the 4 page article in musky hunter about the Niagara? Apparently the fishery is better than ever with fish averaging 44-52 inches and monsters being found from the mouth of the niagara right out to the bar. I remember the day the author was fishing here last september. It was the first temp drop when all the fish went shallow. We moved a ton of fish in less than 10 fow for a few days and apparently he did too and thinks it's always that way.

[Riley Himmrich]

Hahaha, i didnt want to post names but yes that is the guy! Yes, spinnerbaits, he is a canadian, actually lives in the Beamsville like me but havent run accross him, hate to bad mouth the guy not having met him in person but got a bad vibe from the get go, ill post up a few links. 

[Riley Himmrich]

I also noticed he is selling bolt cutters for 20.00 that can be bought at the hardware store for 8.00, that pissed me off, I'm worried to see his fish handling skills.

[Riley Himmrich]

"Musky Heaven" , oh this is rich!! 2 parts aswell, the first fish dosent even look like a Niagara fish!!! Looks Kawartha too me, people like this drive me freakin' nuts!

Part 1 http://www.niagarafishing.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=18105&...

Part 2 http://www.niagarafishing.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=18112&...

Heres the ever growing 51", 13 more follows, and a 42" and 43" in the boat!

http://www.niagarafishing.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=29351#entr...

Guys on that forum are just eating it up, i called BS on this guy from the start, knew it wouldn't stand with real musky guys.

[Riley Himmrich]

Website: http://www.muskiesniagarasmc.com/

[John Pensyl]

The article is a joke. I can't believe it was actually published. 4 full pages of bs. Time to write Saric.

[Riley Himmrich]

I will have to pick up a copy just for a laugh! Seems like the guy has got lucky with a nice fish or two and now thinks he has it all figured out and calls himself a guide. Please do, we dont need people like that.

[Scott McKee]

Riley, it's Knipex or stay home regarding hook cutters.  Everything else I used when I started (before I knew about Knipex) was complete garbage.  I won't musky fish without them.  I won't fish period in a system where muskies are present without them.

[Tony Scime]

I haven't seen the article yet, and don't know anything about the author, so I'm hesitant to say too much. What I can say is that anybody who writes an article in Musky Hunter about a fishery he fishes, with the apparent goal of making money guiding on the that fishery, is simply selling out that fishery, in this case the Niagara River. No respect from me.

[Riley Himmrich]

Picked up the magazine today, will try to make a photocopy of the article and post it up, Scott i use knipex, just commenting on the ones he is trying to sell on his site along with his 80lb crimped fluroucarbon leaders.

[Tony Scime]

Riley,

I don't think we can post the article online. I'm sure it's copyrighted, so we'd have to delete the post. Sorry.

Tony

[Stephen Glassic]

Point well taken John. The $$ is a big reason why we have a world class walleye fishery in Lake Erie and a world class trout and salmon fishery in Lake Ontario. A musky fishery is different though, because of the slow growth rate and because if there is an adverse event such as disease, it can be devastating and recovery can take much longer.

One good thing though, is that we have substantial size limits in place. There does have to be a consistent enforcement and educational effort for it to be as effective as possible.

Our continued effort to educate the public on telling the difference between pike and musky and the importance of and proper C&R methods is probably the most important thing we do next to habitat improvement. Anything that we can do to help the DEC better monitor the condition of the fishery will be a big help as well. I wonder if Jim Kinner's and the dive group's observations would be of interest to the DEC as well. I am guessing that there are less zebra muscles in the river this year because of the scouring effects of the ice this spring. There may be less round gobies in the river because there are less zebra muscles which, from what I have heard, is what they feed on. It would be interesting to know if the zebra muscle and gobie populations have changed in the lake.

We have come a long way since the top 20 days. I believe that if it wasn't for the NMA, the musky fishery in the Buffalo Harbor and Niagara River would be in much worse shape than it is now. Maybe non-existent.

[Riley Himmrich]

Didnt think about that, no worries Tony.