Muskie On The Thames

[DanD]

Had a chance to join a buddy and his son for a Muskie charter yesterday. We went out with Fish Lake St. Clair charters, Ian is a very good boater (never had a minute of worry in his boat) and the man worked his butt off, trying to get us on fish.  

He had the boards set up in less then ten minutes of being on the water. At day break the wind and water were calm; so we trolled out of the river on to the lake. Marking lots of bait fish along with what we were hoping to be Muskies in the middle of the mix. About an hour into the troll we had a hard hit on the one setup; but it was gone before even getting the rod out of it's holder. A couple of hours go by, the wind and the chop start to build and decided to go into the river. Not that it was to rough or cold, it was the weeds that were churned up. The plugs spent more time in the boat, being cleaned then they were in the water. Another hour or so goes by and then a good hit. Ian pulls the rod out of it's holder and passes the rod to by buddies son. He hasn't fished a whole lot; but Ian was there coaching him all the way to the net. It It was his fist Muskie and the largest fish he had ever caught. (42 inch) I'll let the pic tell you how the young guy felt.

 Next was my turn up and I was gifted this 44 in fish; had a blast landing her.

You can see in the pic that something during the life of this Muskie; had taken a bite out of its dorsal fin? We ended up with three fish boated (No pic of #3) and had a great time out there.

At first I thought why isn't he releasing that fish right away. Then he explained that this narrow tank stops the fish from thrashing around and holds the fish upright. The inlet water hose enters the tank to flow fresh water over the gills. He leaves the fish in there for 5 or so minutes to revive itself. The a quick pic and in the water it goes. This fish took off like a rock when it was released.

Dan.

 Here Ian was showing the proper hold for these fish.

 

[BillM]

Great report!!!   Those fish sure have some nice markings on them.

[lew]

Good stuff Dan, and always nice to see a young fella get his 1st nice fish.

[captpierre]

Great report. On my bucket list.   LSC. 

[mamona]

Really nice report. Never thought about muskie charters. Another thing to consider.

[G.mech]

 Nice fish Dan!  Ian at http://www.fishlsc.com is a great operator and has been extremely helpful in getting us on fish and also getting me pointed in the right direction setting up my boat and tackle.  We have fished musky with him the last two years on St.Clair & the Thames and are now doing fairly well on our own but we still plan to do more with him next year.  He does Detroit River in the spring for walleye as well so we're planning on a 'refresher' day with him then too.   

Edited October 27, 2020 by G.mech

[DanD]

A couple of decent walleye shown out of a 3 man limit; caught on another outing with Ian.

Dan.

[Raycaster]

I have been lucky enough to be out with Ian a few times. Yup, he’s awesome and knows the lake 100%.

He has a good youtube channel with lots of good info too.

 

[Musky Plug]

I’ve also been out with Ian more than a few times for musky and once for walleye on the river. He’s a good guy knows how to fish LSC. That livewell setup he has is pretty sweet too. 
 

Those are some nice skis! Congrats! 

Edited October 27, 2020 by Musky Plug

[Rizzo]

awesome congrats!

[AKRISONER]

very nice fish. Good to see you getting out there Dan! looks like it was worth the trip for sure.

[Terry]

Looks like a good time

[gordy28]

That looks like a great day and a reminder to me to pencil a day trip St Clair for 2021

Thanks for sharing

 

[DanD]

I guess there was a pic of the third fish coming in. We all thought it was a snag. Two different guys held a dead quiet pole with a rod bending pull. Ian went to the far side of the “snag” and still had a hard time pulling up the line; again dead quiet like pulling up a log. 
The planer board came in first and then to all our surprise a foul (in the back) hooked fish. 
Got the fish in the well and it was pretty still; but still upright. After about 5 minutes or so; a quick pic and then released. This very lethargic fish took off like a rocket when Ian release it. We all stood there saying that was the craziest SNAG we’ve ever seen. LOL This is Ian just before the release .

Dan. 

[LostAnotherOne]

Thank you for the report.  Was there 2 weekends ago.  Here is a pic of the entrance from the Thames River to Lake St.Clair.  You have to zoom in to the left to see all the guys bombing there lures across the river lol.  I wouldn't advise anyone to troll through that section.  

[G.mech]

 

That is definitely a 'no-go' zone along the wall for sure!  I always try to leave them lots of room since we have the whole rest of the river but sometimes traffic forces you within range and then you best keep your head up (or down maybe is more accurate).   

 

[LostAnotherOne]

1 hour ago, G.mech said:

 

That is definitely a 'no-go' zone along the wall for sure!  I always try to leave them lots of room since we have the whole rest of the river but sometimes traffic forces you within range and then you best keep your head up (or down maybe is more accurate).   

 

Totally agree with giving them space.  They just have this small area where we have the river and lake. When I went through there I had the tin snips on standby just in case someone casted a bulldog and hit the boat.  It would of been mine.  I even thought of wearing a helmet through there, but wouldn’t protect much against the trebles lol.

[JonnyButts]

Great Report DanD . I just missed ya as we got there late Tuesday night. Saw Ian launching his boat Wednesday Morning taking a couple of guys out. There were 22 of us bombing casts across the river when we left at 6:30 last night. Still blows me Away all the Muskie that get caught on LSC. 

[LostAnotherOne]

1 hour ago, JonnyButts said:

Great Report DanD . I just missed ya as we got there late Tuesday night. Saw Ian launching his boat Wednesday Morning taking a couple of guys out. There were 22 of us bombing casts across the river when we left at 6:30 last night. Still blows me Away all the Muskie that get caught on LSC. 

Just wondering bud have you seen a lot of guys catching them off the shore?  Must be if that many guys are lined up casting.

[DanD]

Didn't notice any action from the shore fishers. But holy crap some of those guys can sure pitch a long cast. So it wasn't because of not covering a lot of water; it was a tough bite on Monday.

Dan.

[LostAnotherOne]

5 hours ago, DanD said:

Didn't notice any action from the shore fishers. But holy crap some of those guys can sure pitch a long cast. So it wasn't because of not covering a lot of water; it was a tough bite on Monday.

Dan.

No doubt.  I went through there the first time and was more the half way across.  I saw a big bulldog land maybe 5 feet from my boat lol.  I guess the saying travel at your own risk applies.

[lew]

If you can stay just outside of the landing zone of those big Bulldogs there's the odd decent fish swimming around. LOL

 

[Rizzo]

beauty!

[12 Volt Man]

Quote

But holy crap some of those guys can sure pitch a long cast. 

its the length of the rods and the weight of some of the lures. My muskie rod is 8 feet long and its on the shorter side of what most guys use there. Most fish min. 8'6 and some even 9 footers. My rod is the MH so I'm using smaller lures but I'm amazed at how far i can cast a Mepps Giant Killer with 20 pound Sufix Siege Mono. it flies. 

[Cando]

Nice, I am still looking to catch my 1st muskie.