fishingisliving Posted November 27, 2008 Report Share Posted November 27, 2008 Just for FUN, I always come across people who catch 40 pounders regularly.. yet when I see the pictures.. I find myself always skeptical, well in most cases anyway. Is it in our nature to exaggerate because we are fishermen? maybe... :-) I was browsing my favourite musky spot, youtube, and found this video of some guys claiming to catch a 60lb musky. Initially it was labelled as: the 60 pound musky. I could not help myself but make a small comment. I didn't want to sound to insulting towards another musky hunters catch so I kept it light. We all know that amongst musky anglers length and especially weight gets easily exaggerated from time to time, and from one angler to another. So by no means am I posting this to upset anyone, because we all do it, or have done it at some point. Sometimes it can even be unintentional, you get caught up in the moment; you don't read your measurements properly because your hands and knees are shaking because the presence of a very big fish can be overwhelming at first. Heck I'm sure a lot of my friends remember my 42 incher by 24 inch girth from last fall, well... yeah.. sure it was... :-) I actually exchanged a few messages with the guy who posted this clip. He sent me a few pictures of this fish. A very nice fish, no doubt about it. Have a look: A nice fish, no doubt about it, but it cannot weigh 60 pounds. Unless the angler is 7ft 5. When I look back at my own catches and compare size of more recent fish, I know that my perspective of weight was way off back then. So I figured I would give my own honest opinion of what my own fish weighed, compared to my initial reactions. This one (above) was 42 inches, and measured 24inch for a girth? NOT A CHANCE! maybe 17 inch girth.. at the most. maybe weighed 18 pounds.. maybe. Man was I off when I measured this one. So let's see.. that was a 15 pound fish, what does a 25 pound fish look like? Alright.. how about a 30 pound fish? Man I could have sworn that fish was 40 pounds when I held her up.... but now I know it wasn't. Now I am starting to wonder what a 35 pounder might be like? If I had to guess I would say this one was close to it. Man that one was big.. thick all the way across with a massive head! Had I caught that fish my first year musky fishing, I would have thought it was a 50 pounder. But it was not! So what's a 40 pounder? maybe this one? I netted this one above, and I was nervous the net would not hold when she would thrash around. She was really heavy. So it makes me wonder now, what the hell does a 50 pound fish look like??? .. a little something like this I think: Incredible, a fat tub of slime. So 60+ pounders.. man... they dont happen often.. but I have seen a picture.. most of you have as well... HAH! man that's big. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forrest Posted November 27, 2008 Report Share Posted November 27, 2008 Great read.....worthy of a nobel I would say! Or maybe a page in a popular fishing magazine. I have never held a nobel article. forrest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kemper Posted November 27, 2008 Report Share Posted November 27, 2008 Well said, but musky arent the only fish to be over estimated. This bass I caught last summer for example...HUGE mouth, big dang bass at 21 inches. What did she weigh... just under 4 and a half, not even close to many of these 6 pounders that arent half the size of mine. Bass are all mouth, and muskies are skinny critters (except some of those St Larry and Big O behemoths) and generally weigh alot more than most people would think. Great post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted November 27, 2008 Report Share Posted November 27, 2008 Who cares, I just love seeing pics of big muskies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purekgw Posted November 27, 2008 Report Share Posted November 27, 2008 when you catch a fishing in a boat or on land in person its looks to be bigger then it is but after taking pic and looking at it you see that its not all as big as u thought. I thought my first musky was like 25lb but after looking at it in a pic its probably only 10-15. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAZE Posted November 27, 2008 Report Share Posted November 27, 2008 Dont you know everybody cathes 40 pound musky all the time???? a 40 pound lunge is a awesome fish that very few will ever see, but a 50 pounder????, well thats one super rare fish where maybe just maybe 2-3 are caught across Canada and the US every year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted November 27, 2008 Report Share Posted November 27, 2008 Yeah, I rarely listen to anyone who tells me the weight of their fish anymore.. like my buddy at work who tells me how they catch 8lb largemouth at his cottage all the time.. I look at the pics and say "nice fish dude!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jediangler Posted November 27, 2008 Report Share Posted November 27, 2008 Never weighed any muskies I caught, just measured them and got them back into the water as quickly as I could. When I show the photos first question is always "How much did it weigh?" Not everyone is impressed by length alone, but it's good enough for me. C&R fishermen are quite impressed but those that eat what they catch always want to know the weight. If I added my 3 biggest I would probably get 50lbs. I'll tell you one thing, they always seem heavier when you catch them in a kayak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forrest Posted November 27, 2008 Report Share Posted November 27, 2008 As I have previously stated the only true determination of size is displacement so I keep a bucket on board all the time. My fish are measured in Litres. Shouldn't people who give weight be required to use a good scale? forrest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purekgw Posted November 27, 2008 Report Share Posted November 27, 2008 jedi made a good point lol when you hook into one in kayak hold on ur going for a ride lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwl Posted November 27, 2008 Report Share Posted November 27, 2008 this one is 52 inches...weighed 30.5 at the taxidermist about an hour after I caught it, if it gives anyone something to go by. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walshskie Posted November 27, 2008 Report Share Posted November 27, 2008 I would agree that is not a 60 lb fish more likely a little over 35 untill you have a 40 lbs in your hands most guys have know idea how big of a fish that is. A 50 is a rare thing, very few true 60 lb muskys have been caught, but they are out there. I think when it comes to musky most guys have not handeld a fish that big 35 inch musky looks huge, compared to 3 and 4 lb bass wich are good bass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greencoachdog Posted November 27, 2008 Report Share Posted November 27, 2008 Pounds per fish is antiquainted and old hat! Inches is today's standard, if a fish is healthy and fat... it'll look that way in the pic, if it's skinny... guess what? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwl Posted November 27, 2008 Report Share Posted November 27, 2008 (edited) I would agree that is not a 60 lb fish more likely a little over 35 untill you have a 40 lbs in your hands most guys have know idea how big of a fish that is. A 50 is a rare thing, very few true 60 lb muskys have been caught, but they are out there. I think when it comes to musky most guys have not handeld a fish that big 35 inch musky looks huge, compared to 3 and 4 lb bass wich are good bass. my thoughts exactly, if you look at that one in my pic...then add 20 lbs to it to make a 50lber , I have only ever caught 2 bigger than the one in my pic ..my guess on the biggest is about 56 inches, in comparison to the one I measured and weighed..the 2 bigger ones never left the water..my guess, lucky if the biggest one was maybe 40lbs, and it was freekin huge, I didn't want to take it out of the water, it was a scary sized fish enough, I would never want to think about putting that one in my boat It was caught off my dock, and I counted it as landed when I bent down and popped the hook out I kept my one and only trophy..good enough for me...wife would have my neck anyways besides the point, there is only so much room on the wall for a 5 ft driftwood log with a torpedo fastened to it Edited November 27, 2008 by jwl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muskieman Posted November 27, 2008 Report Share Posted November 27, 2008 This is a 60" 51lb specimen........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishingisliving Posted November 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2008 (edited) I would agree that is not a 60 lb fish more likely a little over 35 untill you have a 40 lbs in your hands most guys have know idea how big of a fish that is. A 50 is a rare thing, very few true 60 lb muskys have been caught, but they are out there. I think when it comes to musky most guys have not handeld a fish that big 35 inch musky looks huge, compared to 3 and 4 lb bass wich are good bass. Agreed, I found this online. It's a nice fish.. but 30 inches of girth?? how did he come up with that? forgive me, I do not mean to belittle this fish, in fact it is probably bigger than anything I have ever caught. But 30 inch girth? have a look: Image is linked from this news paper's site: http://www.journalletoile.com/article-2680...ge-monstre.html Edited November 27, 2008 by fil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazyhook Posted November 27, 2008 Report Share Posted November 27, 2008 FIL- those fish are greaqt... mike P's fish is a true beauty! congrats on those... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gbfisher Posted November 27, 2008 Report Share Posted November 27, 2008 Lots of big...... ......fish. That's for sure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishindevil Posted November 27, 2008 Report Share Posted November 27, 2008 A very interseting topic !!!!...i once read a wisconsin D.N.R report about them netting and tagging muskies,and they have big ones in that state,and to acually get a fish that big is like winn ing the lottery !!!they say 48inch muskies are about as big as an average big fish will be,to even get a 50inch fish the odds jump,20 times,and to get a 54inch muskieis like 150,000 to 1 ...man thats incredible,this was after 25yrs of netting and tagging muskies in very productive waters from like 10 different lakes and river systems !!!! they said weight will vary alot more than lenght,as some waters have alot more food than others,and this was all backed by scientific data,and lots of fishermens creel surveys. so it gives you an idea,of how hard it is to get a treu 50 inch fish !!! and to get one over 55inches is just shy of when pigs fly !!!! but it has happened and yes there are true trophys out there,but they say that true monsters get that big because of genetics,and everytime a big fish like that is taken out of the gene pool,that the species will acually never recover as they are so rare,as it is,they said they have proof of that,and that every year the pool is shrunk and that the true monster genes are almost gone !!!! if i can find that article i will post it for sure.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishingisliving Posted November 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2008 FIL- those fish are greaqt... mike P's fish is a true beauty! congrats on those... Yup! so I guess I'll see ya on saturday then! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muskieman Posted November 28, 2008 Report Share Posted November 28, 2008 Yup! so I guess I'll see ya on saturday then! By Saturday I'll be ice fishing.... It'd be nice to be on soft water in the boat fishing for Muskies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazyhook Posted November 28, 2008 Report Share Posted November 28, 2008 Yup! so I guess I'll see ya on saturday then! haha! just got off the phone with Mike... Saturday will be fun. Hope to get another biggun for this thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishingisliving Posted November 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2008 haha! just got off the phone with Mike... Saturday will be fun. Hope to get another biggun for this thread HAH so did I! good one! Hope the yamaha starts ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishingisliving Posted December 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2008 alright, here it is... the monster from the St-Lawrence.. 57x33 (is it? you be the judge) It's the only place I found the report so far. http://www.muskyhunter.com/forums/generalforum/14542.html I dont know if its the same the rumours have been about but.. I dont know how many fish of that size have been caught in the st-lawrence this weekend so chances are it is. Nice fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irishfield Posted December 1, 2008 Report Share Posted December 1, 2008 Looks like an incredible fish... with a bad camera angle. Would be great to see a shot of that puppy straight on from the side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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