Fisherpete

Now those are a pair of beauties! Congrats and can't wait to see part 3!

Well then... let me be the first! I caught this nice smallie in late October of 2007 while pike fishing Lake Dalrymple. Fought like a champ, not in the air like many smallies, but peeling drag making crazy long runs. My favourite perch recipe is simple... deep fried in fish crisp, garnished with lemon. Or if you want to be a bit healthier, pan fried in margarine, garnished with salt, fresh ground pepper and lemon. My favourite way to do lake trout is wrapped in tinfoil and either baken in the oven or on the BBQ... leave the fish whole, minus the head, fins & guts. Stuff the belly cavity with lemon slices, onions, peppers and whatever vegetables you feel like... add some salt & fresh ground pepper...coat the fish lightly in olive oil, then sprinkle sea salt on the outside. Wrap in tin foil and BBQ or bake until flaking. Mmmmmmmmm.... could go for some of that right now!

Headed out for one last quick muskie hunt with my brother this morning. Early on I had a nice follow by a really long and skinny fish, but the motor spooked her as she came in close. A few more hours of casting and trolling later, just when we were almost ready to pack it in, this beauty hit my lure. She was barely hooked, so I really had to be careful bringing her in. She stayed down deep until I forced the issue, but I managed to do so without having her go on any crazy runs. She came in at 40", and is probably the most well fed Kawarthas muskie that I have caught! She took off like a rocket as soon as she returned to the chilly 43 degree water. A few moments later I hooked another one, although smaller, and lost it shortly after. Great way to close out what was my best muskie season ever!

Here's the 5 heaviest boated by me and my brother. 44" and 21.5 lbs (weighed in cradle with Berkley digital scale) 45" and 23 lbs (weighed in cradle with Berkley digital scale) 43.5" and 22 lbs (weighed in cradle with Berkley digital scale) 47" Not weighed but I am guessing 25-26 lbs. She was HEAVY and had just eaten too, look at her belly! 47" Probably 22-24lbs, not nearly as heavy as the other. I also had a massive follow this June on Balsam that would have pushed 30 lbs, just seeing this thing had my heart pounding for 10 minutes afterwards. I know, I know, fisherman's tale... but don't worry, I plan on catching her later this month when she is even fatter! I stopped weighing muskies (and fish in general) after my first full year of fishing muskies (2004). I don't think I would weigh another unless it had the potential for some sort of record. My quest is for that magical 50" mark... if she goes 25 lbs or 30, I don't really care!

And hard. LOL just had to say it.

Mmmmmm.... p-p-peppery p-p-poppyseed p-p-pike..... Looks like a severe case of blackspot. You see it on perch sometimes, and I have seen some pretty bad cases on pike from Lake Dalrymple.

Beauty! She looks at least like a 40", maybe a bit more. Love the colours on the LSC fish!

Do you accept Canadian tire money? If so, I may just have enough to be an investor. WAIT! I see a steel leader in some of those pics... I thought no leader required was a selling point... hmmm, never mind my investing. False advertising, tsk, tsk. And by the way, the fact that it works is hilarious. I actually went and looked in my cutlery drawer just now. Do you start with tea spoons in the spring and move up to serving spoons in the fall to 'match the hatch'?

LOL... Fisherpete style... we should make a song, "Just me'n'my cradle, all full of esox, set that self timer, cuz solo fishing rocks!" By the way, very nice fish!

Oh, he got me good with his gill rakers. Nice cuts on three fingers to be exact... As far as the net/cradle thing goes, the most important thing to me is releasing the fish as healthy as possible, so just in case, I will look into the net. And a part-time job on the side to pay for it LOL!

OK, after doing some more research, there is a Beckman pen-style net that I would like to have. Who wants to pick it up for me as a Christmas gift! It has the tangle free, smaller "fin-saver" mesh which makes the cradles so effective. It can be had for only around $200 U.S.! Seriously though, I may consider it for next year. http://www.lindyfishingtackle.com/productd...npenfinsavernet

I am not sold on the Beckman nets, or any of the big nets in that style. The advantages I see are that they can act as a "holding pen" in the water, and that they would be easier to use on solo trips. But as proven by my solo trip last week, cradles work too. My boat sits quite low in the water, so using the cradle is quite easy from it. I can see having issues with boats that have high sides. I just HATE seeing musky and pike fins get split and destroyed by normal mesh nets, which happens even with the bigger ones. The netting is often spaced so far apart that split fins can and do happen. Those splits never heal, and that fish will forever have a disadvantage being a top predator. I have had zero muskie casualties since switching to cradles, and if you look at the pics of my muskies, they go back in far better condition than many that others catch and release. To my knowledge, I have not split a single fin on any of my esox! My newest cradles have rubberized mesh, so getting the hooks out afterwards has not been an issue at all. (I have two, a 48" Lucky Strike one, and a 60" Frabill one) Only when the fish rolls is there ANY problems - and this happens with the Beckman style nets as well (as seen on shows like the Musky Hunter and Bob Mehsikomers show). There is a reason why many guides choose the cradles despite nets being easier to use - overall, the fish are released healthier. Check out the fins on these: 43.5" 34" 43" 47"

Still a bit upset that I didn't get a great picture of last Thursday's PB 47" on my solo trip, I called up Albert and we headed out for a quick afternoon fish. His son Marco tagged along as well. We were on the water around 2pm or so. Weather was overcast with low winds (<10km). Water temps were the same as last week, 53F. We started out by fishing the area where I caught the 47" last week, and found a beautiful bed of green cabbage in 8-10 feet of water. An hour casting there yielded no results, so we trolled over to some shallower weed & reed beds where I caught the pair of 33's last Thursday. Out came my box of Rockstar (Clive/Mepps) inline spinners. The clouds finally cleared away for a few moments, so I switched my chartreuse inline spinner to one with a big silver blade to create some flash. First cast with the silver one and I was on. And it was big! A nice fight and soon she was in the cradle, which this time was handled like a PRO by Albert . Once in the cradle, I realized that this was another really long fish - and the tape measure proved me right, another 47"! Not nearly as fat as last weeks, but a beauty nonetheless. And this time I had a photographer present! She had not behaved very well while in the cradle, rolling and thrashing and wrapping the hooks up in the mesh, so it took a while to get her unhooked, but she revived well and swam away strong. Albert and Marco immediately dove into my box of Rockstars and clipped them on. I had not even picked up my rod yet after my release when Albert, on his first cast, shouted out "There's one... there's one... right behind my lure...SHE'S ON!!!". She had followed him in and then nailed it right at boatside! She fought hard, and kept trying to dive under the boat or head towards the motor, but soon she was cradled, and Albert had smashed his old PB of 36", with a 42"! While helping unhook her, she got me good with her gill rakers, but I hardly noticed at the time. Some first aid would have to be administered soon after so I didn't bleed all over Albert's boat carpet! A few pics of the happy camper with his prize catch, and she released well. At that point, the clouds returned, and the action stopped! Marco got a good follow a half hour later, but that was it. We fished until 6pm or so and then headed in before the rain started. Next round : Thursday! Bring on the 50"!

The very first muskie I ever hooked didn't make it despite a long revival attempt. I fried it up with some fish crisp & lemon, it was very similar to pike. That fish was only a 36.5" though. If the fillets came from a big fish, I would probably be inclined to bake it. And really, there is no need for this post to get locked down! If a fish is dead despite your best efforts, don't let it go to waste.

Actually, it is hockey tape. It does not destroy the fishes mouth that way, and actually stays in place better.

Trip 1 Thursday, September 24th, 2009 With the beautiful weather forecast, I headed out with a friend to hunt some musky. We were on the water by 6:45am, the sun was not even close to being up yet. Water temps were still a nice 65F, but the water was very green, perhaps an algae bloom? Would it affect the fishing? Albert was first to get a hit, and it was a good one. She stayed deep, with big headshakes and long runs, but after a moment, she shook the hook. I have no doubt that this fish would have smashed Albert's PB of 36". A few hours later, I was next, hooking into a decent one, which promptly jumped and spit my Mepps spinner. Arghh...0/2 so far... although I boated 4 decent LM bass inbetween the musky strikes. Around 1pm, we decided to pack it in, but to make one last trolling run as we headed back to the launch. I'm glad we did... it felt like my lure had become fouled with weeds, so I started cranking it in at warp speed, and it got slammed by a good one. Whoever said that you can't reel fast enough for a musky is absolutely right! A nice fight, followed by some 'interesting' netmanship by Albert with the cradle (LOL @ Albert), and she was landed. 43" and solid! A few pics and an easy release and we headed in. Trip 2 Friday, September 25th, 2009 After Thursday's success, and with more beautiful weather in the forecast, I headed out again with another friend, Patrick. Patrick is a fellow musky nut, and actually got me started on them in 2003 at Balsam Lake. He was in the boat for my PB 45" that year. We started a bit later, and were on the water by 10am or so. Patrick got the first hit, and soon landed a healthy 30". I got the next hit, on a big Mepps, which once again was quickly shaked out during a jump. Hmmm... this particular lure is now 1/6, maybe time to retire it? The hooks are sharp too, I'm not sure what the problem is with it. A bit later, Patrick got into another while trolling, and landed a 32". That was it for the day. Trip 3 Thursday, October 1st, 2009 Solo mission! With everyone else at work, and low winds forecast, I decided to head out and try my luck again. Late start once again, on the water around 10:30am, but the previous mornings had not really been productive anyway. The air was cold in the morning, and the water had dropped 13 degrees since last week, now sitting at 52F. Last weeks algae bloom had seemed to clear up a bit, maybe because of the colder temps and high winds for the previous few days. The first six hours were spent trying everything in my arsenal, but not even a follow to show for it. Thankfully, things changed after that. I started casting a shallow weed & reed bed, in no more than 3 feet of water, and got slammed by a feisty 33". Interesting trying to use a cradle by yourself, but I managed. The next drift, I got smashed at boatside by another nice one, 33" again, who put on a great aerial display before once again finding its way into my cradle. It was my first fish landed on one of Clive's (Mepps on the board) bucktail spinners! Won't be the last... a quick pic, and off she went. Since the action had picked up, I decided to head back and cast my most productive area, for the last hour of daylight. Not five minutes later, my lure stopped dead on the retrieve. It didn't even feel like a hit, it just stopped. I started reeling again, and feeling the weight again, set the hook. BIG headshakes ensued, and fish on baby! After a few great runs, I raised her up near the boat, and my heart started pounding. She was big. And my 7" lure was gone - entirely inside her mouth! She had just swam up and swallowed it whole, that is why the hit felt so strange. The rod I was using had one of those Berkley fireline leaders on it, which was currently rubbing against the teeth of the beast in the water... this would be a good test!!! Cradling her was a challenge to say the least, but after a few harrowing moments, and one almost snapped rod, I got her in. I actually shouted out with happiness once she was secure... if any of the other boats heard me, they probably thought I was nuts. Because of the lure being totally engulfed, I had to lift the cradle into the boat, and use the spreaders to open her mouth. What a gut on her, it looked like she had just finished swallowing a 3lb walleye for dinner, and had taken my lure as an after dinner mint. Luckily for her (and for me), the hooks were easy to get out, and had not hit anything sensitive in there. Tape measure out... 47"!!!! New PB!!! At this point, she had been out of the water for about a minute, and although I really, really, really, really wanted to set up the camera with self timer and get a pic of me holding her, I decided to to get her back in the water. I snapped one quick pic of her in the cradle once the hooks were out, and then a few more while reviving her at boatside. I almost dropped the camera in the drink while snapping the release pics with my trembling hands! She swam off less than a minute later, after promising me that she would return next year as my first 50".

Stick with Power Pro. The Fireline Crystal frays very easily, and does not cast as well as the same diameter Power Pro.

Not a PB, but best so far in 2009. PB is a 45", the one in my avatar.

My brother and I decided to go out for a quick evening fish tonight. Got on the water just after 5pm, and hit a decent largemouth bass right away. Nothing after that for a few hours, then in the distance, we could see a massive thunderstorm rolling in. Just before we packed it in, I felt a solid thump on the end of my line, and after a nice scrap, my best of 2009 was in the cradle. She measured out at 41". We hightailed it out of there just in time before the weather came down, and man, did it ever come down! The trip home took double the normal time as a tree had been knocked down across the 401 near Whitby, blocking the two right lanes! Can you tell I am a happy camper from the pics? Happy happy joy joy! Quick and easy release. Play with toothy fish and sometimes they will getcha... she was rather feisty while I removed the hooks... SOOOOO worth it!

WOW... after seeing that I don't even want to post mine from tonight!!! But I will anyway LOL.

Putting the 40hp in the trunk... ummm don't try that unless you have a 22" biceps LOL!!!

Fished hard, 12 hours on the water, but they were really in 'follower' mode today! Had 4 come right to boatside hot... one even attacked my spinnerbait on the figure 8, but bit on the darn blade, not the hook! Two of the follows were in the 40" class. Totals for the day were 4 follows, one hooked and lost on a jump, one landed, a 31". The 31" is the first muskie I have ever caught on a spoon... mind you, unless there is also pike in the lake, I rarely give spoons a shot for muskies. anyone else use spoons regularly for skis?

I would guess 6 to 6.5... 7 tops. Hard to guess from a picture, camera angles can really distort the size of a fish. The reasons for any exaggeration are obvious... publicity for the lodge... his pic in the paper... VERY nice bass regardless! Remember this old saying: Early to bed Early to rise Fish like hell And make up lies!

Lures! With hooks on them! LOL!!! The second was on a slopmaster spinnerbait. The first two (one landed, one lost)... my secret weapon!

Been learning a new musky lake... thanks to those who PM'd me some locations to try out! First trip there was July 7th, fished all day with nothing to show except two small bass... but decided to try one last spot before heading home. Second cast, a muskie followed to boatside... did a figure 8 and WHAM! Fish on... I have never seen a muskie take to the air like this one did, it jumped 7 or 8 times, tailwalking across the surface like a sailfish each time! The first jump, right beside the boat after hooking it, was so violent and splashy that it scared the crap out of my 10 year old! After a nice fight, I guided him into the cradle, which my son used perfectly. Turned out to be a 33". After an easy release, I moved the boat back out for another drift, and two casts later my lure stopped dead... then I felt the big headshakes... this was no small fish! This one was staying deep, and pulling drag. After a moment, I raised her up to the surface and my heart started pounding! This fish may be my new personal best (for length anyway), and looked to be in the high 40's! Not well hooked either, one treble in the outside of the mouth... another deep run, then she came up again... and jumped... and out came the hook. Heartbreak. At least my son was there and saw the biggest ski I have ever had on my line, even if only for a moment. I fished half-heartedly for another hour with no more takers. Next trip was yesterday, July 15th. Didn't get on the water until 3pm, and had a few new locations to try thanks to some generous OFC members! I started out at the same spot that I finished up last time, and soon had an overly ambitious 2 lb LM bass on the line - it nailed a super shad rap!!! There was quite a bit of boat traffic there, so I decided to head to one of the new locations to try. Soon after, as I was reeling in a big spinnerbait thru some heavy cover... WHAM! Fish on! What a hit, and just like the fish from last week, straight to the air! After a nice fight, my son once again guided her into the cradle like a pro. This one came in at 34", with great markings. Soon after, the rain started, and we continued to fish, but no more takers for the day. I still have three more new spots to try next time... hopefully one will yield a monster!