One of the reasons I hesitate to give tips to inexperienced Muskie anglers is that they'll go out and catch one with 0 idea how to handle one! They are just fish to most people! To those of us that target them we do our best to handle them gently...They look big and mean but they are very fragile creatures, prolonged fights on too light tackle, too long out of the water, mishandling(verticle holds,laying on floor of boat to flop around) can all contribute to a dead fish. A 48"er from Pigeon could be 20 years old and is a trophy fish! Congrats on your first(BIG) Muskie and I'm glad you let her go! If you are going to continue to target them, please school yourself on the best way to handle these important fish, and the best equiptment to do so. Again, nice fish and congrats!
Here is an example of why we use a big Muskie net....Fish resting comfortably after hooks have been removed.
All the right landing equipment, Muskie net, hook cutters,longnose pliers,jaw spreaders
Dax Jacklin
Chairman, Hamilton Chapter of Muskies Canada
www.muskiescanada.ca