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Location: Green Bay, WI | Don Schwartz asked me to post some pictures for him, as he was going out of town for the weekend. But he wanted to share these with the folks here on the forum. Enjoy!
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 10inchcrank.jpg (18KB - 150 downloads)
crank33.jpg (19KB - 199 downloads)
crank236.jpg (31KB - 149 downloads)
crankbait3.jpg (31KB - 196 downloads)
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Location: Green Bay, WI | Sorry, I should add that he told me that this was the biggest fish he's ever seen on camera, but it did not hit. Thus he doesn't know how big it actually was. But he also said his knees were shaking at the time! Apparently he first saw the fish following in deeper water (> 15 feet), but was able to bring her up shallower--eventually to the point of being right in the prop wash. At that point she became more interested in the prop than the 10" Jake he was pulling, and the gig was up.
Despite several efforts to turn the boat, bang bottom and entice a strike, she didn't fall for it and eventually slipped away.
One heck of a fish...thanks for the pictures Don!
Anybody want to guess how far it is between her eyes?
TB
Edited by tcbetka 5/2/2008 5:27 PM
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Posts: 639
Location: Hudson, WI | That 10" Jake looks like a crappie minnow next to that fish. Is that a muskie behind it or Willy the Orca? Is Don willing to say where that was filmed? |
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Location: Green Bay, WI | No, he didn't say where he raised her, and I didn't push him on it. But when I first saw the pictures, I thought it was a Sturgeon! LOL.
I am very curious to hear estimates of the interocular distance. I think that fish is of tremendous size--I mean whoa!
TB |
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Posts: 390
Location: Ohio | When I first looked at the pictures, I figured it was a small Jake or Grandma, not a 10"! |
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Posts: 113
| wowsers |
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Location: Green Bay, WI | well stated... |
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Posts: 214
Location: Beaver County, Pennsylvania | took the word right outta my mouth......wowsers! |
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Location: Apple Valley | Man thats a pig!!!!!!!!!!
Brian |
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Posts: 317
| Ahoowga! Awooga! Submarine! Dive! Dive! |
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Posts: 82
| From the size of the lure (10"), I'd say her eyes are at least 8" apart, and probably closer to 10"! I thought it looked like a sturgeon too! |
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| I would guess the eyes are only (relatively speaking) 6"-7" apart. In the top two pictures I think we are seeing the back of the gill covers and not the eyes. The third pic down shows the eye. Still an absolute monster.
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Location: Green Bay, WI | Well, Larry Ramsell has told me that the jaw opening is slightly greater than the interocular distance on muskellunge. He then told me that the largest jaw opening he's heard of on a fish was on a 60"+ fish found dead in Canada. The jaw width on that fish was 9.25", and thus the interocular distance would have been closer to 8" I suppose.
Therefore from my crude calculations on this fish, I agree with an interocular distance of between 7-8 inches. Thus my guess is that this fish is well into the upper 50" range. It's scary big...
TB |
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Location: Land of the Musky | WOW! He told me about this one but I didn't picture it like this. LOL! I sent him a 17 inch jointed Grunt for fun. Even that thing would look small next to this fish! As of today I have all the pieces to make my underwater filming rig. I bet I work more on this in 2008 than actually fishing  Fascinating stuff Don is doing! I think he was going to do some stuff with scent this year. I know a lot here have asked the question on "does scent work"? Well, maybe Don will answer this for all of us! Keep it up Don! You could have a 30-60 minute show on this every week! What a cool muskie/pike show that would be. |
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| Have you seen Hook and Look. They do a lot of underwater stuff with smallmouth. I see it on VS every once in awhile. |
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Posts: 20
| Good morning:
I am on dial up here by the minute, so I will try and type as few quick notes about the photos.
I really do not deserve all the attention, the reason?Anyone who wants to can do this. Buy a Aqua-Vu Camera, cam rigger Kit, and downrigger. Learn your area well with your GPS, make routes etc. Be careful and have fun. I think there will be enough guys next year doing this that we will see some incredible stuff, One of them posted these photos!!
1. I got the photos by pausing the footage and taking the pictures of the video.
2. Where did I film her: This area gets a lot of pressure, it would not be fair to the people who live there and my friends that fish there. As a matter of fact, I wish everyone could have been there just to see her, not saying she was a monster it was just cool. We saw several big fish doing this, they followed beleiver jakes, grandmas and actually ate the Trainwreck. What Steve W is doing with the Sound stuff is really fascinating guys, there is something really to this.I know he has been doing it for years. Keep us posted please !
3. Please never forget the pioneers of our sport, the guys who did it all before any of this technology stuff was out there. I just bought another batch of books from Larry R, we are involved in a fascinating sport with a tremendous amount of history. I feel like we are looking into the past with these cameras and exploring from beneath what they explored from above.I have a friend who fishes in the Angle makes posts on these sites, that really is fascinating. I fished with him some and listened to every word he said. He would say fun little things while fishing that made me laugh. When I really thought about what he was saying half heartidly I would l realize there was always something more( 4000 plus muskies worth),. Did you know that fish swim ??
hehehehaha dumb and funny, maybe not ?
Keep that in mind when fishing all the same water,pounding the same spots, going to your milk runs, when exploring with the camera try something new, new location submerged structure. all sides of the windy areas, look where you would want to be if you were down their looking for a easy meal.
hope you enjoyed the photos
Don
Edited by DonS 5/6/2008 9:52 PM
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| Seeing the results of what Don has done is one thing, but sharing a spot in his boat and getting first hand instruction with your own camera and downrigger is another.
I took time to read the article in In-Fisherman magazine and based on his explanation and pictorials, I believe those that attempt this will have success over time. There are many dangers if you are unfamiliar with the lakes that you plan to try this video trolling on. I personally have footage of banging off cribs that I did not know were there. Doing dry runs and laying good trails is going to be the key to keeping your gear(of which isn't cheap) attached to your boat where it belongs. I have already spent hours in the boat, in the garage, trying to figure out the locations for my camera,downrigger,rodholder and new Lowrance/GPS. All this careful planning will pay off when flying solo and a fish, like the one in the photos, appear and decide to eat. I just hope that after all this planning I don't miss anything!
One other thing. Don you are way too humble!! I just hope you get the credit that will be due when this becomes the rage of the muskie world. I know much of my time in the upcoming season will be done looking into a 7" monitor, re-living the trips we had together and making new ones!!
Todd Williamson |
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| Great photos, and cool system the Don. Would love to see it in action some time! The fish in these particular pics apears to be one big sturgeon. |
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Location: Green Bay, WI | No, I think it's a musky alright...just a BIG one!
Sturgeon have larger pectoral and pelvic fins, and a larger dorsal fin, relative to their body. And the dorsal surface (and sides) of this fish is (are) very smooth; unlike a sturgeon which has tubercles (small spines) on those surfaces. This is just one honkin' big musky, IMHO.
Look at that last picture--those are the pelvic fins at the bottom of the frame. So there must be almost HALF the fish still left ahead of where the camera is showing! And judging from the size of the lure in that picture, there looks to be almost 3 lure-lengths of the fish visible here... Sheesh, what a fish.
TB
Edited by tcbetka 5/4/2008 4:22 PM
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Posts: 906
Location: Warroad, Mn | I agree! That's not a sturgeon! Pectoral fins are way too small, and no scutes (the bony ridges on both sides at the lateral line). Looks like a dandy, hope I find her some day! Doug Johnson
Edited by dougj 5/4/2008 7:34 PM
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Location: Green Bay, WI | Ah..."scutes"! Now there's the word that was on the tip of my tongue!
Thanks Doug!
TB |
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Posts: 20
| I can hear the $$$ going now!! Dial up,LOL
If anyone would know what a Muskie looks like I believe the guy who just posted has seen a few in his day !! I have talked to Tom a couple times, he knows his stuff as well.
Edited by DonS 5/6/2008 9:38 PM
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Posts: 929
Location: Rhinelander. | Truely seems to be a big fish. I just wonder how far below the fish was the bait actuall or was it really close. If if were say 2 feet below the fish it would make the fish seem that much bigger.. You underwater photos are very cool and I enjoy them, good work. In todays age of all the doubting thomases one has to ask.
Pfeiff
Edited by Don Pfeiffer 5/4/2008 10:28 PM
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Posts: 20
| Don:
Very good observation:
She appears to me to be very very close to the camera at one point. Those photos were taken off the footage, I have played mind games for sometime watching it over and over really wondering if she is as big as she seems. When she is a estimated 3-4 feet under the camera she still look good sized, then when she comes in it gets a little more interesting. We will never know, for me it was just a blast filming her.Heck, it sure has made for some good conversation!!
Edited by DonS 5/6/2008 9:40 PM
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Posts: 1296
Location: WI | I know nothing about underwater cameras, but I'm curious as to how water clarity affects how much you can see? Are the really dark stained waters ruled out? |
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| Since Don is currently on dial-up, I will take a shot at answering this one. Water clarity plays a big role. I trolled (4) different lakes, all quite clear, and to be able to see an approaching fish is kind of the whole gig. You could troll stained water, and probably faintly see the bait and nothing else. Clear water enables you to film and see distant follows where stained would show you strike only. It is also nice to be able to make close contact to bottom so you can see transitions which in turn help educate you about the lake and where fish may hold.
I believe JKahler, you are from Superior, I am from Hayward and if you would like to see this done first hand, give me a call.
Todd Williamson
P.S. There is water up your way that I fish and would love to film, but I think they are a bit too dark. |
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Location: Green Bay, WI | Don Pfeiffer - 5/4/2008 10:25 PM
Truely seems to be a big fish. I just wonder how far below the fish was the bait actuall or was it really close. If if were say 2 feet below the fish it would make the fish seem that much bigger.. You underwater photos are very cool and I enjoy them, good work. In todays age of all the doubting thomases one has to ask.
Pfeiff
Good points Don...
At one point though, she seems to be right alongside the lure. Her back seems to actually be *above* the level of the lure. At other points she's below the lure...yet still seems to be massive in size. I am especially impressed by the last photo, where she is obviously below the lure and still seems to dwarf it! That's the shot where we only see about half the fish.
And remember, the lure is only about 12-18" behind the camera from what Don has indicated. Thus the fish couldn't be that far out of plane (above) with it--simply because there isn't that much space between the lure and the camera.
The more I see these pictures, the more impressed I am with the size of the fish.
TB |
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Posts: 2024
| Don was telling me about this fish. What a monster! The picture with its eyes showing is very eerie. Can't wait to get my hands on a copy of this DVD!! |
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Posts: 20
| Wow, this gets addictive, $$$ be back home in a couple days. Tom good points, I actually thought about it more last night, here area couple more things to think about. The camera is about 8 inches above the downrigger ball, pointing down at the bait . In the vid I show exactly how it gets attached.She actually swims up along side, so it is possible that she was above the bait or just level with it. while cranking up at the end of the follow she comes in close.It amazes me how they stay with the bait cranking the ball up.I will get exact measurements when I get home, still not sure what to think but was a real nice fish. |
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| OK, the camera points down and is attached above the downrigger ball.The distance between the downrigger ball and the tip of the camera is 4 inches. The distance from the camera to the bait is approximatly 15-16 inches in this case. When your bouncing up and down it changes some.
In most instances in this clarity of water I can not see a musky until it is relatively close. I could see this fish from a long ways off.
This gives you an idea of the set up, still no way to determine size for sure. I am claiming no size, just a nice fish and hope you enjoyed the photos.
Edited by DonS 5/6/2008 9:23 PM
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