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Posts: 336
Location: Lino Lakes, MN | Ive seen a bunch of posts about what got everyone hooked on muskies and stories of people first fish. I know that everyone probably has a fish that they lost that haunts them in their dreams and through the long winter, so lets hear about them. It seems like its the big fish lost that drives everyone to the brink of insanity. Hopefully we can get some good stories out of this one.
Lazer |
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Posts: 2089
| Almost 30 yrs of chasin the beasts and the fish this Fall on LOTW takes the cake.I had the shakes for 10 minutes.Thought it was a mirage at first.Biggest fish I've ever seen(bigger than the Rowan beast of the late 80's).She stopped the blade on the bucktail by opening her mouth a couple inches.She came from 3' of water and coontail.How big?Made the 51 1/2 look like a minnie.Long and WIDE. Steve |
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Posts: 93
Location: Waukesha, WI. | I have two. One was this year came up on the creepen frog that I make. I didn't see this fish but it look like some one through a bath tube on top of it and the bait was 4' from where it was. I made two more casts then move off the spot came back 1/2 hr. but no fish $&!+. The other was a fish that broke my line and took a Amma Bama. this fish was mid to late 50". I am not going to sleep tonight Thanks  |
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Posts: 1936
Location: Eau Claire, WI | October 2001 in my friend's boat on a lake we both guide on. Packers were playing the Lion's on the radio, fish action was slower, typical to some fall days. I was working a large Phantom over the break on a flat and Darrin was working the deep side. I can still visualize the cast, and in my minds eye I can still feel the rod, headshakes, the discussion between Darrin and myself... I guess I'll call that haunting.. but a few years later I consider a blessing to be able to remember something like this and have appreciation for that fish that as far as I know, still swims today.
I have been doing this for over 20 years with hundereds of muskies to my credit and to this day I have never felt weight or power like I did that day. The first series of head shakes about took the rod from my arms, those of you who know me know that I am not a small person. I still have the bent 5/0 4x VMC hanging on the wall above the lure bench in my shop. I didn't sleep for two nights...
There is a chapter in Pete Maina's book Muskies Suck that relates to this very thing.. Good book, good chuckles, worth the read. |
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Posts: 1086
| I apologize for this post's length....but I have to set the stage of the story for you to understand.
This story has lived on between my uncle and my two cousins and I since the magical summer of '86, the summer I had blown my leg up with fireworks and I couldn't swim or water ski or do anything my cousins or siblings were doing that summer: I had resorted to fishing all summer.
We were up on our summer lake during our annual family reunion and my Uncle and one cousin named Ryan and I were fishing every morning for Pike and Muskie. Back then on that week, we must have been fishing during a full moon phase (back then I didn't pay attention to that stuff...) because all three of us were having three and four fish days every day that week.
We'd come back to the campground each morning pretty much before anyone else was even awake after having so much action and fun. The buzz was stirring around the campground to the point where we really p#ssed off a certain high maintenance family member, another aunt of mine, for not including any of her sons, other cousins of mine.
We strategically and purposefully discluded these other cousins of mine from those early morning fishing trips because they just simply didn't possess the will, determination and patience for fishing for these fish. They'd go out, expect immediate results within the first three minutes of fishing, not get what they'd always expect, get p#ssed off and start throwing crap around the boat p#ssin' and moanin' and wanting to go in. Extremely counter productive if you ask me. So we would always leave them behind without even mentioning these early morning trips.
This long winded post is leading up to the moral of the story...hang in there.
So...after much heated debates at shore with the black sheep of the family, the high maintenance aunt, always b#tchin' and moanin' that we weren't including her sons...we finally were FORCED and HAD to give in to take her sons fishing with us the next morning. Now...the original three of us, my Uncle Ron, my cousin Ryan and I....knew we were now doomed and would risk our luck bringing along our other cousin, Sean.
We get up the next morning and head out to the same spots that had been producing all that week with our rods rigged with the same baits. We hit the spots and we start our fishing. And low and behold...10 minutes went by without any action and guess what? This cousin of ours started to do and act just as we feared and knew he would. Making a lot of noise, changing his bait 100 times in those ten minutes, trying to get us to change our location and baits, yada, yada, yada. We were already shaking our heads in disbelief.
Finally...the original three of us, we started hitting some fish.
Then...The Big One came. This mother of all Muskies that year and any year since then hit my bait and it was go time! This fish took flight a good three or four times showing herself to us and showing us her size and length. We knew we had a big one on our hands. At this point in time is when things started to go south in our boat.
My uncle that year was our net man when Ryan or I would have a fish to be landed. When my uncle had a fish on..I was the net man. So...now...while I'm fighting this fish, my uncle goes for the net to prepare for the landing of the fish...only to be met at the net by this other cousin, Sean, who was now fighting with my Uncle to see who got to net this fish. This was NOT the time for someone to be bickering and crying as to who is and who isn't going to net this fish. My cousin, Sean, has no CLUE how to go about netting a fish.
The whole time I'm fighting this fish...I KNEW in teh back of my mind...this fish is gone. There's no way we're landing this fish if Sean is the net man. I KNEW this...I could script it happening as my sixth sense of ESP was kicking into high gear.
I bring the fish boatside...my uncle, against his better judgement, allows Sean to "try" and net this fish. This fish is now at the side of the boat, thrashing about and throwing water in mayhem. My cousin....goes to try and make his first swoop at netting this fish...he skips the tip of the net across the top of the water once, now twice and again three times...each time...NOT dipping the net below the water line to allow the fish to swim into the net. NO. It looked like he was trying to skim leaves from the surface of the water in a swimming pool!!!!! The fish dives and makes a run under the boat. Now I'm furious and my uncle is furious. I'm screeming to Sean to give the net to my uncle and my uncle is screaming at Sean to give him the net. The fish comes back up again boat side, stubborn Sean's still got the net...he goes after the fish again...skimming the surface of the water...missing the fish and now hits my line not once, not twice, but three times!!!!!!
What's that magical saying? "Third time's a charm?" That's right...that third time he hit my line with the net......POP! goes the hook and it comes flying out of this fish's mouth and the fish sits there for a second....then thrashes her tail at us, basically giving us "the fin" and down she goes...back into the water.
I forever to this day and forever will....never forgive my cousin for that. And he knows that. My Uncle and cousin Ryan and I still talk about that fish to this day. That was the one that got away that was The Big One.
It's still as painful today..as it was back then. I was sooooo livid p#ssed back then...I couldn't see straight...
Edited by MACK 1/10/2005 7:37 AM
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Posts: 1310
Location: Washington, PA | That's an easy one. Slamr and myself on Eagle this summer, having a great day.......then she showed up, shamu. I haven't been the same since. |
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Posts: 1996
Location: Pelican Lake/Three Lakes Chain | November of 2003 fishing the MuskieFIRST matchfishing championship with good friend Saint1. At sunset we hit a spot that had been showing several real nice fish for the last couple of weeks. Suckers were acting really skittish as we fished through the area, and then they stopped completely. I turned and looked back and saw the biggest fish I have ever seen (Steve knows this fish quite well) with Saints sucker T-boned in its yap. I think my exact words were something like this "Jason, grab your rod and set the darn(censored) hooks now." Saint did just that and I saw the fish spin on the hookset, game on!!! Unfortunatley that was in the period I was experimenting with floro rigs. I still have the cut rig in my boat as a reminder, 100# floro is no match for these fish's teeth. If you don't believe me I will show you the line.
To add insult to injury, about 15 minutes later I lost a second fish on the spot, in the mid 40 inch range.
It was our last trip that year, what a rotten way to end the season. |
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Posts: 354
| Hey,
I have told this fish story before but here goes...... It happened on Caldron Falls Flowage. I was fishing a rather well known spot which had been reported to give up fish. It was late Sept. and I had a sucker out and about 4' down. I was drifting down this spot when my fishing partner and I heard this huge surface hit. Surface bait fishing is my real love and I do it all year long with the exception of the very late fall. I have never heard a surface hit like this one. The sucker must have risen up to avoid the musky and she blasted it on the surface. By the time I turned to see what was happening there was a boil on the surface about the size of a small car! The rod was just smacking up and down in the rod holder. I picked the rod up and set the hook and it came to a dead stop.
I never saw this fish. I have caught a couple of fish in the 30lb class and none of them felt like this fish. It just powered away in the water and I was simply hanging on. I couldn't do anything with this fish as it was in total control. After a hard run it dropped the sucker only to pick it up a second time and it repeated the whole ordeal. I wasn't even able to turn this fish or its head. The power was unreal. Later when we examined the spot up close there was a small patch of beautiful, still green, cabbage in just under 8' of water. The patch was no bigger than an ordinary kitchen. It was right along the old river channel. High Falls, the next door neighbor gave up the last Wisconsin 50 lber. I sometimes like to think that I had its distant relative on the line. (High Falls isn't stocked the fish are reproducing from originals which slipped over the dam) A guy can dream can't he?
Bill C.
I agree about the floro Norm W. I tried it once and had bad cut in it after an hour. I just
don't trust the stuff.
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Posts: 146
Location: Wayzata, MN | These weren't catches, one follow and two sightings.
1) Casting in my friends boat [back end]. We were working a mid bay basin in high wind. I was throwing my 'Pink steel' [jointed 10" redhead Believer] and I caught a 5 lb largemouth. The next cast, she comes in... early to mid 50's, wide... and interested! Four figure 8's, my friend flipping out in the front of the boat... and I lost my balance in the whitecaps and ticked the side of the boat... she slide off about 6-7 feet... looked at me [pretty sure she winked] and slide into the depths.... SIGH [shook for a while afte that one]...
2) Putting into my casting spot. I notice a fin circling on the surface to off the port side. I'm thinking 'it's the wrong time of year to see a carp doing that' I put it in neutral and watch as this 6-8 lb carp surfaces... a big swirl behind it, and this tanker rises up and grabs that carp crosswise, and back down she goes... Huge fish! Head like an alligator, 'my gawd!' I thought.... [switched to anything copper and/or brown for a while;]
3) About a 100 yards down from #2... and about 3 weeks later. I just packed up to go to the next spot, and something caught my eye. I looked off the side of the boat, and this huge musky surfaces... just up, then down, right at the boat, about 25 feet off the port side. Longest musky I've ever seen, wide ride too. I'm guessing it was the 'carp eater' but I don't know for sure...
Yes, I threw the biggest brown bucktail I had there for a while... then a gold Super Shad... then.... ;}
These were all within the last 3 years... gotta love it~! |
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| The one that haunts me was two years ago, and I remember it vividly. I was on Leech Lake with my usual fishing partner for about four hours in the morning on Labor Day. We hadn't seen any fish all morning, and the sun came out and the wind calmed down. He decided he'd had enough and was going to head home. I was staying at a resort cabin with my parents, who were out fishing, and my girlfriend, who went to Walker to meet some friends of hers. I was still in the mood to fish, and had time to kill before I had to leave, so I drove back out to a new spot and started to cast. I raised three or four low to mid forty inch fish over the next hour, and used the calm sunny conditions to mark some rocks on the GPS. I came up on a nice cluster of larger boulders, and leaned down to quick save the spot. As I looked back up I saw a large musky coming in hard behind my Phantom. I had no time to react, but managed a half figure 8, and she bit! I was caught off guard by the fish, and never set the hook becuase she hit the back hook and had the whole lure hanging across her face. She came immediately up to the surface and I got a good broadside view of her. She was all of 50-51" long. Easily my biggest fish ever. I had my net handle collapsed so that it would fit in the boat with the extra tackle boxes from the morning outing, and as I struggled to extend the handle the fish made a couple of runs. Now I was thinking I might actually land this hog. My hands were shaking as I finally got the handle locked in. The fish had now made a power dive under the boat, and I got the net in position to scoop it as it came to the surface. Up she came, but a little too far out to scoop. Then, in slow motion, she raised her giant head and shook one time, throwing my Phantom helplessly into the water. She sat there for a second, so I lunged out and scooped the back half of her with the net. One tail swipe and she was gone. I was heart broken. This was the first fish I ever hooked and lost, the first fish I ever had hit on a figure 8, and would have been my first 50. I threw my rod down and let a few f-enheimers fly. I couldn't stand to fish any longer, I wanted to vomit. I pulled up the trolling motor and cruised back in to the cabin. I can't believe how one fish can affect somebody the way a monster musky can. I still have nightmares about this fish to this day. |
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Location: Des Moines IA | Believe it or not the one that haunts me was the first one I ever saw. It was my first day muskie fishing. On the Indian chain in Canada. I was guided by Scott Munsford of northwinds canadian outfitters. I remember Scott telling me to figure 8 after every cast. but this was the first time I ever really fished with big rods reels and lures. After an hour or so I casted to the shore a Blk/Org Regular bulldawg reeled it in and forgot to figure8 it as soon as I got the bait about 6 inches out of the water there she was! I can't say how big foersure as I have only seen a few fish at the side of the boat so far. But she was wider than my stance by a mile. All I remember is seeing a bunch of the fish on either side of my feet. Had to be huge , she reached up as if she was looking for the bulldawg . I was so amazed at the size of the fish I froze. still can't forget that fish. Actually I spose that fish got me addicted. In my first hour!!!!!!! The only saving grace was I got a 44incer that day. Still my biggest. Here it is 2 years later and all I fish for anymore is toothy critters. Still can't believe I forgot to figure 8.......... |
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Posts: 1245
Location: Madtown, WI | TomyV...got another Eagle lake shamu one....
Two years ago I had just landed my biggest fish at that point, a 52 incher on a topwater on eagle lake ONT. I was still shaking and in that la la land you get in after you relize what you just did. We pull up and go to the next spot where we had seen a super tanker....BIGGER then the 52 I had just released......I think it was my second or third cast and that shamu comes up and completely opens up the water on my top prey....
no hooks..(I still swear that I never felt the fish...but who knows..being in that la la land your not all there...and maybe,just maybe...I could have hooked that fish ) .but boy...that day is memoriable...just thinking if I JUST could have gotten that second, LARGER fish....I think I might have died right on the spot!
Cory
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| The one that haunts me is that picture of Tanner Wildes somebody posted of him in that little kid's T-shirt. Scarry stuff man. |
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Posts: 462
Location: Syracuse, Indiana | <p><font face="courier new,courier,monospace">Two come to mind immediately. The first was a Big V monster cruising from the deep, open water into the shallows. I paralleled that fish for over 5 minutes, and put 6 different baits across it's nose. It never changed speed, depth or direction until sinking into a weed bed. Huge fish.</font></p><p>The largest I ever saw was an Eagle Lake pig. My son and I were throwing topwaters late on a calm, summer day in 2003. I perked up when I noticed a 4 footer behind my bait, and told my son to look at what I had going. He told me I needed to look behind his bait. The fish there dwarfed mine, to the extent that I forgot about my follow just to watch his. Long and fat, it followed almost to the boat, then drifted off. Never opened her mouth. I'll be back, Herbie, I'll be back!</p> |
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| I have seen world record class fish twice, years ago and I am motivated by those memories that still haunt me! 
They are out there, but you rarely see them. Big Bertha will be mine some day!  |
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Location: Athens, Ohio | Cass Lake, first MuskieFirst outing there, in the TreatsBoat with him and Papa Joe beside Cedar Island. Looking down into the clear water at a school of suckers, in come the muskies. We watch open-mouthed as a low-40's t-bones a sucker and takes off. I'm twitching a black suick when along comes a high 40's / low 50's? This could be my first fish! Try as I can to keep a steady rhythm with the suick, I twitch the bait right over the tail of that fish and away she goes. Dang!
In Gene's boat at LOTW for the first time, I toss a chart. Mepps waayy up into a set of reeds saddled between two rocks. Fish on! Half way to the boat the fish changes direction. I don't. From the head shakes it was a big fish, but I'll never know.
Good post, Lazer! I really enjoyed Mack's story. m
Edited by mikie 1/11/2005 12:44 PM
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| this past summer i was fishing alone in a spot that was shown to me by a friend. there had been a good fish sighted twice in the last week in a small weedy bay with access to deep water. i let the wind blow me in as i tossed a buldawg. all of a sudden i could feel head shakes and looked down to see a huge white mouth going crazy about 8 ft. down.it comes up to the surface and swims with its eyes and tail out of the water for about 20 ft, and i swear it was looking right at me! goes under, comes right at the boat the first time. turns and peels 10 yds. of line with my drag buried! power, power, power. i get her turned only to have her go back under the boat when i hear and feel a sick "thump" on my motor! all goes limp and i never see her again. |
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Posts: 90
Location: Florence, Wisconsin | Mine came this summer on a night that I put the musky stick down, regrettably, and went walleye fishing with someone from work on a lake I usually fish for muskies. Heay rain all evening and the walleye were biting. Right before dark my buddy was pulling his jighead out of the water and the biggest muskie I have ever seen came up after it, missed it, and the swam the length of the boat just under the surface. It was flippin' huge! I of course came back the next night, and probably too many nights afterwords and never saw her again. Can't wait until next year. |
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Posts: 4266
| Here's mine.
Beav
Edited by Beaver 1/11/2005 4:59 PM
Attachments
----------------
 Who We Are- The Captain Ahab Factor.doc (26KB - 376 downloads)
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Posts: 91
Location: Wausau | Wow! It just doesn't get said much better then that. Thanks for that Beaver |
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Posts: 4266
| It's a gift
Thanks,
Beav |
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Posts: 1996
Location: Pelican Lake/Three Lakes Chain | Beav,
I tip my hat, that is simply awesome!! |
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Posts: 224
Location: Madison | nwild - 1/12/2005 9:56 AM
Beav,
I tip my hat, that is simply awesome!!
Agreed. Very impressive piece of writing.
-d |
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Posts: 1086
| Absolutely! Great writing and great story Beav. I encourage you to send that in to some fishing magazines and/or related publications to see if you can get some of your work printed. :thumbsup: |
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Posts: 1245
Location: Madtown, WI | Sweet write Beav!
Heart was pounding just reading it!
Can some one chainsaw me a casting lane in the ice please??!!!
Cory |
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| Nice story Beav, way to capture the feeling in words! |
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| Years ago, Vilas, off an island. July, clear, no wind, wasn't expecting much. Working a black bucktail, figure eight, starting to bring the bait up and I'm looking at the biggest musky I had/have ever seen on the Chain. We look ay each other, I get it together and the bait is back in the water for a serious set of eights. Around and around we go. Then she stops, comes up, takes a looong look at me and, turning, was gone.
I threw that bucktail and every thing else in the box in a 180 degree pattern around the direction she came from and went. Nada. The last bait thrown was a Suick and the boat had drifted a bit. OK, she's gone. Throw the Suick, sit down and light a cigarette.
Suick is floating around at the top of the cast. I stand up, start to reel in slack and ....... wham. Good set. Then up she goes, I've got one very large fish striaght up, clear of the water. Back into the water, we're still together, then more air. Again, she is straight up and clear ot the water. This time, however, I get the Suick coming back at me.
Was it the same fish? No. Two great fish, back to back. To this day, I still think about what I could have done differently.
Ted
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Posts: 723
| Rock on Beav! you can't just make @$#% up like that!
But I really didn't need to read that before going to bed. |
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| This ones a little long but after reading Captain Ahab, I figured why not? Nice story. This one still keeps us awake.
Fish that’ll Change Your Life
Today was my lucky day. 7-7-2003. What better way to celebrate my 39th birthday then cutting out of work early and heading for the “Big Pond”. The first week of July is always a magical time on Mille Lacs. The muskies are on the chew, the feed bags are strapped on, the buck tail buffet is now open, and about 100 other clichés that basically mean, the muskies are biting.
I was planning to fish alone but as luck would have a friend decided to spend the day fishing and I met up with him around 4pm at the dock. The conditions were not perfect but we they were very good. We had the big rollers rolling in slowly and the wind was dying fast. Of course on the Big Pond the waves keep going long after the wind stops.
My fishing partner, for the night, (Jim), had never fished the particular part of Mille Lacs so I got to be tour guide for the night. We started up shallow and worked our way out toward deeper structure. Hot weather with nice rollers had use both chucking top water and bucktails, (what else is there). It wasn’t long before Jim had a thick 41”er in the boat. We had several blow-ups and follows, all nicer fish. We decided to back off these fish and come back for the “witching hour” as the sun went down.
We worked deep weed edges and burned hair over the top for the next few hours with little success. It was hard to wait but we managed to keep ourselves busy for a few hours. We finally could wait no longer and headed back for what we hoped would be a great end to my “lucky day”.
We both had top-water baits. Jim was throwing a Boggerman and I could not part with my Topraider. We had just started into this area when Jim reared back and said “Big one”. He didn’t need to say anything because I saw the huge wake this fish moved. The fish was out from the boat about 25’ and came up to give us both an eyeful. I usually can throw a measurement at a fish and get within a few inches. Most muskie fisherman pride themselves on this ability. However the girth on this fish had me stunned. I’ve never seen a fish so wide across the back. Jim was in the battle of his life and he knew it. A muskie fisherman dreams of hooking a fish like this from the moment he first gets the muskie fever. The fish stayed shallow and but went exactly wherever it pleased for what seemed like an hour. I had my line in and the net in hand long before this fish was even close. I was excited beyond words. After all, this was my “lucky day”. There was no doubt in my mind that this fish was going in the net!
Jim was using his high-speed reel and was working his reel like a Nascar driver shifting gears. Free spool, reel, free spool, and reel. The fish stayed close to the boat but Jim was unable to move the fish.
At one very memorable point of the “Battle”, I remember the fish laying 15’ off the back of the boat. She was not running anywhere but was lying just under the surface shaking her head back and forth. With each headshake she threw off an impressive wake. She was a monster! I could see the prop from the Boggerman going back and forth with each head swing.
She came up and broke the surface again just to give us another look at her awesome girth. She swam out away from me and towards the front of the boat. She had gone under the boat and Jim was easing her back toward me. The net was in the water and Jim was gently leading her in. First came the leader then her big, wide snout slowly emerging from under the boat. I was beginning the celebration! We were seconds from the ultimate fish! Then, as I prepare to scoop her, the bait popped straight up in the air just past my head. She turned and was gone! I never had a shot at her.
There was no cursing, no excuses, no anything. We both collapsed in the bottom of the boat. Neither of us could speak. It wasn’t like we just missed a nice fish, we missed The Fish. The Boggerman was almost completely straightened.
We tried to fish more that night but we were both empty. If any of you have ever lost a monster you may be able to understand the “empty tank” feeling. Runners call it, “hitting the wall”. I tried my best to put a positive spin on our close encounter. To come so close only to lose her inches from victory was truly devastating.
I called Jim wife to put him on suicide watch for the night. He was not handling this well at all. His silence said more then words. When he did speak, it something about how that was the “once in a lifetime fish” and she’s gone. He was hurting! As we left the lake and heading down the highway and glanced over and noticed he was driving 35 MPH. “Jim, you alright?” “You gotta drive a little faster”. I’d like to say that I’m exaggerating Jim’s state of mind but I’m probably understating it. Jim and I survived the night but
neither of us got much sleep for several nights.
After reflecting on the emotion we were both dealing with , ( Jim more so then I), I think I have it. Since I am not a professional athlete, I can only speculate on this.
A football player goes through off season weight training and conditioning, training camp, scrimmages, pre-season games, 16 regular season games, and is blessed enough to be on a good club. His team makes the playoffs! Your team goes on to win 2 grueling playoffs games by narrow margins and you find yourself one game away from the Superbowl! The following week in OT your team wins and is bound for the Superbowl! It’s a dream come true. It’s what you’ve dreamed of since you first picked up a football. You’re on cloud nine. What could be better then this? Nothing, is the answer. It’s now game day, the biggest game of your life. This is it! You battle for glory on the gridiron and play the best game you’ve played all year. You’re unstoppable. Your team is down by 1 with less then a minute to play. Your team digs down deep and mounts an impressive drive. With only seconds remaining your special teams unit comes out to kick your team into history. You line up on the sidelines as the entire season rests in the hands of the kicker. You helplessly watch as the kick travels wide right by only three feet.
That’s the feeling! If you’re a Buffalo Bills fan you can relate to the Superbowl scenario. If you’re a Vikings fan you can relate also,(although we got killed in all 4 appearances). It takes so much just to get to the Superbowl. The right group of teammates, the right coaching staff, no injuries, lucky breaks, etc.
To encounter a muskie of this size is 1 in 1,000,000. Now to actually put the right bait in front of her at the right time is truly a once in a lifetime shot. To have her actually eat, get a good hook set and fight her for 3 to 4 minutes is unbelievable. To watch the bait pop from her mouth inches from going in the net is beyond devastating. It’s draining beyond words.
In the football world, there’s always next year. Jim Kelly, and Fran Tarkenton I’m sure told themselves the same thing. They had 7 attempts between them at “The Ring”.
Realistically, if my friend Jim fishes as hard he already does for the rest of his life, He will probably never have that opportunity again. Now, as for me, I still have my one shot available.
You loose a 50”er at the boat side, it breaks your heart. You loose a 52”er as it somehow flops out of the net and swims away, your crushed! You loose a fish like Jim’s it haunts you forever!
To this day Jim does not joke about the fish. I try to make light of it and get a smile out of him usually unsuccessfully. Most people have heard too many stories about “The Big One” that got away. They roll their eyes and act like their listening. When Jim speaks of the evening of 7-7-2003, it’s a sober reflection of a brush with a fish of a lifetime. There are no jokes, no “we’ll get em next time speeches”, and no excuses. In fact Jim rarely speaks about it. I’m still perplexed as to the ultimate question….
Is it better to have been so close and failed or to have never been so close at all? I think Jim Kelly and Fran Tarkenton would say the latter. I would agree! The experience will forever be a bonding moment for Jim and I. It stretched the limits of my muskie imagination. Jim would probably not agree. He looks forward only to a 1 in 1,000,000,000 shot that he will get one more crack at the fish of this magnitude.
Jim use to use a phrase to convince a friend of his to fish Mille Lacs. He would say, “ There’s fish up there that will change your life”. How ironic that phrase would become! The only image of the fish is in our minds. We both agree after reflecting back on the evening that the fish was between 56-65”’s. Neither of us has ever seen a fish close to this length. The girth was again, more then we could not possibly speculate. Having never seen a fish to compare it too makes estimating nearly impossible. “It was huge”, is usually what I say and leave it at that. I looked at my 70 lbs yellow lab that night and realized the girth of his chest and width across the back would have been fairly close. I won’t speculate any further.
The mangled piece of metal that once was a Boggerman hangs on Jims wall as a reminder of what we pursue. The only way this story will hit home with you is if you’ve had a brush with a monster like this. If you’ve lost a combined 7 Superbowls, you might be able to understand it. My friend Jim knows and his life is changed.
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Posts: 4266
| Good story eguddal. It's odd how the act of slumping to the floor always accompanies losing big fish. It's great to read these stories, but the absence of happy endings is bumming me out.
I did submit "The Captain Ahab" story for publication, but was told by both publications that they were concentraing on factual articles and not editorial, Andy Rooney type things.
I'm glad those of you who read it found it enjoyable.
It's available in hard cover for $2000 on e-bay.......signed, of course.
Beaver
Edited by Beaver 1/13/2005 2:25 PM
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