Jigger

Hope everyone gets the monster that they've always dreamed of! Happy New Year to all!

Was on 12Mile Lake over Christmas. 5-6in of ice. By the 28th the shore ice was very slushy for the first 8-10ft. Without a good cold snap I think it'll be pretty sketchy out there. Esp. on the main lake sections.

Just watched the fights, WOW is GSP a monster! That belt will be back on his shoulders when Serra is able to go again. I thought Silva Lidell would have been better. Lidell looked gassed at the end of the 3rd... Maybe some jitters on Silvas part. Give him a few more fights and I think we'll see a much more dominant fighter. Machida/Soko was a nice surprise. Just goes to show what a real technical guy can do to a brawler. Everytime Soko threw a punch, all he was hitting was air. Good card!

Irishfield, that was hilarious. I'm wiping tears right now.

I agree that the fish in gbs pic is longer. 58 in compared to O'Brians fish @ 56in (corrected from 58in with its throat slit.). It looks to me like the guys in gbs pic are hovering around 5ft, so a 58in fish is going to look much larger compared to O'Brian @ 68in (5'8") next to his fish. The girth on the O'Brian fish is phenominal. The other fish is a bruiser, and WAY bigger than any muskie I've even seen. But O'Brians fish looks fatter.

gbfisher, I heard that there were some issues with O'Brians fish. If you know what happened, why not just come out with it? You say the truth may or may not come out, well, lets hear...the truth. I'm sure all of us would like to hear the tale.

I don't get what either of you are trying to say. From what I understand there were some very reputable people on hand when that fish came in. Although I've read here at one point that there were some questions that arose from that catch. Anyone care to elaborate? BTW, where did you get that pig, gb? Care to share the story?

Great job man! Thats a hell of a way to end your year. Congrats!

Terry has it right one way. Lie and get an endorsement deal. Another would be to write a book. Make appearences at fishing shows.Take THE ROD THAT HANDLED THE WR MUSKY!!! and put it on E-Bay...Take the LURE THAT CAUGHT THE WR MUSKY!!! and put it on E-Bay... And last but not least, there are companies that will make a replica free of charge which, in my world at least, amounts to ALOT of money for a fish that size. So would I be able to quit my day job? Probably not, unless the catching of said wr Musky coincided with a big lottery win. But would catching the wr Musky put money in your pocket? Yes. And no way would I let BPS put a fish like that in its tank. I've seen the Musky in there. They won't get the wr Smallie after I get that one, either

I'd have a real big dilema. I couldn't kill it, but if I could get it to a certified scale alive I would try and get it there alive. IF I was 40km from the nearest station and had no camera to verify my story, I would let it go and cry alot... If it died or looked like it was going to bite the bullet, I'd be forced to harvest and collect all that loot.

Nice fish, anyone ever try those Bondy Baits on other bodies of water with success?

Right on. Congrats on the pb, she sure is pretty.

If a carp was smoking, would the sport-fish get on its case? Or would they leave the carp alone because he was smoking "outside" the weedbed. Funny, it snowed. I can't stand snow...

They're good lures, but they work better with some speed. They track great and if I fished walleye, I'd use them in a heartbeat. Great pike lure. Make contact with structure at a good clip and the pike will pull your arms off!

Nice looking kitty, for sure! Love the markings. Congrats!

I caught that as well. Thought it was a great show. Like lew said, no mention of sponsors kept the show flowing real nice. Alot of useful info. Won't miss it again!

Great idea tethering the rod like that, lew. Wouldn't want to lose that combo! 2Tone, I've read alot about guys using fiberglass rods in fall for trolling. Also, longer/softer rods reduce snags and absorb more shock when a big fish hits. I don't know any models or numbers for you, I'll be looking at trolling set-ups very shortly. Up until now, I've been using the Maina combo without a problem and the 4.2:1 ratio can handle some of the bigger baits. I was trolling a 13in Grandma this weekend without a problem. I just wish a lunge would have taken it, I could give you a better idea how it handled!!!

Too bad the guy in the pic doesn't have any taste in headgear. Awesome fish!!!

This is a copy of a letter sent to Martin Williamson from Dr. John Casselman. Very interesting read. http://www.muskie-fishing.ca/letter.asp

I bought 30lb when I started fishing 'skis and also had 3 or 4 lures snap on a backlash. The last one had a titanium leader attached so I bumped the line# up. Even on my bass flippin rod, I use 50# PP and have set the hook in some horrible snags. Never let me down. Lost alot of lures to musky on that rod, you can't even feel the bite, they cut through PP like you wouldn't believe.

Remember when fishing line was a little less costly? I almost hit the floor when I was spooling up my musky outfit this year. Yeah, I run the 80#PP and 110# Seaguar fluoro With good bearings and snaps. Buying premade leaders is a good idea if you're buying one or two and are not sure what you want to use. Buying a roll of fluoro and snaps/swivels is definately a commitment.

Check your PM.

Got me too. Nice pike and FAT smallie. WTG. How deep were you fishing the Senko?

If the project was started in 1996, and its 2007, and the average age for a female musky to spawn is 7 yrs old...then shouldn't it,habitat restoration, have been on the agenda when the project was started? Also, if the MNR doesn't have a plan in place for habitat restoration, then shouldn't the program be suspended for awhile to get the people involved on the same page? I can only imagine the hurdles they would be facing over at the MNR offices. Trying to get through the red tape of something like this when people have to have bake sales to put gas in the MNR vehicles. A good pat on the back to the people that put time and money in on this project. I hope it all turns out for the best and we see a WR come out of there. Good luck to all involved.

Congrats on the first and 2nd 'skis! That one in the pic is real purdy! Looks like you were fishing fairly close to shore, what depth did you get her out of? How about water temps?