Kawartha Musky

[Gregoire]

From what I have read and heard the Kawartha strain of Musky are smaller than the ones you would find in the great lakes or St. Lawrence/Ottawa rivers. I would like to know if anyone agrees with me on this or not. Also, If the Kawartha musky are indeed smaller what should be considered a trophy? Maybe 45"+ for the kawartha's instead of the 50" number that seems to be the accepted trophy size for other areas. Just wanting to start a discussion, and see what people think.

[tb4me]

Id be happy with a 45..Still havent caught one. Mind you I dont go out for them as I dont have the proper equiptment. They sure are a beautifull fish

[lew]

I think "trophy" is a relative term depending on alot of things, skill level of the angler, experience, numbers of fish caught of a certain species or even the age of the anler.

 

Some folks consider a 5 pound bass or 8 pound pickeral to be trophies while to others their just the norm and hardly get a 2nd glance.

 

Same thing with Kawartha muskies and many folks would consider a 45 incher a fish of a life time and would definetely class that as a trophy and that's a good thing.

 

The main difference with the Kawartha musky is the sheer number of them compared to Gbay, Nippissing, St. Lawrence or Ottawa Rivers and one angler getting 4, 5 or 6 muskies in a day is not the least bit uncommon and multiple fish over 45" in a day is quite common to someone with a bit of experience and knowledge. I once boated 9 muskies in 2 1/2 hours on a K-Lake.

 

There are still plenty of fish in the 48"-49" range, although not as frequent and take a bit more work but are still relatively easy to get with some decent work.

 

Fifty inch seems to be the point that most Kawartha fish stop growing and getting them that size takes alot more work and hours on the water and a 50'er is a trophy class to me and over 50 is fairly rare.

 

My biggest to date in the Kawarthas wasn't measured or photographed but my partner and I both guestimated her at 52 inches.

[Gregoire]

Wow, multiple fish over 45" in a day. I would love to see that. Maybe I'll get a chance this fall.

[Musky or Specks]

I consider this fish a 46"er a decent Kawartha fish but at 17 lbs it falls far short of the term "trophy"

 

 

For musky only a "50" is a trophy

 

My Buddy got a 49'5 inch fish on the french

It weighed approx 34 lbs. Its his PB but he refuses to acknowledge it as a trophy

 

[smally21]

ive never caught musky of that size but as a matter of interest the "big fish" contest for buckhorn was won by a 50.5" musky, so something of that size comes out of their yearly, one would assume. ive seen some 42's on buckhorn. i guess when you thro in weight a 30 lb fish is bigger than a 20 lb fish, no matter the length.

[fish-miester]

personally Id consider a 50'' a trophy. when you fish kawarthas alot (which I do) you come across a bunch off high 30's and up to 46'' but after that they seem giant and have only seen up to two 48'' (probably the same fish/caught in the same area)

[Pigeontroller]

Whats a trophy? More of a term from days gone by when we all took a big fish to the Taxidermist! Girth is as much a contributing factor as length in my opinion, whats a more impressive Muskie a 50"x18" from Scugog, or a 47"x 24" from the French? I'm not even giving an opinion. One of my biggest fish hardly fought at all and was caught Trolling in a blizzard on the French...Not a very exciting fish but great surroundings!

 

 

 

To this day my most memorable fish was from Pigeon, first Muskie on a topwater lure! Only 43" but think from head to tail, probably heavier than most high 40s Pigeon fish...

 

 

My biggest wasn't 50" but had a pretty good girth...And it came from a water body I'd put alot of hours into...

 

 

All big Muskie are exciting, defining whats a trophy is up to the individual I guess, I agree with Lew, I get more satisfaction out of Multiple fish days then one big one, depending on how big...I've spent enough days not catching any to appreciate how special they are...

[landry]

I think any Kawarthas fish over 44 is a very good fish!! Any fish over 40 is a nice fish and worthy of some high fives and pics.

I fish the Kawarthas regularly and get lots of fish and you have to put a lot into the boat before you get a high 40's fish (although yes it could be your first). Over 48 is definitely VERY rare.

I have only seen 2 fish firsthand over 50 in the K's and they were not landed - so they may have been smaller.

A good angler I know, who fishes skis 20 days a year minimum, has landed one fish over 50" in 20 yrs (that is 1 in 400 trips), so when I hear Kawartha's musky guys say they got 4 over 50 last summer I just laugh. It is possible but mostly likely Bull.

I think the "magic 50" number has become a ridiculous benchmark. It is a recent internet phenomena and just another ego-building bragging point. I would take a fat 48 over a skinny 52. AND, it makes me angry to hear Bob Mehsikomer measure a 49 and then proclaim "rats... well that's a decent fish anyways!!???" That just puts unrealistic goals in his viewers' heads and it belittles other's accomplishments. A trophy could be anywhere from, 30 - 50 inches depending on the person. If a trophy is a truly rare, almost never caught size - then a 50 in the Kawarthas is the number I guess - but who cares really - just go fishing and enjoy what comes your way.

 

I just hope for a bigger fish than my PB, but I shoot for that for myself, not to impress others.

I personally enjoy casting them up and the Kawarthas are great casting lakes.

My PB is a very fat 46" fish that weighed 25 pounds (casting St. Clair) and I was very pleased. The next cast, seriously, I had a follow on my bait that made my 46 look small. True story. It was longer and grotesquely fat.

 

The Kawarthas are likely the best place in North America for casting good numbers of decent sized fish (38 - 44). Americans come up here all the time from Wisconsin to run the numbers up on decent sized skis.

 

Landry

[Guest Johnny Bass]

I think 44 and up with a nice girth(no skinny torpedoes)is a trophy Kawartha Musky.

[Sinker]

A trophy is in the eyes of the beholder. I've caught them up to around 48", but never that elusive 50"er. They are in there though, I've had one in my boat, and seen many others boated, just never on my line!!! I'd rather fight a thick 38"er than anything over 45" myself, they offer the best battles in my experience, and in the end, that's all I'm after!! The biggest ones I've seen have just come in like a log.

 

S.

[houski]

Hey guys,

 

Some interesting reading on this topic, and some very valid points! I've been fishing the Kawartha's for Muskie for about 9 years or so, and I've seen my fair share of big Kawartha's fish, up to 49.5" in the boat. I could say that I've seen a few over 50" here, either from follows, or lost fish, but who would believe me? lol.

 

I'd say that a 50" is the benchmark for a 'trophy' muskie. As Pigeontroller brought up, I think a 47x24 is a much nicer fish than a 50x18. However, it's still not that magical 50".

 

For my two cents, I'd say that although a mid to high 40's (45+) is a very nice fish, and might be approaching trophy status, it just wouldn't cut it until it reaches 50". Just my personal opinion.

[Meely]

I have been fishing the Kawarthas for a few years now and have always said that a Ski over 30 pounds was gonna be a record for me!

 

Anything over 30 pounds and a replica is going up on the wall!

 

Well here I am 15 years later and am still hunting!!

 

We have boated "a few" fish over the years, with multiple over the 50 inch range. The biggest to date is a 52 inch beauty and calculated at 28 pounds!!!

 

So close......yet so far!!

 

So......I Fish on !!!

 

The biggest I have heard of being boated was 34 pounds at 54 inches

 

Meely

[Gregoire]

This post is going well, lots of good opinions here. It seems that 50 inches the magic number for ski chasers. Now I am hoping to see if people could guess at the following. What percentage of Kawartha Musky would you think are 50 inches plus. And then what percentage are 45 inches plus, then 40 inches and so on. I would imagine less than 1% of kawartha ski's would fall into the first category, and maybe 2-4% in the second. I know this is purely an arbitrary process, but it interests me.

[Fisherpete]

Hmmm... ok, using this years boat data (101 fish), here are my statistics... they seem to correspond with your numbers.

 

50"+ = 0/101 = 0% (but that will change after tomorrow )

45-49" = 3/101 = 3%

40-45" = 15/101 = 15%

<39" = 83/101 = 82%

 

I personally consider 45+ to be trophy status for the Kawarthas, even more so if they have some girth to them. But that being said, I don't fish G-bay, the Ottawa River, St. Clair etc... yet.

 

But the MAGIC number is still 50... gotta have something to strive for. Once I get a Kawarthas 50, I will likely have to move on to one of those bodies of water above to reach the next milestone... I'm looking forward to that day!

Edited September 19, 2010 by Fisherpete

[Gregoire]

Hmmm... ok, using this years boat data (101 fish), here are my statistics... they seem to correspond with your numbers.

 

50"+ = 0/101 = 0% (but that will change after tomorrow )

45-49" = 3/101 = 3%

40-45" = 15/101 = 15%

<39" = 83/101 = 82%

 

I personally consider 45+ to be trophy status for the Kawarthas, even more so if they have some girth to them. But that being said, I don't fish G-bay, the Ottawa River, St. Clair etc... yet.

 

But the MAGIC number is still 50... gotta have something to strive for. Once I get a Kawarthas 50, I will likely have to move on to one of those bodies of water above to reach the next milestone... I'm looking forward to that day!

 

I was hoping you'd chime in Pete. You have boated a load of ski's this year so I consider you somewhat of an expert. I hoping some other people who fish the kawartha's often will add their input as well.

[houski]

I think that a lot of people's opinions on the size to population percentage will differ greatly, based upon indvidual results. According to my muskie logs over the years the percentage of fish over 40" I catch is 78%. The percentage of fish over 45" for me is 22%. Percentage under 40" for me is 48%, however, most of those are 38" or bigger.

[Guest Johnny Bass]

I think that a lot of people's opinions on the size to population percentage will differ greatly, based upon indvidual results. According to my muskie logs over the years the percentage of fish over 40" I catch is 78%. The percentage of fish over 45" for me is 22%. Percentage under 40" for me is 48%, however, most of those are 38" or bigger.

 

You sure you not catching the same fish, over and over? I think fish over 50 would be less than 1%.Fish over 45 about 3-4%, 40-44 about 8-9% Fish between 35-39 about 25% and under 34 about 60%.

[houski]

You sure you not catching the same fish, over and over? I think fish over 50 would be less than 1%.Fish over 45 about 3-4%, 40-44 about 8-9% Fish between 35-39 about 25% and under 34 about 60%.

 

Hey man.

 

Yeah, I'm sure I'm not catching the same fish over and over again. I have however, caught the same fish twice a time or two. I fish a variety of lakes on the Kawartha's, so the chances of catching the same fish multiple times are lessened.

 

As I said, individual fisherman are going to have individualized results. For instance, I rarely fish water on the Kawarthas shallower than 13 feet. That might account for the larger average size.

[Guest Johnny Bass]

Hey man.

 

Yeah, I'm sure I'm not catching the same fish over and over again. I have however, caught the same fish twice a time or two. I fish a variety of lakes on the Kawartha's, so the chances of catching the same fish multiple times are lessened.

 

As I said, individual fisherman are going to have individualized results. For instance, I rarely fish water on the Kawarthas shallower than 13 feet. That might account for the larger average size.

 

Ahhhh. I guess that would make sense. I hardly fish over 12 FOW

Edited September 20, 2010 by Johnny Bass

[muskymatt]

Anything bigger than a 10" girth.....

 

That ought to get a few riled!!

 

Just kidding...what would I know ,the only Kawartha lake I have fished is Stoney and came away with nothing...

[jediangler]

My PB from the Kawarthas is this 49" musky. I caught a 48" one the year before.

But I am more proud of this 43" musky because I caught it in a kayak. Landed, unhooked and photographed alone with not another boat in sight.

[Lunkerhunter]

i have caught 42 muskie personally this year.

 

40% have been over 40 inches

 

18% have been 44 inches and more

 

i think on the kawartha's you have to account for girth as well as length. what is more important to the individual ; weight or length, or both.

 

i bagged a 45 inch beast that was a much nicer fish overall and much heavier than my 46.5 incher that i caught. i would consider my best fish this year to be the 45 and not the skinny 46.5. both could be considered trophies on scugog as you dont get too many that are fat and 45 inches and you dont get too many that are 46.5 inches or more on that body of water.

[Guest Johnny Bass]

i have caught 42 muskie personally this year.

 

40% have been over 40 inches

 

18% have been 44 inches and more

 

i think on the kawartha's you have to account for girth as well as length. what is more important to the individual ; weight or length, or both.

 

i bagged a 45 inch beast that was a much nicer fish overall and much heavier than my 46.5 incher that i caught. i would consider my best fish this year to be the 45 and not the skinny 46.5. both could be considered trophies on scugog as you dont get too many that are fat and 45 inches and you dont get too many that are 46.5 inches or more on that body of water.

 

That equates to 3 over 44, 16 over 40 and 23 under 40. I seem to catch the vast majority under 37 on Scugog so I'm doing something wrong.

[ehg]

Have been fishing Kawartha musky for over 25 yrs. They seem to be 75% between 35 to 40 inch, which makes most sense anyways. The largest of the few hundred muskies in my boat was 47 inch and a few 46 inch and a few dozen more in the 43-45inch range. To me a Kawartha trophy would be anything over 48 inches and/or over 30lbs. Mostly they are 10-15 lbs for REAL.