esoxansteel

When fish are hooked in deep water, and come to the surface quickly, the air bladder will expand, and not expell the air that it needs to as it comes up through the water column, hence lake trout will usually burp as they come to the surface, but other fish ie esox might not be able to expell the air they need to during the fight to the net, this can happen any time fish are hooked in deep water, and come to the surface too fast, whether its the fish or the angler. The longest musky I caught in the Kawarthas came to the surface, immediately after the trolling rip, in 55 degree water in October, and swam across the surface as the bloated airbladder wouldnt allow the fish to dive, and fight as she normally would have, ultimately leading to her demise after almost 90 minutes of trying to revive. I was running a 10 inch believer on wire at about 25 feet over 75 feet of water, which ive done many times before with no release issues, this fish just immediately bolted to the surface, unlike the others.

Great report, that 1st pic of you holding the musky would be a great cover picture for the new regs coming out in 2013 Also im glad to see that you have been taking smiling lessons off Lew, while holding muskies LOL

Well crap happens, but he got the reel and 2 packs of floats for the price you paid for the reel, and no shippinf fees

Nice to have the truth from someone who fished the tournament from start to finish, thanx Garnet, an excellent read

Probably that hooker from Barrie, thats been known to hang around the soldiers at CFB Bordon, thats been in the news frequently.

Try googling Trojan tackle for all his track systems and high rises for the downeasters, his website shows different setups which are all custom made

i believe it was a 2 day event, but dont quote me, Garnet might chime in 2 clarify or someone else who fished it.

Always good yo know a doc, and exchange phone numbers Bill, a lawyer is another good one to get, i roared at Mikes video, as weve all been there before, ands its unfortunately nice to see someone elses misfortune for a change.

Very Generous of you Brian, im 6 hours away, or id be all over that one, nothin like those lovely spotties Good Luck tomorrow

Im still fishing walleyes, but I find myself spending a considerable amount of time, dreaming about muskies, and have started to reload my lakewood box, with some Doulble 8s and 10s, and some of my custom glide baits, and the usual run of mass produced baits as well, just replaced 2 Salties as well, and respooled my REVOs, and TEs and Teckotas with 80lb PP, its just a matter of takin out the LOKI net out of the boat, and puttin in the Big Kahuna, but man do walleyes taste sooooo good

faster then that if you fish in the dark with an 8wt fly rod and streamers over the tops of weeds.

She must have been bad ass ugly if you cut the head off your snake

They have been splashin in the shallow weed flats on Rice, but no where near the amount i usually see this time of the year.

Sounds like you have a decent setup, no you dont need a float reel, but the 11 ft rod, should absorb the shock on a hookset, and should load when fighting a fish like a float rod, which im assuming yours is, watch what others are doing around you who are catching fish, especially their sinker (shot) placement, if its a deep fast run you need to bulk shot to get down into productive water in the run faster, which is placing your shot together, 12 to 18 inches from the hook, and not spread out like they will show in books, the river you are talking about gets fantastic runs of both steelhead and salmon, dont be afraid to free drift the river without a float as well, your rod should easily do that as well with the spinning reel, the masses are using floats, but it was the way we steelhead fished before the carlyle floats first appeared in the late 70s, usually with a 8wt fly rod and reel, spinners and quickfish as you mentioned also work, when the river clears go for a walk and see the runs and holding areas etc and keep a mental note of those areas for when the fish return in the fall. Hope this helps

I just grab the ones off my window sill in the spring and fall

Thanks for posting Chris, and thanx for been a mentor to the kids Dave, and coke is better then pepsi, you have the right can in your hand

The Maskinonge River may soon live up to its name, with the help from Muskies Canada, Sir Sandford Fleming College, the MNR, and a host of other dedicated volunteers, sorry if ive missed anyone.

Looks pretty, wheres your Tilley hat, I wouldnt trade it for my reliable faded camo T-shirt, with air conditioning holes, and my old track pants with the ass out of them, thats the clothin for catching big bad fish with teeth, and not those little stagnant greeners that hang around docks and stumps.

I think I would want to be able to get parts longer then 5 years, when you dump over 400.00 for a TE or 500 for a TE LJV, when you can still get parts for a Mitchell 300 that is 50 years old, and was no where near the price of a TE. like I previously mentioned part number BNT 1857 has already been discontinued when doing an internet search through Google, on the 400 TE, so we will wait and see, I hope it isnt true though, although ive seen it with other high end model reels

Theres lots of east tribs with trout, both that dump into lake O, and non-trib creeks as well, but most are delicate, and thankfully no one is giving out places to find them on an open forum, but grab a map, and a tank of gas, and you will find some for sure good luck when you do keep it a secret.

They are one sweet reel Lew, smooth as silk and dependable in every way, I certainly hope this bullet proof legend will continue for many years, at least while were able to hold a musky rod and reel anyway.

Heard reports of the Calcutta TE series of baitcasters, been phazed out for another model, not sure of the model, or if it is true, but checking the web, ive discovered the nut that holds the shaft on the TE 400 is already discontinued part number BNT1857, which is likely putting truth to what ive heard, my source was not sure as to the model replacing the Calcutta TE.

Didnt cross my mind at all Dax, I know your a rather straight up kind of guy, Good luck fishing ole Esox this weekend,

With a big shiny ring like you just won, and a few piano lessons, you could be the next Liberachi Dax Congradulations on your win

Go out and pet it Lew, who knows you might have a new musky fishing partner there, and know one will ever fish near you, or take your fishing spot again with him in the skeeter LOL