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Location: Chisholm, MN | I’d say a good gauge is the handful of guys or teams that always seem to be in the top places in the pmtt. Some people just have the muskie bone and make us all wonder what the hell Am I doing wrong? It’s definitely not all just TOW. There is a great deal of skill involved in the sport. I’d say it’s one of the toughest sports in the world to be consistent at. One year you may think you’re the best fisherman on the water (been there), the next year you can’t buy a decent fish (there now). Some guys are lucky and skilled at the same time. Those are probably the best fisherman. Not that luck is a thing, but something like chance or fate has these guys boating giants consistently. |
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Posts: 1425
Location: St. Lawrence River | Reelwise - 10/27/2018 10:14 PM
NickD - 10/27/2018 10:01 PM
Laz..... Over 9,000 muskies in the bag and counting, over 2,200 muskies 50”+, 300+ Muskies at 55”+, and 2 60” fish. Since 1988 on tough water. Jaw dropping numbers. Any idea how long he has been at it? Over a 20 year period... 2,200 Muskies over 50 inches would be over 100 Muskies per year. That is amazing when the season is just over 5 months.
RW, those figures were offered up when Laz was inducted into the HOF in 2014... roughly 30 years of compiling those figures, now. And since it was 4 years ago, you can add 200+ more 50”+ and probably 20-25 more 55-59” muskies to those figures....
Knowing all too well how stingy our system can be, it’s just mind blowing. |
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Posts: 2283
Location: Chisholm, MN | JakeStCroixSkis - 10/28/2018 10:09 AM
Reelwise - 10/27/2018 10:14 PM
NickD - 10/27/2018 10:01 PM
Laz..... Over 9,000 muskies in the bag and counting, over 2,200 muskies 50”+, 300+ Muskies at 55”+, and 2 60” fish. Since 1988 on tough water. Jaw dropping numbers. Any idea how long he has been at it? Over a 20 year period... 2,200 Muskies over 50 inches would be over 100 Muskies per year. That is amazing when the season is just over 5 months.
RW, those figures were offered up when Laz was inducted into the HOF in 2014... roughly 30 years of compiling those figures, now. And since it was 4 years ago, you can add 200+ more 50”+ and probably 20-25 more 55-59” muskies to those figures....
Knowing all too well how stingy our system can be, it’s just mind blowing.
And yet you hardly hear about this guy. That system must be amazing and I’d certainly like to fish with him there. |
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Posts: 116
| health, energy, money (equipment), ego and luck are all required.
health and energy are partly due to genetics, so random luck plays a role there too.
ego because some cats with massive catches that keep their mouths shut would never even be considered.
so I put #1 down to luck, must have the lucky healthy genetics and mental makeup imputed by parents to be #1 (one guide to rule them all!) you don't select your genes nor your parents, usually the same thing but some are adopted (random).
number 2 is money enough to stick it out during slow times, relocate to better water, afford top equipment/insurance, repairs.
number 3 is personal drive, which is somewhat inherited and somewhat socialized and somewhat due to personal effort.
so ultimately, it comes down to luck, whomever get crowned.
**
I vote for Steamboat, he is not done yet!
Edited by curdmudgeon 10/28/2018 5:14 PM
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| I think I might have met him. I don't think he knows it and I dont think he cares. I doubt you've heard of him. He has not been mentioned yet and I doubt he ever will be. He certainly is not in pursuit of fame, fortune or notoriety. |
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Posts: 1280
Location: Hayward, Wisconsin | Laz gets my vote. Not only are his numbers incredible (averages around 350 a year in the boat) the top end sizes have never been equaled by anyone, EVER! Before I first fished with him over 20 years ago, I thought the numbers attributed to him were undoable, and that was when his number of 50's for one year was 28...I thought "No one catches that many 50's...when I finally got my first chance, I was there 2 days and we got one 40 incher...water was high and muddy. However, the next summer, I spent 4 days with him (but only about 25 hours on the water). By 10:30 the first morning I had a 47 and a 56! By noon on day 4 (he sent me home immediately after that), I had 4 over 50!!! I knew then that he was for REAL. Since that time, I have been in his boat for nearly 100 over 50 (me and friends) with many of them over 55, including two 57's and my bucket list 51 pounder from horsehunter's back yard.
For a number of years, he "averaged" over 100 over 50 inches. On most of our good trips, one out of three or four were over 50, covering hundreds of miles of the Ottawa and St. Lawrence rivers. Also, for many years, when things got slow near home, he would venture to Georgian Bay and other big fish waters and did well there as well, including several of his fish over 50 pounds.
There hasn't been a day that I have been in his boat that I didn't learn something new...simply put, the man is incredible!
I have never fished with Bill Sandy or several of the others named, but I'd have to agree with Mr. Worrall that Steve "Herbie" Herbeck definitely belongs in the Top 5... Ever...
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Posts: 213
Location: FIB land | Always good fun stuff to read . |
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| lazarus is in another class he caught more than 40 40 pounder plus fish.enough said.and no you will not find a lots of his giants on the internet.i guess when you got clients for years to come,you just don'teed that kind of thing that could just bring unwanted aliens invaders |
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| Larry Ramsell - 10/29/2018 9:48 AM
Laz gets my vote. Not only are his numbers incredible (averages around 350 a year in the boat) the top end sizes have never been equaled by anyone, EVER! Before I first fished with him over 20 years ago, I thought the numbers attributed to him were undoable, and that was when his number of 50's for one year was 28...I thought "No one catches that many 50's...when I finally got my first chance, I was there 2 days and we got one 40 incher...water was high and muddy. However, the next summer, I spent 4 days with him (but only about 25 hours on the water). By 10:30 the first morning I had a 47 and a 56! By noon on day 4 (he sent me home immediately after that), I had 4 over 50!!! I knew then that he was for REAL. Since that time, I have been in his boat for nearly 100 over 50 (me and friends) with many of them over 55, including two 57's and my bucket list 51 pounder from horsehunter's back yard.
For a number of years, he "averaged" over 100 over 50 inches. On most of our good trips, one out of three or four were over 50, covering hundreds of miles of the Ottawa and St. Lawrence rivers. Also, for many years, when things got slow near home, he would venture to Georgian Bay and other big fish waters and did well there as well, including several of his fish over 50 pounds.
There hasn't been a day that I have been in his boat that I didn't learn something new...simply put, the man is incredible!
I have never fished with Bill Sandy or several of the others named, but I'd have to agree with Mr. Worrall that Steve "Herbie" Herbeck definitely belongs in the Top 5... Ever...
lucky you |
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Location: oswego, il | If i ever have a fishing tv show I am calling it alien invader. |
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Posts: 368
Location: On the River | My choice would be Dick Pearson fishing on LOTW I use to see him every year at Walsh's
Definitely a bucket list item.
Edited by wisriverrat 10/29/2018 7:53 PM
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Location: minocqua, wi. | we all know who the best is. he claims it often ... |
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Posts: 46
| No mention of Doug Johnson? How old is he an still putting up numbers on LOTW? Be a bucket list to drink beer and just listen to his stories. More so the ones of monsters spotted on Lac Suel. |
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Location: Elk River, Minnesota | jonnysled - 10/29/2018 7:59 PM
we all know who the best is. he claims it often ...
Hahaha!!! So True if we are thinking of the same person!!! |
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| jonnysled - 10/29/2018 7:59 PM
we all know who the best is. he claims it often ... Man,that is a great post. |
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Posts: 156
Location: Alexandria, MN | dmorgan173 - 10/29/2018 8:54 PM
No mention of Doug Johnson? How old is he an still putting up numbers on LOTW? Be a bucket list to drink beer and just listen to his stories. More so the ones of monsters spotted on Lac Suel. Agreed. Doug's name belongs in this conversation. |
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| ToddM - 10/29/2018 7:41 PM
If i ever have a fishing tv show I am calling it alien invader. good idea,most of usa musky have been put in lakes where they have nothing to do there.aliens organism that is invading natural biotope |
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Posts: 16632
Location: The desert | supertrollr - 10/30/2018 11:13 AM
ToddM - 10/29/2018 7:41 PM
If i ever have a fishing tv show I am calling it alien invader. good idea,most of usa musky have been put in lakes where they have nothing to do there.aliens organism that is invading natural biotope
This is post is in the running for best post on this board, ever. |
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Posts: 343
| Sounds like Lazarus might be the guy, I've only fished with one of the above mentioned, Mr. Doug Johnson, he would be a strong choice in my book. But my lack of personal experiences with most of the names mentioned makes my opinion relatively valueless. It may be someone who isn't even mentioned because they keep their catches to themselves, that seems the most likely to me |
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Posts: 444
| Not sure who is the best but I'm one of the worst... |
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Posts: 1516
| thescottith - 10/30/2018 2:25 PM
Not sure who is the best but I'm one of the worst...
I'm right there with ya |
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Posts: 1220
| Just saw this thread, and while I think it’s an impossible subject filled with political (like) tribalism like our election next week, I think it’s not going to be a guy famous on his lake. I’ve fished with Bill Sandy on LOTW, seen the way he’s treated by Sarik and all the Musky Hunter guys, almost like a deity. I’ve interviewed Herbie for my articles and, frankly, knew he’d already forgot more than I’ll ever know. Then, there are scores of other “quiet geniuses “ like Hanson on the Madison Chain who showed me twenty fish in two hours after I spent the previous day myself seeing none. I’m going to stake my claim on the most scientific, one-off Musky Hunter who found the way to catch the biggest fish in any lake that have never been caught before. He had to develop his own boat (from a sail boat), fill it with tech nobody else even knew about, row it himself, and in the most miserable conditions at an advanced age. So, with respect to guys who know how highly I think of them, Tom Gelb! |
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Posts: 284
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Herbie, Gregg Thomas, Jeff Sacco |
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| Junkman - 10/31/2018 6:10 AM
Just saw this thread, and while I think it’s an impossible subject filled with political (like) tribalism like our election next week, I think it’s not going to be a guy famous on his lake. I’ve fished with Bill Sandy on LOTW, seen the way he’s treated by Sarik and all the Musky Hunter guys, almost like a deity. I’ve interviewed Herbie for my articles and, frankly, knew he’d already forgot more than I’ll ever know. Then, there are scores of other “quiet geniuses “ like Hanson on the Madison Chain who showed me twenty fish in two hours after I spent the previous day myself seeing none. I’m going to stake my claim on the most scientific, one-off Musky Hunter who found the way to catch the biggest fish in any lake that have never been caught before. He had to develop his own boat (from a sail boat), fill it with tech nobody else even knew about, row it himself, and in the most miserable conditions at an advanced age. So, with respect to guys who know how highly I think of them, Tom Gelb!
That's more like it, without the "political tribalism". 
Edited by 4amuskie 10/31/2018 7:52 AM
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Posts: 63
| Count me in to the race for the bottom. My son says the fish see the Crestliner logo on my boat and they sink 3 feet deeper. #thestruggleisreel |
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Location: Contrarian Island | I think one could change the question a bit and get different answers.. who is the best on the St Lawrence. I guess one could say Laz by his results.. but what part does the body of water play into it. Put him on Eagle for a season he won't have the size or numbers he does on his home water correct? to me, the best fishermen are the guys that can go anywhere and put big fish and numbers in the boat given the conditions they are dealt...being versatile is also one factor that seperates the good from the great... guys who consistently finish in the top 10 in the PMTT are clearly good at figuring out patterns and what it takes to get them to bite.... One of the guys that has flown under the radar for a long time but likely has more inland 50s in WI than anyone is Chuck Schauer... check out his lunge log... the guy is a 50" machine for inland 50s...
Edited by BNelson 10/31/2018 8:45 AM
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Location: oswego, il | There are no apple to apple comparisons. Time on the water, where you fish play the biggest part in numbers. All the people mentioned are great fisherman no doubt but they don't directly compare to one another. |
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Location: Ashland WI | Junkman - 10/31/2018 6:10 AM
Just saw this thread, and while I think it’s an impossible subject filled with political (like) tribalism like our election next week, I think it’s not going to be a guy famous on his lake. I’ve fished with Bill Sandy on LOTW, seen the way he’s treated by Sarik and all the Musky Hunter guys, almost like a deity. I’ve interviewed Herbie for my articles and, frankly, knew he’d already forgot more than I’ll ever know. Then, there are scores of other “quiet geniuses “ like Hanson on the Madison Chain who showed me twenty fish in two hours after I spent the previous day myself seeing none. I’m going to stake my claim on the most scientific, one-off Musky Hunter who found the way to catch the biggest fish in any lake that have never been caught before. He had to develop his own boat (from a sail boat), fill it with tech nobody else even knew about, row it himself, and in the most miserable conditions at an advanced age. So, with respect to guys who know how highly I think of them, Tom Gelb!
I read his book and have to agree with you.
What this man did goes well beyond being a "good muskie fisherman".. |
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| BNelson - 10/31/2018 8:44 AM
I think one could change the question a bit and get different answers.. who is the best on the St Lawrence. I guess one could say Laz by his results.. but what part does the body of water play into it. Put him on Eagle for a season he won't have the size or numbers he does on his home water correct? to me, the best fishermen are the guys that can go anywhere and put big fish and numbers in the boat given the conditions they are dealt...being versatile is also one factor that seperates the good from the great... guys who consistently finish in the top 10 in the PMTT are clearly good at figuring out patterns and what it takes to get them to bite.... One of the guys that has flown under the radar for a long time but likely has more inland 50s in WI than anyone is Chuck Schauer... check out his lunge log... the guy is a 50" machine for inland 50s...
your example is not really true. because his no of giants his at least x5 higher than the guys that is fishing at the same place since same time. |
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Posts: 408
Location: MN | There are 1145 muskies entered into the Muskies Inc lunge log for the St. Lawrence River. 22.1% of those are 50+, and 5.0% are 55+. Note here: https://www.muskyhunter.com/archives/3247 the numbers for Lazarus:
50+: 2200/9000 = 24.4%
55+: 300/9000 = 3.3%
Seems to me that the size distribution is simply a function of the water. The fact that he has so many giants is a combination of his ability to consistently catch numbers of fish combined with the size distribution of the waters he is on. |
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