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Posts: 115
Location: Birch Run | Yesterday after hitting the opener for duck season we decided to go to the another lake and muskie fish for the afternoon. About 6 o'clock pm I hooked and landed my first muskie, on a db cowgirl. I have lost a couple this year and had some follows and seen some big fish, but this time it happened. I will try and put a picture on, the fish was 51inches , a rough measure of the girth at 23in. I was sick though as the cowgirl was completly inhaled and I had to cut hooks and there was some bleeding. I left the fish in the water as much as I could. It made me sick to think the fish might not make it, I don't know how tough these fish are, water temp was in the low 60's. I have never struggled to unhook a fish, being excited. I caught a 30lb pike a couple of years ago and I got a skin mount not knowing about replicas. This muskie dwarfed that pike and I would like to get a replica, I am going back to the lake to look around and make sure this fish isn't floating. I know everyone has to start somewhere and its to bad two rookies were the only ones in the boat. I have done alot of reading and watching videos but things don't always go as planned. I am happy to catch that fish but as my luck would go nothing goes perfect. |
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Posts: 311
| A badly hooked fish is part of muskie fishing, it happens to EVERYBODY, and I mean EVERYBODY. If the fish had one of the trebles hooked through the tongue (main artery is under tongue) and there was alot of blood, it is very doubtful the fish made it through the night. Last year we had a high 30s fish that was dead before we got it to the boat. It ate a Jake and had a treble through the tongue and out the bottom of the jaw. There was a blood trail in the water and nothing we could do. We felt terrible but thats the chance you take everytime your bait hits the water. |
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| On all large bladed bucktails I would recommend pinching the barbs down on the back hook. We have caught fish that had inhaled Cowgirls and some of them died without pinching the barbs down. I wish I would have done this when I first started using them. It is as simple as pushing the back hook out with a Hookpick and they are fine.
This doesn't affect hooking percentages at all. |
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Location: Northern Wisconsin | i pinch the barbs on all my hooks. it is easy on unhooking fish and actually helps hook them. its easier to get a hook without barbs to penetrate then a hook with barbs. |
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Posts: 4266
| I really don't think that you need 2 hooks on a bucktail. Fish don't seem to miss them very much. Probably the best hooking lure besides a jig. I think hook placement is very important, and when I make bucktails I always take time to add plastic beads for spacers between the hook and the hair or flashabou or whatever. I keep the hook dead-center or back of there just a bit, and rarely need to do surgery to get the hook out.
Don't feel bad, it happens to everybody. When you try to catch fish, you throw things with hooks on them in the water....something is bound to go wrong sometime. All we can do is be prepared and do our best. I've been lucky for a while, but I remember a 44" fish that swallowed a 6" Bobbie. It was dead before it got to the boat. You feel bad whenever it happens, but it happens. Just like when guys hit big bucks in the wrong place with an arrow. You walk and pray for days looking for blood, but once you take the shot or set the hook, it's out of your hands. |
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Posts: 198
| With the large blade bucktails and 7/0 hooks pinching the barbs down will help alot. It also helps when you put one in your skin. You don't miss fish due to barbless but I would recomend a long rod, no pool cues, if your going barbless. If you don't have one I would also recomend a hook pic for extracting deep hooks. Having a fish die is just part of muskie fishing but let it be a learning experience so the next time it might not happen. Congrats on the nice fish by the way. |
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Posts: 221
| There was a 51" floater at our camp this weekend. Total beginner that was misinformed so he bought a cradle, had the typical "mid cradle hookup" so he heaved the fish into his tinner. They had all the other proper release tools. In the video they have the fish out for 3min 47seconds. Brutal. The guy felt horrible and was not happy about catching the fish at all (his second musky). I heard about the fish while on the water and bolted over to see if I could do anything but she was bloated, red, still gilling, but totally gone.
....after this experience I have to ask you, did you have a pen net?
People who don't own a pen aren't allowed to stay at the camp and fish for Musky now. A cradle was do-able in the rules before this weekend (long handled pliers, cutters, and pen net or cradle) but not anymore.
Sorry to play devils ave here, but it was horrible seeing that fish belly up. Broke my heart and ruined the day.
Darcy Cox |
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Posts: 115
Location: Birch Run | Thanks for the replies, good idea on pinching the barbs down. Went back to the lake yesterday and moved 3 more and lost one on a db cowgirl. I have lost two this year on db cowgirls, both fish ran directly at me and had a hard time keeping a bend in the rod. Since this is my first year my rods are probably not what everyone uses now. I have two fig rig rods a 6'6 and 7' and a berkley 7'. Looking at 8'6 tica for throwing the big blades for next year. Pen net, I have never heard that before, we had a frabill musky net, and cutters and long handled pliers.
Edited by Windburn 10/6/2008 10:22 AM
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| that is prolly your reel, which reel are ya usin? |
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Posts: 115
Location: Birch Run | 7000i, with 80lb power pro. |
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Posts: 550
Location: So. Illinois | I think the reference to Pen net refers to the oversized nets like Frabill Big Kahuna. the large net wllows you to safely work with a fish while it is in the water. |
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Posts: 221
| Large Pen net= Kahuna/FinSaver/Stowmaster.
Awesome that you had the nessesary stuff. Congrats and I hope you never have to encounter a situation like that again.
Now lets see some pics of that beast!
Darcy |
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Posts: 115
Location: Birch Run | I am not sure how to pics on, I will try to figure it out. Figured how get to the point of attacthing the pic, but says the picture is to big, don't know how to get it smaller.
Edited by Windburn 10/6/2008 3:17 PM
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| nope...not the reel then, you should be able to keep up with that one. |
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| yep, i have had 2 die like that this yr, the hooks are gone, big fish spazing in the net (not fun).. i have all the tools and the only thing or tool i can think off that would may have worked is a super long, skinny, almost like a needle nose hook cutter (knipex wouldnt reach the hooks)... i have killed 2 and 8 fish between the 4 guys i have fish w/ on the yr (all swallowed a DCG)... not happy about it. i am trying to get a tool made to help w/ this..i feel your pain! |
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| get a hook pick, unless the hooks are actually inside the throat....this tool will allow you to get them out fast and safe |
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Posts: 7105
Location: Northwest Chicago Burbs | Good video for release tools and using the hook pick specifically. How to unhook an amazingly cooperative fish:
http://muskie.outdoorsfirst.com/watch.asp?id=766 |
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Posts: 223
Location: Minn. | I wish there was a good way to get this information out to the newer muskie fisherman. Whether they are experienced fishermen, new to muskie fishing or are beginning fishing for the first time . Twice this year I have seen mishandling of fish on the release. On Saturday, two gentleman in their mid to upper forties, cut in front of our drift. On the second cast one of them hooked up. WE went around them and continued fishing. It took them about 8 minutes to land the fish. Then they netted, lift and dropped the net in the boat.Then it took them anther 5 minutes to unhook the fish and find camera etc. ect. ect. While taking about 6 pictures according to the flash, the guy drops the muskie in the boat from about four feet and then shrugs his shoulders and tosses the fish in the lake. Buy the time we got back up where they caught it, they took off. We stayed in the area for awhile but never saw the fish. It made me mad that what looked like experienced fishermen, lacked any respect of the fish. Ive definitely have seen this attitude toward pike, and now twice with muskies this year. Plus all the no respect for other fisherman. I was going to suggest they come to our next MI meeting, but as stated they took off.
Edited by muskyfvr 10/6/2008 5:51 PM
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Posts: 171
| Windburn
there's a post on here somewhere about sizing pics........I use Kodak Easyshare, call up the pic, hit "save as", then there's a window for size. I click "best for web" and it knocks it down to under 100KB. If that doesn't help, maybe one of the moderators can direct you to the post.....Mr. Worrall?
ErieBoy75
Edited by Erieboy75 10/6/2008 6:15 PM
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Posts: 32951
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Google 'free picture resizer' and download a program you like. |
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Posts: 115
Location: Birch Run | Heres a pic, didn't come out too good, sorry about the blood.
Edited by Windburn 10/6/2008 8:00 PM
(coreys pictures 079.JPG)
Attachments
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 coreys pictures 079.JPG (225KB - 122 downloads)
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