LOTW Northwest Angle Part 2

[Gregoire]

I left off right as we were going to fish with Tim and turn our dynamic duo into an awesome trio. This was on Tuesday of our trip.

Tim is an avid musky hunter. In preparation for the trip Tim had purchased a new ranger with powered by a 150 Evinrude 4 stroke. His boat is a beaty, with plenty of space to move around. Perfect for fishing and taking his family of 4 out on the water. We decided to take his boat out as it would allow a bit more room for us. It worked out really well with Tim and John in the front. Tim was throwing one of his handmade gliders and John was throwing a handlebarz double 10. It was working really well for them.

The first night we went out on Tuesday evening Tim was the pike master. He was catching them all over. He caught a few really nice pike pushing 40", but each time he was pisssed as it was musky we were chasing.

 

 

 

He did manage a nice musky that evening, but I do not have a pic of his fish.

 

We fished the next day with Tim, but much like the rest of the week it was slow. John hooked into 3 fish that day but none made it to the boat. That night when we went out Tim was experiencing some engine trouble. Not something that you would expect out of a new boat and motor. John and I really felt for him. We went out for that evening in John's boat but the fishing was tough, and no fish were landed, although we saw about 10, including a giant, a fish that we would return for later in the week.

 

That morning John and I went out together as John ran his boat to Young's point to try an get it fixed. We saw a lot of fish, and for the first time in a few days I finally got a bite. Unfortunately it was from a wasp that bit my stomach as my belly fat rolled over it as I bent over. In a funny twist as I was jumping in pain due to the bite and attracted a large musky to my bait. So I saw my first musky in a while and got bit for the first time in days.

 

That night Tim was back with his boat and it was working great. We decided to head out to fish an area where we had seen a big fish. Tim was casting his glider for most of the night and John was up front casting a shallow raider. I was in back casting a handlebarz double ten. A bait that I decided to toss for a while, as it had been producing. John hooked into a good fish pretty early on, but lost it. A theme that was starting to get pretty common for him for the trip. The evening was pretty slow for me, as had been most of the trip since Sunday. As we moved through the spot I was tossing the double ten and working it hard. As we were just finishing up on the spot I felt an urge to toss a topraider, so I asked anyone if they wanted the Ten. John said he would, so I took it off my rod and clipped it onto his winch and sling blaade (the same rod and reel I was using)

 

Before I had time to attach another lure John had a hit.

 

I think the next 15 minutes will forever be burned into my memory for the rest of my life. All I heard next was FISH FISH FISH FISH. JOhn had hooked into a big one. The entire week John was setting the hook hard. At one point he travelled from one side of the boat to the other fruitlessly trying to set the hook on a rubber bait. A few other times he hooked onto rocks or wood really hard. Whenever he set the hook he momentum took him backwards in the boat. Tim was beside him, and when John set the hook on this big girl it was a stalemate. Tim said he saw John trying to move backwards, but he was stopped dead by the mass of the fish. At this point the both started losing their SH#$%. I had immediately grabbed the net and was looking for the fish. Tim and John both saw the fish first. I moved to the front of the boat as they were both freaking out. I don't know what came over me but I was a voice of reason. I told Tim to get the F out of the way and pushed him to the back of the boat. Very quickly I saw the beast about 4 feet down at the side of the boat. I calmly told John to bring her up as I was in position to net. He replied, "I can't move her". I remember saying "Raise your rod tip and walk backwards." I had seen the big girl. and although she was hooked well, the bucktail only had one treble on it, and I wanted her landed as quickly as possible. For the first time on the trip John followed my instructions and the big girl was in the bag. She was easy to unhook and John was all set to grab her for a photo. Tim and John were crowding around the net and I had to scold them like a school teacher to give me space. I think I sent both of them to the back of the boat while I unhooked the beast.

 

 

Now this girl was so big I was not sure that John would be able to lift her. She measured out in the water at 51.5", but Tim thought she was bigger. As JOhn was lifting her up I thought I saw him fumble her, and reached for her, planting my thumb into her large teeth. I was bleeding like a stuck pig, and John was fine for the photo. At this point Tim and John took over for the release, as I tried to stop the blood flow.

 

After the huge rush of this big girl we continued to fish the area, as one of the pieces of advice given by the pros was to keep fishing an area where you find a fish, as there are likely to be more. It seemed like on the next cast that John hooked another 40" fish on the 8. After landing her I picked John up and paraded him around the front casting deck. After we had released her John lost another on the 8. At this point Tim and I decided it was time for John to have a time out and we sent him to the back of the boat to cool down. That was it for the fishing for the rest of the night, although Time and I continued to cast, the excitement was far from over.

[bigbuck]

Awesome report! I'm so glad you guys had a great time. Good for you!! I'm a lovely shade of green now with the envy.

[I'mHooked]

Yah baby!! Way to go guys! Sounds like it was a little tough going getting some of those beasts to the side of the boat. Way to go on the net job and getting wounded for the team Greg!

Holy cow John, that's one hell of a fish! Yours are pretty nice too Greg Good job on the PB.

[hugehits]

amazing fish!! great catch!

[spincast]

quality fish there, sweet reward for your perserverence