Who's the king of Fresh Water? Muskellunge or Lake Trout?

[char finder]

Interesting discussion and comparison.

I agree with Marc about crowned fishermen, not crowned fish!

The comparison between the 2 fish types is very similar in my books.

 

 

I primarily fish for Trout, but I have learned and employ gear and tatics that the average muskie fisher utilizes.

For lake trout we used the same reels and rods that muskie fishermen use, baits that are similar in size (one of our best baits last year was a 12" Grandma made primarily for muskie). Most of our trout were caught in 10' of water or less. All fish were handled and care was taken to ensure they were released to live another day - we do this whether we are fshing for muskie or trout, or any other game fish. I spent a lot of money on gear - whether i use it again or not, it does not matter. There is no price on having fun and it is better to be prepared in any case. As for catching - I don't believe there is any one specific fish that is better than one another. it is all relative to the conditions and equipment used for that day and place - it is more about the ENJOYMENT! but i can tell you the 2 big lakers we caught last year were crazy! They faught like big muskies without the big teeth!

 

this one was 59 lbs.

 

this one was 50" long by 30" girth

[Moosebunk]

Chinooks aren't really fresh water fish.

 

Muskies are cool and all.

 

Lake Trout are cool and all.

 

My vote goes to all of them. They all have their own kingdoms too.

Edited May 31, 2007 by Moosebunk

[lew]

We used to fish for lakers in Simcoe many many moons ago, but back then we used short, very stiff rods, huge 1-1 reels and copper lines, so even the big fish came in like old rubber boots, sorta like a broken down car on the hook of a tow truck..

 

I haven't done too much salmon fishing but get out on Lake O the odd time with friends, and my biggest is only about 15 pounds, and although it took some work to get it to the net, I found it kinda strange to be using such long, very soft rods, and only about 17 pound mono and trying to get control of a strong fish. It seemed to me the gear was inadequate and made the fish seem stronger that it really was.

 

I couldn't help but think that if I was using my musky gear with some backbone in the rod and some heavier Power Pro, the fish wouldn't be hard to handle at all.

 

I've caught about a gazillion muskies over the years and have always been very impressed with their nasty attitude and just plain meaness, and nothing compares to their aggressiveness, specially when they hit right beside the boat and go insane, but if they were caught on long soft rods and light mono as used in salmon rigs, they'd take a heck of a lot longer to control also but that's just putting a huge amount of undue stress on the fish.

 

I'm not saying salmon aren't a tough fish, as I know they are and I hate trying to compare one species against another, but I doubt they'd seem so tough if folks used heavier gear to control them.

 

Sorta like going after 6 pound smallies with ultra lite tackle and lite mono line.......that fish will feel like a monster as compared to using heavier gear.

 

Course this is only my 5 ¢ worth

[Tybo]

Fishing river muskie with a 13' noodle rod.

Think I could land a Muskie on k5 kwik fish.

[Landlocked]

Snapper

(sorry, it's juvenile but couldn't resist)

[Cowman]

I'd say Pike over Muskie but Muskie over Lake Trout

[Puckhead]

Ling

 

I would say sturgeon. I've been lucky enough to have pulled in kings, muskie, lakers, pike, etc. and they are fight differently - can't compare. Never caught a sturgeon but the size of those things and the overall esteemed "trophy" status of hooking into a prehistoric fish gives it the nod as the "king" in my book. But how can you really compare any type to another - apples to oranges IMO.

[Terry]

whatever I caught yesterday or am think about catching tomorrow is king.............

 

 

 

 

.............................................long live the king.....................................

[irishfield]

You're talking about fish,,,,right Terry?

[Puckhead]

^hahahahaha....

[Zib]

Musky! Everything else is just bait.

[Headhunter]

I've caught dogfish aka Bowfin that have fought like a ..."SOT"! Biggest was around ten pounds and I was pretty sure I had a much larger fish on for the majority of the time it took to get a look at it! I can't imagine what kind of fight a 20lber would give!

Also, I've caught some cats that just wouldn't give up!

One day, I'll target Musky to compare!

HH

[wolfville]

After about 10 years of marriage, I think what matters is the queen, not the king.

[Terry]

LOL

 

yeah Wayne

fish