MJL Posted June 19, 2016 Report Share Posted June 19, 2016 Muskies and Pike...The long, slimy fish with a mean set of teeth. Muskies have always been my unicorn. They were my happy accidents (or unhappy accidents depending on how you look at it). I've hooked a few of them trolling worm harnesses for walleye. I've had a few of them take spinners, kwikfish and even roe bags while fishing for steelhead. I've even hooked 2 with corn while fishing for carp (I was reeling in when they hit). In all the cases, I was happy to hook them, but in the end they chewed through the line and left me broken hearted and lure-less. Over the years, I've tried fishing for the small hammer-handle muskies at my local lakes and rivers from shore without luck. On Thurs, my friend invited me to his cottage on Rice Lake to do a bit of walleye fishing. Ripping bucktails was the plan. With the weeds dying off fast, we had to motor around looking for new areas to fish. We pull up to a spot, start drifting with the wind and ripping jigs through the weeds. All I can say is I've had the most magical 5 casts of my life. In 5 casts, I managed to get the Rice Lake "Esox Trifecta" First ever Muskie Muskie by Mike Leung, on Flickr Freedom by Mike Leung, on Flickr Northern Pike - First I've ever seen from Rice Lake but my neighbour told me he caught the odd one over 50yrs ago when he owned a cottage. Pike by Mike Leung, on Flickr So many teeth by Mike Leung, on Flickr pike by Mike Leung, on Flickr Tiger Muskie - Another first for me Tiger Muskie by Mike Leung, on Flickr Tiger Muskie by Mike Leung, on Flickr Tiger Muskie by Mike Leung, on Flickr Tiger Muskie by Mike Leung, on Flickr Tiger Muskie by Mike Leung, on Flickr On top of those fish, I also lost another Muskie and landed an OOS largemouth bass. Just an awesome experience. I wonder what the probability of all that happening is? In the evening we went back out again to rip bucktails at another spot and my friend and I got into a couple more muskies. It was like being on a magic carpet ride that I didn't know when it was going to end. Bucktail Muskie by Mike Leung, on Flickr Big bruiser by Mike Leung, on Flickr And now I'm shopping around for my first muskie combo I'd eventually like to try seeing muskies chase all the way to the boat and figure-8 for them like I see on TV. It looks super cool. Tight lines and Happy fishing Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pics Posted June 19, 2016 Report Share Posted June 19, 2016 Beautiful pictures!!.. I see why you didn't catch any Walters..lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misfish Posted June 19, 2016 Report Share Posted June 19, 2016 This is awesome Mike. Great pictures bud, and nice fish. I see a bonus here. The best musky are late fall. That means you wont be harrasing my steel head. LOL Congrats bud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Ironmaker Posted June 19, 2016 Report Share Posted June 19, 2016 Mike, thank you for the additions to my Mike Leung photo file. Beauty pics Mike and nice going on the Esox. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leaf4 Posted June 19, 2016 Report Share Posted June 19, 2016 Awesome day and awesome pictures thanks for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captpierre Posted June 19, 2016 Report Share Posted June 19, 2016 You hit the jackpot! Surprised how clear Rice Lake water is. Didn't know pike were in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pigeontroller Posted June 19, 2016 Report Share Posted June 19, 2016 Great Pics Mike! We're having a photo contest on the Muskies Canada forum, you should join, you'd win! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted June 19, 2016 Report Share Posted June 19, 2016 a pike and a tiger muskie from Rice on the same outing..... i know folks who have cottages on Rice who swear neither are in the lake.... Nows the time to head to Lake O to see if you can catch a unicorn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Posted June 19, 2016 Report Share Posted June 19, 2016 great photos there Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spincast Posted June 19, 2016 Report Share Posted June 19, 2016 sweet - you have quite the knack when it comes to incidentals, don'tcha?! Beauty shots, as always. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dutch01 Posted June 20, 2016 Report Share Posted June 20, 2016 Fantastic pictures! I made them into a desktop slideshow on my work computer to help me get through to the weekends - thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinker Posted June 20, 2016 Report Share Posted June 20, 2016 Seriously? Ive fished rice lake for 25 years. The last 5 years, at least once a week, generally 2 or 3 times. NEVER caught a pike there. NEVER caught a tiger in my life. And never caught that many musky in total out of that lake!!! Lucky is an understatement!!! Congrats on an awesome day! I bet you never do that again. Thats the first pike ive actually seen out of rice too! S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLEX ROD Posted June 20, 2016 Report Share Posted June 20, 2016 Mike, fantastic pictures, WOW, thanks for sharing. FLEX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJL Posted June 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2016 Thanks guys, glad you enjoyed the pics Beautiful pictures!!.. I see why you didn't catch any Walters..lol We actually did OK with the walleyes that day. They were sitting well outside of the weeds in the open (probably because of the muskies were either on the edge or right in the weeds). At the beginning of the day, I had my doubts with the super sunny conditions and the strong east winds. This is awesome Mike. Great pictures bud, and nice fish. I see a bonus here. The best musky are late fall. That means you wont be harrasing my steel head. LOL Congrats bud. Brian, there are 2 days in a weekend (sometimes 3). I will just fish longer and harder on Saturday to get my fix of steelhead before going for muskies...Or fish Friday evening and catch them all so you don't get any You hit the jackpot!Surprised how clear Rice Lake water is.Didn't know pike were in there. Earlier this season, the water was actually a lot clearer than it is now due to the algae blooms. I always had a feeling that there were pike in Rice Lake but never caught one or seen one in person. a pike and a tiger muskie from Rice on the same outing..... i know folks who have cottages on Rice who swear neither are in the lake.... Nows the time to head to Lake O to see if you can catch a unicorn. Steve, in 5 casts I get 1 muskie, lose another muskie, then an OOS bass, tiger muskie and then the pike. After I caught the tiger, I said to my friend "My mind would be blown if I caught a pike today". Who knew I'd get one the very next cast.LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodbender Posted June 20, 2016 Report Share Posted June 20, 2016 Love the pics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misfish Posted June 20, 2016 Report Share Posted June 20, 2016 Brian, there are 2 days in a weekend (sometimes 3). I will just fish longer and harder on Saturday to get my fix of steelhead before going for muskies...Or fish Friday evening and catch them all so you don't get any Well since you put it that way Mike, I,ll fish fall bass on saturday, then steel sunday. Whom I kidding. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tjames09 Posted June 20, 2016 Report Share Posted June 20, 2016 Great pictures, tiger musky looks great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PUMP KNOWS Posted June 20, 2016 Report Share Posted June 20, 2016 Wow, that's amazing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freshtrax Posted June 21, 2016 Report Share Posted June 21, 2016 Lucky devil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msp Posted June 22, 2016 Report Share Posted June 22, 2016 As always, great pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mepps Posted June 23, 2016 Report Share Posted June 23, 2016 Very impressive! Thats gotta be an extremely rare accomplishment! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshS Posted June 23, 2016 Report Share Posted June 23, 2016 If that transcribed that way it is written, you my friend are the luckiest fisherman I have ever known! That spot must be an esox magnet and the fish were on fire. Cool story! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steelheadphycho Posted June 26, 2016 Report Share Posted June 26, 2016 Love your stuff Mike. Like OI, more pics for the MJL file...... Can't wait for the next report! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moosebunk Posted June 30, 2016 Report Share Posted June 30, 2016 Your photos are always great Mike. Enjoy that underwater perspective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJL Posted July 1, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2016 Thanks again guys Since that day, I've been reading tons of articles on musky fishing and shopping around for musky tackle on various Classifieds and Kijiji that would fit my needs. I've been constantly dreaming about Figure-8's and fish chasing up to the boat. I traded a friend some old carp gear for a Curado 300E in great condition. Still shopping around for a rod, lures and a few other items. I've got about 20-30 pictures in mind (above and below the water) that I'm hoping to get in the next few seasons. It's definitely a new journey. I'm afraid I'm showing symptoms of Musky Fever. haha. Seriously? Ive fished rice lake for 25 years. The last 5 years, at least once a week, generally 2 or 3 times.NEVER caught a pike there.NEVER caught a tiger in my life.And never caught that many musky in total out of that lake!!!Lucky is an understatement!!!Congrats on an awesome day! I bet you never do that again.Thats the first pike ive actually seen out of rice too!S. Shayne, from what a few people told me, Rice has one of the lower densities of muskies compared to other Kawartha lakes. But, whatever you do see are bigger on average??? Perhaps someone who targets muskies there could confirm. I'm actually not sure what the average size of muskies is in the kawarthas (or any other lake for that matter). As for the Tigers, one of my friends caught 2 last year on Rice and on Facebook, another angler claims he caught 3 on walleye opening week (with a pic to back it up). Seems there could be more pike moving into the lake??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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