|
|
Posts: 941
Location: Freedom, WI | High Falls flowage 20 years ago with my wife on our aniversary. Full moon, peak moon period, rain moving in 15' water and wind switching directions. Hit an 7" L&L Exciter and had it T-boned with no part of the lure showing and the jaw closed, just the leader showing at boatside. Set the hook and the fish shook it head 3 times and opened its mouth and swam away. So tell me how big it is when the mouth is wide enough to completly close with a 7" inch lure in there. Yes I remember, still have nightmares. My guess over 55" easy |
|
| |
|
Posts: 699
Location: Hugo, MN | rpieske - 1/10/2007 11:53 PM
I have seen only 3 fish over 60" in my 53 years of muskie fishing. One was on Kay Lake in the mid-70's. Two were about 100 yards apart on LOTW, but also twenty years apart. The most recent was year before last. I was fishing a pass between two islands with the wind really blowing down the slot. I had always fished the opposite bank, but this time fished the rather nondescript West side. As I reached a blow down, a HUGE muskie dashed out after my Crane bait. It followed about a foot back all the way to the boat, rested along side the boat as I twitched the lure. Followed around the boat as I continued moving completely around the boat. Jaws and gills were flaring, but it wouldn't bite. I had a 60" floating ruler that I threw into the water after the fish finally swam off. The muskie was at least that long. I moved on down the shore, around the corner and raised 5 muskies and caught three. Largest 46". I went back up above the spot where I had raised the big fish and let the wind carry me on past the spot. As I cast back to the tree, a huge muskie raced out and followed all the way back. I thought it was the same fish, but this one was only 52". I guess those 60" fish get that big because they aren't stupid. That was an amazing afternoon. I always go back to that spot when the wind is blowing hard from the North. I only see fish there when the wind is from that direction. The rest of the time....nothing. I know some of you will think I am exaggerating, but I have caught many fish over 50" and am pretty good at judging size while still in the water. If I ever catch it, I hope I can get a picture, because I fish alone most of the time. I'm sure I'll find a way. I'll post the picture and then wait for all the flack to begin. I am glad I had someone else with me to see that monster. Maybe this year........hope springs eternal.
Bob,
I Hope to be there at the end of August . . . I'll bring the camera!
|
|
| |
|
| summer 05
throwing a wtd suick...there she is...hot n heavy...followed me around on an 8 tll she was dizzy....left, and kept coming back.
size comparison...looked like i was figure 8ing a 7" suick on a 45 incher
she shows up occasionally. destroyed a magdawg. mocked a sledge. sniffed a weagle.....
this esox is not terrified of anything, including me. her name is Lucy.
if i had to guess....im so bad at this.....52"....quite possibly...53. so wide and fat...a very respectable fish.
a week later, i saw a fish terrorizing suckers that i honestly can't put a size to. if i were to, it wouldn't even be rational. like i said, the week b4 i seen this one....Lucy was boatside following a baby raider, but of course didnt eat, so i have a good idea between the 2.
the one i saw near the suckers was laying in 2 feet of water beside a partially exposed glacier rock. i later measured the rock, cuz i had to know. my partner that day and i both were appalled....she didn't follow anything, just sank down into deep water...so, thats my out for putting a size to it, no follow. just a sighting.
that fish gives me night terrors.
Lucy just irritates me cuz of her way of saying HI/BYE! lol
Edited by The Yeti 1/12/2007 11:11 PM
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 699
Location: Hugo, MN | I have 2 that I have nightmares about both came from the Lake formerly known as X . . .
The first one came on a hot, dead calm day. Nothing was happening all morning, and most of the afternoon finally I snagged about a 1lb. Northern as I drug it in I saw the biggest Fish I have ever seen it was well over 50" and had the thickest back and it was right behind that little slimey bastard I figure 8'd that sucker for a good 5 minutes and that big S.O.B. just sat there and got Dizzy watching it go round and round. That fish will haunt my dreams.
The second one I never got a look at but my good buddy Truax claims it was well over 50". I was fishing out of the back of his boat with a Reef Hawg jerking it parallel to the boat and I saw a flash but thought the fish was following and got spooked little did I know it had grabbed my bait and ran right past me to the front of the boat. Before I realized what was going on my buddy was yelling at me to set the hooks by the time I got the slack reeled up I gave it a good yank and she stripped out a good 5 ft of line and doubled my rod over before my bait calmly floated to the surface followed quickly by many long strings of explicatives . . . never got to see her but I hear she was big. |
|
| |
|
| Lac Seul in 2001 I wittnessed the largest muskie I have ever seen, hooked, or otherwise. My father who was fihsing behind me had a fish of enormous proportions follow his Marv's Tandem to boatside and proceeded to inhale it right next to the boat. And when I say inhale, I mean the bait, the arm of the spinnerbait with the blades and half the leader. When he set the hook the bait shot straight out of her mouth and we never saw her again. We had boated a 54" the previous day and I cannot say with any certainty how big this fish was, but all I can say it was significantly larger. We literally both stared at the water for 15 minutes in silence and when he asked me how big she was my reply was, "I have no freakin idea" |
|
| |
|
Posts: 101
Location: Northern Illinois | The fat girl on Big Arbor Vitae. On a gloomy drizzly morning, me and my neighbor set out to fish Big Arb. We had been vacationing that week with our families at a resort on Lost Lake. We had been towing his boat around all week, trying local top notch muskie lakes such as Plum, Big St. Germain,etc. This day found us on Big Arb at sunrise. My buddy had the first action, a muskie in the mid 40's range followed a bucktail near a shoreline we were working. About an hour later, we decided to drift the big weeded saddle in the middle of the lake. I switched over to a black Topper Stopper, it just seemed right. My first cast I caught a 38 incher. It was approximately 11:00 AM, and now I put on my yellow Hawg Wobbler. We were positioned right on top of the saddle, in about 3 ft of water, weeds all over. A couple of casts, nothing, and then it happened. When the lure was about 15 ft from the boat, a huge broad sided fish turned on lure, swiping it right off the surface. I leaned back on the rod as the behemoth burrowed into the weeds. I was fishing in the bow, and the pressure I had on the fish swung the whole boat around, much to the amazement of my partner. Then it was over..... Up floats my Hawg Wobbler. How big was it? Well, my biggest up that point was 23 lbs. My honest opinion, she had to go 35lbs. I was sick. We fished a little more , then went back for lunch with the families. Later that day I fished Lost with my son, and had another good fish (mid 40"s) take a look at a Suick, and finally a small guy followed a Buchertail to the boat. Not a bad day. It's the ones I've seen that keep me coming back....... |
|
| |
|
| 2 years ago, on the ottawa river my dad caught a 53, 30 min later i had a follow that was waay bigger than his. my dad just looked at me and shook his head. im not going to guess the length but that was one big fish. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 32930
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Another, ask Norm Wild about this one.
Antigo Island, Pelican Lake. Saw her several times a couple falls ago, but never did she commit. Somewhere in the archives here I described the fish my son Keith and I saw on Wabigoon; that was a big girl too.
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 136
| I caught the biggest fish I have ever seen which was a 55.5. I am not going to complain but I would really like to watch some huge fish follow either my bait or the bait of my fishing partner. I have seen some big fish in the 47-51 inch range but never been able to sit back and watch a true monster coming hard. My wish is that thins year I can sit back and watch a pig follow my buddies jackpot or chase his bucktail boat side so i get a good look at here. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 382
| My biggest follow was exactly 51.5" on a isolated rock structure out in LOTW. I know she was 51.5" cause NWild popped her there a few days later! |
|
| |
|
Posts: 2089
| Rowan Lake -1989. Followed my buddy Paul's Eagle Tail(red/yellow/flame) and I was able to see the fish on both sides of the boat at the same time.How big?No clue, but we were fishing from a 16' Lund.
LOTW-3 years ago during the Sab Bay outing.The Dude and I were fishing a little cup in the Nestor area where we had lots of action in the preceeding days.This fish followed the famous brown/flame 700 Series Buchertail with a 4" white grub on the arse.She was in 3' of water with scattered coontail.She rose up behind the bait and when she opened her mouth, the blade stopped and she turned and sank out of sight.I smoked 10 cigs in about 5 minutes.Initially, I couldn't speak.My guess, upper 50's+.I was in awe.Long and thick with eyes the size of silver dollars.I've seen a few giants on Mille Lacs, but this Beast was in a different class altogether. Steve |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1462
Location: Davenport, IA | This fall....I saw my bobber going back and forth...knew a muskie had to be chasing it...10' of visibility in the water...I looked down and saw no muskie so I just figured the sucker was on crack....then it slowly came up, the fish's mouth was wider than the sucker was long (8")...and she slowly swam away
Biggest I lost was probobly 48"...but very fat. I was working a magic maker on a deep weedline...saw this fish following. I stopped the bait and she swiped and missed...swimming away. I started working it again and she turned around and hit it...I had 1 hook point in its mouth and she shook it loose.
|
|
| |
|
| Steve Jonesi - 2/14/2007 11:47 AM
Rowan Lake -1989. Followed my buddy Paul's Eagle Tail(red/yellow/flame) and I was able to see the fish on both sides of the boat at the same time.How big?No clue, but we were fishing from a 16' Lund.
LOTW-3 years ago during the Sab Bay outing.The Dude and I were fishing a little cup in the Nestor area where we had lots of action in the preceeding days.This fish followed the famous brown/flame 700 Series Buchertail with a 4" white grub on the arse.She was in 3' of water with scattered coontail.She rose up behind the bait and when she opened her mouth, the blade stopped and she turned and sank out of sight.I smoked 10 cigs in about 5 minutes.Initially, I couldn't speak.My guess, upper 50's+.I was in awe.Long and thick with eyes the size of silver dollars.I've seen a few giants on Mille Lacs, but this Beast was in a different class altogether. Steve
Steve, I too have a monster in that area and it sounds frighteningly similar to what you have described in sabaskong. HUGE! I've only caught one musky @ 50", but this one was massive! We got her to follow 5-8 times over three days, got a great look at a true record class fish, but we never stuck her. She chased a top raider, a windells, and a reef hawg. I won't try to describe how big this one was for fear of everyone thinking I'm goofy. I wouldn't be suprised if this was the same fish. |
|
| |
