Don't Skimp on Your Leader - A Musky Story

[gordy28]

Going through some old pictures I found a few of me, my brother and my Dad on Balsam Lake

One sequence in particular stood out- me with a nice musky (a PB actually) and my Dad with one.  

As most fishing stories go - the catching wasnt the biggest event of the day lol

Anyone else got some good "the ones that got away stories"

My newest post is up

https://www.northernjacks.com/post/never-ever-skimp-on-your-leader

Cheers

Andrew

[Old Ironmaker]

My 1st ever Musky was what I later learned to be a "Tiger Musky" caught in Lake Scugog. I have been told a 1000 times that lake doesn't hold Tiger Musky. But it was and that's where I caught it. The story is that we were trolling for Pics with a Black Fury on 8 pound Trilene, no leader. It took a while to get her in and she jumped at least 4 times, that's when I got nervous knowing I didn't have a leader on. Back then we mounted fish and paid good money to get it mounted. It still hangs in our kitchen and looks like the day I caught it. Mr. Martin from the Hamilton mountain mounted it for me back in 1982. He is or was a talented man. He would be in his 80's by now. I hope he is well. I felt guilty for years after mounting it then learned Tiger Musky are a hybrid and can not reproduced. 

[gordy28]

On 2/17/2020 at 4:51 PM, Old Ironmaker said:

My 1st ever Musky was what I later learned to be a "Tiger Musky" caught in Lake Scugog. I have been told a 1000 times that lake doesn't hold Tiger Musky. But it was and that's where I caught it. The story is that we were trolling for Pics with a Black Fury on 8 pound Trilene, no leader. It took a while to get her in and she jumped at least 4 times, that's when I got nervous knowing I didn't have a leader on. Back then we mounted fish and paid good money to get it mounted. It still hangs in our kitchen and looks like the day I caught it. Mr. Martin from the Hamilton mountain mounted it for me back in 1982. He is or was a talented man. He would be in his 80's by now. I hope he is well. I felt guilty for years after mounting it then learned Tiger Musky are a hybrid and can not reproduced. 

Great story OI - my first ever musky was also an accident - caught on a Cotton Cordell Big O - just a small guy (although i thought it was a huge bass for the first minute or so)

Always remember the first one I ever caught on purpose - small Haliburton Lake on a Swimm Whizz - was awesome

 

[Old Ironmaker]

Lew has more Musky stories than I have had birth days, that's more than a few. 

Edited February 20, 2020 by Old Ironmaker

[lew]

1 hour ago, Old Ironmaker said:

Lew has more Musky stories than  have had birth days, that's more than a few. 

And some of the stories are even true  hahaha

Here's a good one about my wife and her 1st and only musky.

25  years ago we were at the lake and early one Sunday morning I headed out fishing before sunrise.

My wife had only ever fished a few times and never caught much more than the odd sunfish or perch but this morning she figured she'd go make a few casts from the dock and hopefully surprise me with a pickerel breakfast when I got back in.

On only her 2nd cast she got hit hard and pretty near freaked out...her words...when a musky went airborne but she hung on and somehow was able to get it into shore and drag it up on the beach. She had no tools and no idea how to get the hook out and still keep her fingers. She ran up and got a neighbor who was able to unhook it but sadly the fish was already dead. 

No leader, a small hook, 6# line and zero experience but she did it.

My wife was ecstatic with her catch but felt terrible about it dying but we had a friend who was a taxidermist so we took it to him and he mounted it.

She still tells the story to anybody that'll listen  LOL

 

Edited February 20, 2020 by lew

[Reef Runner]

Amusing that these 1st ski stories are all incidentals lol, as is ski fishing happens when you least expect it!

My first was also an incidental catch, OOS but a cool story.  I was a young lad and it was a couple weeks after eye opener on the Moon River.  We were two, packed in a coleman canoe, all our walleye gear, deep cycle battery attached to a small minnkota which I was operating off the back.  I had just dropped a few dineros the day before at BPS on a brand new spinning combo (Shimano Sedona with the drag on the back paired with a BPS 7 foot medium heavy stick) that I was itching to baptize with a eye or pike.  After unsuccesfully jigging some spots I tied on a leader and attached a brand new walleydiver in perch and we began to troll using the trolling motor.  Hugging some 25 feet from shoreline and exiting a narrow, a large vessel with some guys trolling big plugs (probably for "pike") comes straight at our tiny canoe making me alter course toward shore.  After correcting the canoe and avoiding the wake of the oncoming boat, I think I'm hung up on bottom.  Then I felt a massive headshake and was like nope this is a fish lol.  I had my drag set light for eyes so I tighten up and the fish moves us into the middle of the bay.  When I get it about 10 foot from surface we saw the giant striped flash of the musky and realized our dinky walleye net would not suffice.  So I'm battling this giant ski and using the motor to get us to shore.  I pop out and shore land what was about a 47 inch, moon river thick behemouth.  My legs were shaking while I stood knee deep in the water holding the big girl by the tail until she kicked and swam off.  Still got the lure, tooth marked and trebles almost straighted right out that is now retired.

[Old Ironmaker]

All great tales, errrrr, stories, ha. 

Lew I can't fathom that you married a gal that didn't fish, actually it's amazing she married you. After I started dating my girlfriend  going on 28 years now I gave her the test. 5 of us shared ownership in a Hunt Fish cabin on a remote section of The Ottawa. And I mean a cabin, no running water, no shower and a  outhouse but did have electricity, fancy shmancy. I figured if this non outdoors gal could handle roughing it and fishing for a week she's a keeper. She lost a dozen of my Rappala's, maybe more. She didn't catch a Musky but also got snagged many times, she would say "Johnny I'm snagged, oh the snag is moving, fish on!!!!" I love when my snags start to move. 

Edited February 20, 2020 by Old Ironmaker

[lew]

10 minutes ago, Old Ironmaker said:

 

actually it's amazing she married you. 

53 years, 4 months & 5 days  😄

[Old Ironmaker]

11 minutes ago, lew said:

53 years, 4 months & 5 days  😄

Congrats, these days you don't hear the word married and 53 years in the same sentence. At 27 years we are only about 1/2 way!!!

And those are fantastic pics. I just sent them to my cousin in Western NY. He and his hunting buddies have a camp upstate. They bring young kids through a youth organization from the inner cities of Niagara Falls NY and Buffalo NY to their camp on weekends to teach them safe firearm handling and the proper way of hunting emphasizing conservation of the environment and ethical hunting. 

[gordy28]

Some great stories - congrats to your wife Lew - thats an impressive haul and I love the canoe story.  Can't imagine trying to land a 47 inch musky in a canoe!