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| Reading Jason's "Old Guide Trick" post reminded me of my first outing. Leech Lake with Lungin and Wade Witt. All day of fishing, 8 or so hours, and nothing. Not even a follow. Last spot of the day....Agency Narrows.....Wade kept telling us to be on our toes. Sure enough, 5 minutes later, I have a follow......big fish. "OH MY GOD" I stop reeling. Fish opens mouth around bucktail, closes mouth, then pushes it out of his mouth right next to boat while I stood there looking. Wade yells "Move your bait". I hit fish in head with rod.....Gone.
10 minutes later in my dad's boat which followed us all day..."Big Fish On", yells Lungin's dad. Fish was netted, and placed on the back deck of the bass boat before we could get to them. My dad turned on the video camera, then apparently turned it off. Fish flops right back into lake. Video footage of fiberglass with a Whole Bunch of Swearing for 30 minutes.
Nobody believed the story....but we did some searching and found a tooth on the back deck.
That was enough to hook me on this sport for life. |
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| I can, it was early fall on the fox chain, had the whole family, kids were catching panfish. My dad had a 30" fish follow, you could actually down in the water back then... |
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| 1991, on North and South Twin. July 4th weekend at a friends cottage. My brother and I hired a guide from Connover. He had hired him days before, and they stuck 2 fish. I can't think of his name.
We started the day with a little walleye fishing. Got 4 or 5 keepers for supper, and then it was time for my first musky hunt. Well, to tell the truth, I really struggled. The guide gave me a red and gold bladed bucktail on a pool stick rod. I can't tell you how many over-runs I had. About every other cast for most of the morning! My brother stuck a 35" fish around 11:00 AM, and then the guide followed with a 40 or so an hour later.
Finally, around 2:00 PM, I cast into some reeds, and I saw this huge opened mouth about to engulf my bait! I reared back, and set the hook on......nothing. Seems I was a teeny bit early, and pulled the bait right out of the fishes mouth. I must have made some sort of noise, because the guide was laughing so hard, he had tears streaming down his face. Or maybe he was crying sohard, he was laughing. All he said was, "Your first muskie was gonna be a 4 footer!"
Well, it didn't sink in for quite a while what I had seen, and done. When it finally did, I told my wife I was buying a new boat, and I am gonna start fishing for muskies! 3 weeks later, I had my new Tuffy for both 'eyes and ski's, a couple new rods and reels, and a bunch of new baits. I was bit hard.[:praise:] |
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| It was around the age of 8 or 9 that I had my first "Big Strike" and it scared the Bee-Jeebies out of me! I've been hooked ever since. The first musky I put in the boat was July 3rd....full moon, about 10 o'clock at night(Ya gotta love night fishing!). I was on Long Lake "Vilas Co." I could see the fireworks going of over the tree line in the distance as I put her in the boat. I will never forget that night the longest day I live. It was so cool and cheesy at the same time. It seemed as though the fireworks were just for me and my 1st musky! You never forget your first!! [:)] |
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| Yes, I do remember the trip. It was a VERY long time ago, and Bone Lake was the destination. I got my first, a good one, on a jig fishing from a 14' Alumacraft with a 6 HP Evinrude. We netted her using a salmon net, as there were no muskie nets in the stores. Ruined me forever![:praise:] |
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| Oct of '94 - Butternut Lake.
I was still with Ed Shirley's at the time and up here for winning a spiff contest. About 50 casts into our first evening brought a spunky 31 1/2"er, then 2 days later, got my first legal at 33 1/2".
As everyone says, it does hook you for life!
Rob |
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| August of 1953. My dad and I were fishing Kishkutena, or as we called it then...Height of Land. I was throwing a new bait called a Suick. I was a big kid for 10 years old and worked that bait nearly all day. When I finally had enough, the guide, Mike Baranowski, said, "Are you sure you don't want to throw it anymore?" I told him it had worn me out. He put on the Suick and on the next cast landed a 44" muskie. I learned a number of lessons that day: first, never give up; second, there is more to catching a muskie than just throwing out a bait; third, watch and learn from the pro; and fourth, enjoy muskie fishing regardless of who is doing the catching. To this day, I get just as excited by someone else in the boat getting the fish as catching it myself. (Good thing since they usually outfish me!) |
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| June of 1975, had been just married in April of that year. Deer Lake in Polk County. I was with my cousin Gordy, 14' Alumacraft F7 25 hp johnson. Throwing a red and white wooden Bass Oreno. ( wish I still had it ).
Legal size was 30" then. Caught 3 short fish and then had one on that I thought was the Loch Ness Monster. Bit right at the boat, rolled up in the line, came loose and the bait buried into her back. She made one last run from the boat and the hooks tore out. Saw her leave with a big patch of skin and scales missing on her in about the middle of the back. About a week later a friend caught one on that spot, was 44" long and had that patch of skin and scales missing on the back, still don't know if that was her but I have been after these long green fish ever since. Boy I wish I still had that old red and white Bass Oreno. [:p] |
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