MJL

In the last 3 months, I've had 4 people step right in front of my car without looking. Last year I watched a girl walk right into a street light while texting. Our ancestors had to fight against sabre-toothed tigers. They had to evade the bubonic plague, malaria, yellow fever, TB, Polio and the flu. It's a sad day for humanity when we have to consider cell phones and distracted driving a major contributor of injury and death. 2 adult men walked off a cliff in California playing Pokemon Go *face palm* Write them tickets...And Fast!

I'd be more worried about foreign (possibly negative) scents deterring fish from biting...Then again, some people use WD40 as scent... Flambeau has a tackle box called the Zerust where the plastic dividers exude some sort of anti-rust vapour (or something like that). I bought one box but haven't yet had it long enough to really determine if it actually works. I bought it because it was 30% cheaper than anything else I could find in the store. Don't know why my lures seem to rust more in winter than they do in summer.

Don't think it was an ugly stick. It was one of those rod/reel combos spooled with sketchy 10lb mono that you see at Wal-Mart or Canadian Tire.

Thanks guys. Very cool. I've only ever seen 2 big muskies in person before. One was in 2007 in the Lower Niagara. The guy next to me landed it while tossing a 2/5oz orange Cleo for salmon. It measured 54.5 inches. I helped him net it with my big carp net and measured it with my tape. It escaped before I could measure the girth. At the time, neither of us really wanted to touch it.LOL The 2nd fish was from the Kawarthas in 2005. The guy across the river from me caught it with a jig + grub. It weighed 33lbs. He took it to the grocery store he worked at to weigh it and came back to the river for pictures. I personally wouldn't doubt the weight. It was massive and super fat. All the other muskies I've seen in person were about 36" or less. Here's hoping I catch a very aggressive 70 incher that's lazy and swims into the net when hooked.haha

Very cool Do you know what software your son used to stitch it all together? I've been meaning to get out for some timelapse making the past few years but never got around to it. Even have a motor/slider that I haven't even used yet.LOL

Mind blowing report Rick! Pretty amazing to see Kakabeka falls raging like that. I believe it's the 2nd tallest waterfall in Ontario. My dad and I visited in 2014 and it wasn't flowing as much as that. Now you must apply your new found jigging skills to chinooks in Lake O...In 180ft of water. haha

Thanks farsider. It's pretty much what I do with the other species that I fish for (like steelhead and trout). This has been floating around the steelhead community for a while. Perhaps it also applies to muskies? (I personally don't know or know of any studies done) It's one of the reasons I got into underwater photography and have been working on the half & half split shots like this over the past few years. After 5yrs I kind of have it figured out with some degree of success (Though execution still needs work). I would like to get something similar to this except with muskies and pike. Anthony's Smallie by Mike Leung, on Flickr Thanks Pete. Really appreciate all of this. Right now I'm using a heavy action bass frog rod that I have - 7'4" Daiwa Tatula (rated for 1/2 -2oz, 55-80lb braid). Reel: Shimano Curado 300 spooled with 65lb PowerPro that I picked up off Kijiji last week. Budget for a brand new combo? I don't really have one per se. I don't mind spending $ on something that feels comfortable in my hands and will last a long time. Rods longer than 8ft might be an issue fitting into my car though. Musky rods cost a lot less than most custom steelhead rods so it hurts less that way.LOL Aside from learning about tackle and tactics, I would love to learn more about where muskies hold/habitat. I can apply it to the small back lakes and rivers that I fish which are filthy with smaller muskies (to about 36 inches or so). Even if we don't catch or see any fish, I've got about 10-12 artsy pictures in my head that I would still love to take about musky fishing.LOL At some point this season, I'll be sending you a PM One other question I have is, what's the average sized musky in the Kawarthas? How big do they get there? In the world of musky fishing what is considered a big musky? Thanks again, Mike

Thanks Josh I've noticed all the price increases after looking through the Lebaron catalogues from 2011 through to 2016.LOL I've been getting most of my stuff off of Kijiji and saving some $ that way. Just need to pick up some larger replacement hooks big enough for musky lures. Fishing for muskies seems pretty similar to fishing for resident trout in how delicate they are. 95% of my photography is done underwater or of fish still in the water. I generally don't take very many hero shots above water of my own fish and don't plan to from a canoe unless I motor back to shore. Since the beginning of 2011, I've utilized a few techniques and equipment where I can remotely shoot off several dozen pictures in a few seconds while I (or my friends) am fighting fish or reviving/releasing fish. The "Keepemwet" movement popularized in steelhead fishing, is primarily what I aim to do with most species of fish I fish for and photograph. For a small sample of the types of pictures I've taken, you can check out my website at WWW.MJLEUNG.COM Over the past month, I've acquired longer pliers, wire cutters, jaw spreaders, and already have a big net that I use for other large species. I will definitely look into some of the opportunities Muskies Canada has to offer. At some point in the future (possibly 20yrs from now) I would like to publish a book of the 158+ freshwater fish species we have in Ontario (including underwater pictures of clear, spotted, barred and tiger muskies). Thank again for all of your help Mike

Thank you so much for all of your replies Targeting muskies is quite a bit different than what I usually do with other species of fish. At 5'6" 120lbs, I'm definitely on the smaller end of the scale compared to the musky anglers I typically see on the lake - A little bit of upper body strength training wouldn't hurt either. I wouldn't say I was burned out from reeling in all day but was thinking there might be a more efficient way of doing things. I was fishing out of a 2 man canoe with my friend and the range of motion was definitely limited to the waist up. After sitting in the canoe for 13hrs, my lower back and butt were definitely feeling it. I would imagine standing and casting in a boat would be easier. On the bright side, I can cast with either hand so I can switch up when one arm gets a little tired from casting. My dad gave me his old Abu Garcia 5500 C3 which is a lefty and can try alternating between left/right hand retrieves. At the moment, my tackle box is fairly sparse but has a few spinnerbaits, bucktail spinners, a perch coloured super shad rap, a jointed 7" Shallow Raider, pair of saltwater X-raps and a pair of lures that look like American Eels with curly tails. Over the next couple of seasons, I'm hoping to photograph muskies chasing lures to the boat both above and below the water. At this point, I'm not planning to trophy hunt yet. Even small hammer handles are most definitely welcome.LOL Thanks again guys for all of your help.

Nice ones Terry! Well done!

On Saturday I went fishing in the Kawarthas with the hopes of landing some muskies (which I didn't). In the 13hrs I was fishing, a few random questions came to mind. 1. Is there a smaller/medium sized low profile reel that will make burning in single bladed bucktail spinners easier than a Curado 300e? I'll admit it was quite the workout.LOL I understand that reels with lower gear ratios have better cranking power and higher gear ratios bring in line quicker. For smaller lures like Mepps Musky Killers, Blue fox musky bucks and Buchertails, what gear ratio should I be looking at? A reel like the Daiwa Lexa 300 comes in 6.3, 7.1 and 8.1 models. What do you chose? 2. There are titanium leaders, fluorocarbon leaders and stainless steel leaders. Is there a time or technique where you would use one type of leader over the other? 3. How heavy of a leader in Fluorocarbon and Titanium do you use? 4. Has anyone gone barbless for muskies? If so, did you notice a difference in landing percentages? 5. I've only landed the 'clear' and 'tiger' variety of musky. Are the 'barred' and 'spotted' varieties also found in the kawarthas? I would love to photograph those ones too. 6. Do people ever Figure 8 for pike? Do pike ever chase lures right up to the boat like muskies do? 7. From what I see on TV, anglers use smaller lures on average for pike, and huge lures for muskies. Is there any reason for this? 8. Are there any tackle shops in the GTA (or within 2hrs) that have a decent selection of musky tackle? I don't have anything to buy in mind yet...I just love to visit small tackle shops. Thanks Mike

Berkley Vanish is a horrible, horrible product. I've never experienced as many unexplained line breaks as I've had with Berkley Vanish. For worm harnesses, I've used mono and fluorocarbon in 10-12lb. Both work and couldn't really tell the difference in catch rates. Mono I've used: Trilene XT, Excalibur Silverthread and P-Line Floroclear (blend of both mono/fluorocarbon) Fluoro I've used: Seaguar AbrazX

That's what I would also think as well. My friend picked one up a few years ago. The snake defecated and oozed stinky musk on his hand and eventually did bite him. They are not venomous but the saliva will keep you bleeding if you get bit (like a mosquito) I LOL'd so much that day

Never used the Alps titanium but heard they are great for the $. I have used the TYSG is the past and they work well (Currently have 1 float rod with a set of TYSG). Unless you're planning to fish saltwater, I personally don't see any real need for titanium guides on a float rod (But that's just me). I have regular Fuji YSG guides on 9 of 12 float rods that I have.

It's definitely not the guide spacing that's the problem with the GLX. The Recoils are just soft. I've replaced the recoils on my friends' 10 and 12wt fly rods as well as a 5'6" Loomis UL and a custom 6'6" Rainshadow that had them. Grooving is just part of the package when you have Recoils. Some guys change the tip top and the stripper guide to SIC on the factory rods with recoils.

I've owned 2...Still have 1 Sage GSH 1136-3LLB in the arsenal. Both had slightly different guide spacings. The approximate spacings for both (Going by memory): #1 : Tip, 3, 7, 12, 18. 25, 33, 42, 52, 63, 75, 88, 102, 117 #2 : Tip, 4, 9, 15, 22, 30, 39, 49, 60, 72, 85, 98, 112, 126 Both rods used Fuji YSG guides from size 7 to 16 or 20. Definitely not a fan of Recoils for any type of rod (but that's just me). Keep in mind that the Sage rods I had/have are from the batch sold by Angling Specialties back in the 1990's. From what I've read on Facebook, the newer blanks have a more powerful line rating and are lighter than the older ones (6-12lb @ 3.7oz). If I had to guess, my Sage rods would be something similar to a slow/moderate action 4-8lb weighing in over 4oz for the blank). Can even run lighter leaders than 4lb on the rod if I wanted to.

Beat the rain? The best fishing is in the rain! Nicely done Brian

Take me to all of your fishing spots and show me the way to catch some fish

Thanks again guys Since that day, I've been reading tons of articles on musky fishing and shopping around for musky tackle on various Classifieds and Kijiji that would fit my needs. I've been constantly dreaming about Figure-8's and fish chasing up to the boat. I traded a friend some old carp gear for a Curado 300E in great condition. Still shopping around for a rod, lures and a few other items. I've got about 20-30 pictures in mind (above and below the water) that I'm hoping to get in the next few seasons. It's definitely a new journey. I'm afraid I'm showing symptoms of Musky Fever. haha. Shayne, from what a few people told me, Rice has one of the lower densities of muskies compared to other Kawartha lakes. But, whatever you do see are bigger on average??? Perhaps someone who targets muskies there could confirm. I'm actually not sure what the average size of muskies is in the kawarthas (or any other lake for that matter). As for the Tigers, one of my friends caught 2 last year on Rice and on Facebook, another angler claims he caught 3 on walleye opening week (with a pic to back it up). Seems there could be more pike moving into the lake???

Nicely done Mike. If I caught that many hawgs, my thumb would be bleeding profusely.LOL

I was expecting a very different report in mind before I clicked on this one.LOL Nice tank of a laker and the chinny is sweet. Looking forward to the salmon moving closer to shore within spoon chucking range

Beauties Matt!

Just incredible!

Over the years, I've seen the odd loner rainbows cruising some of the harbours and bays around Lake O during the summer. The ones I've seen looked like beat up dropbacks that just spawned out. On the other hand, browns do cruise the same harbours and bays during the summer (particularly ones where they were stocked). They follow bait fish that bunch up close to shore and just annihilate them. Browns are slightly more tolerant of warmer water than other trout and salmon and are more structure oriented out in the lake (hence why they generally remain closer to shore out in Lake O compared to rainbows and salmon). Before I got my drivers license, I would hit up a few of my local harbours with a spinning rod and a small box of spoons, jerk baits and crankbaits in the summer. I've had really good days with the browns in the middle of July - You could just see the browns busting the bait fish on the surface. My favourite lures were the Silver/green hammered Cleo, Rapala Rattlin Rap and Rapala Husky Jerk. Sometimes floating skein chunks or a salted minnow would work too. Last July, my friend and I had a 40 fish day between the 2 of us after work on one Lake O pier (The fish were between 1.5lbs and 12lbs). A good number of fish were caught on white Swammers, EGB spoons and Rapala Clackn' Raps. The hot mid-summer brown bite from shore doesn't happy every day, but if you time it right, it will make you want to go back every day for more...Worst case scenario is you end up catching bass or pike when the browns aren't in.LOL

Going to need a lot of windshield washer fluid driving through that cloud.LOL