rufus

I use the canoeman loop knot. I did a strength test when I first started making muskie leaders and the hardware would fail before the line would break at the knot. Other knots I tried all broke at the knot.

It is a Paw Paw Pike Minnow.

I had a 40 hp Mercury four stroke that had an auto trim feature. The auto trim would overide my manual setting once I had reached a plane if it thought perhaps the bow was too high. Sounds like what your motor may be doing.

Condolences to the family. In the days before hunter safety training, both my grandfather and a cousin accidentally shot themselves and fortunately survived. Our family was lucky.

If you can't get out fishing this long weekend, perhaps you would like to watch some! A compilation of the film footage from the few days I managed to get out fishing in September. Lots of Walleye plus a Muskie, some Northern Pike, Smallmouth Bass, Rock Bass, and Perch caught in the Winnipeg River and Minaki area in Northwestern Ontario.<br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px; background-color: rgb(236, 236, 236); "> <center><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/iiDgrEkvO5Q" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center>

Wow! What a great weekend! Beauties!

Thanks GBW!

Thanks all! It was my 13 year old Abu 6500 C3. I have bought a Revo Winch and at some point will see if I can resurrect the C3 for pike.

Thanks everyone! Yes, her tail is quite distinctive - not the prettiest muskie I've caught but it was a rush and always nice when a plan comes together. She ended the life of my old reel though so hard to tell who really won the battle

Thanks! Yeah, it was like I was watching a TV show with the way he breached the surface at shore, followed, and bit at the boat. It was classic

On Friday morning I cast my large double 10 bucktail and it landed five feet from shore. As soon as I began my retrieve I saw the large back of a muskie break the water's surface a couple of feet from where my lure had landed. I was pretty sure she was chasing my large spinner and as the lure approached the boat I saw the muskie right behind it. She bit the lure as I started the first turn of my figure eight and the water exploded! This beautiful muskie was found in a "textbook" summer location in some rocks and weeds adjacent to a nice weed bed feeding area with deep water nearby.

Hilarious and true!

Wow! Great report and pictures and fantastic muskie!

Welcome to OFC and congratulations on the personal bests! Those are a couple of real beauts!

from "Ask the MNR" - Answer from the MNR: You are right. Culling, stringer sorting, high-grading,….call it what you wish is not a legal practice under Ontario Fishery Regulations which say “…no person…shall catch and retain in any day or at any time possess….more fish of a species…” While you are OK from the perspective of ‘possession’, you have “caught and retained” more than a limit on that day. This includes tournaments of course where this rule is regularly broken.

There is a timeless tradition of leaving an old boat in a back lake so one can just hike in (or ATV nowadays) and enjoy the great remote fishing. In the Kenora paper there is an article where two guys were fined $500 for leaving a boat on crown land - on a small walleye lake. I wasn't aware that it was illegal, were you?

It seems that "absence makes the heart grow fonder" as far as hockey fans are concerned. Attendance increased after the last two lockouts so there is little reason to not have a lockout by the looks of it. http://www.canadianbusiness.com/blog/business_briefings/97168--gary-bettman-is-right-about-nhl-fans

Beauties! Congrats on the PB Paul

Absolutely Gorgeous!

Great video! Your son was having a blast - fun to watch!

This really shows a lot of class and commitment. From now on it will be Handlebarz for me! (at Figure 8 Baits in Kenora)

I agree. I have been in that situation where my partner was unable to net a giant muskie that would not fit in the net. The fish eventually got away when my partner attempted to haul it overboard by hand. The fish was too heavy, flopped, and with the gunwale for leverage - was gone. I was giddy regardless. If someone shushed me in a boat that would be the last time we shared a boat. If I heard myself doing it - when fishing becomes that serious it will be time for me to quit. Great muskies - congrats!

Great video game Simon! I too am impressed that you can stay on the spot in that wind.

I enjoyed your report and pics - great times at the lake are the best!

I had a 40 hp Mercury 4 stroke that had vapor lock problems on hot days. A little research showed this to be a problem that occurred due to ethanol in the gasoline. I no longer have the engine but burn nothing but ethanol free premium (or add Seafoam if I fill up at a marina) in my Mercury 115 after that experience.