Sunday, April 11, 2010

Muskies on the brain

I've always wanted to catch a musky.  They are a predator that seems out of place in our freshwater lakes and rivers.  A fish that big and powerful with a huge mouth full of teeth would seem to belong in some far away place like the Amazon.  I like big effort, big reward flyfishing.  The type of fishing where you put in the time and are persistent and the big reward will come.  Some other types of fishing fall into this category like swinging streamers for steelhead or chasing big striped bass on the fly although it's hard for me to imagine a more perfect flyrod target than a muskie.
 
First of all they can be caught in freshwater.  I love striper fishing and the saltwater but there is something special about freshwater.  It feels more inviting and relaxing and hospitable.  What do you normally do once fishing the salt....rinse all your gear off with freshwater.

I love the hunting aspect of fishing.  I get bored of any type of fishing that requires me to stand in the same spot, cast and wait for the fish to come to me.  I'd much rather be on the move casting to new water.  Even if it is working through a pool with a spey rod you get to cover that next few feet of water with each cast with the hope there is a taker.  I imagine muskie fishing involves a lot of casts to new water with hope that on the next cast there will be a taker.

Muskies are also predators at the top of the food chain in their environment.  They are generally going to strike to kill and feed and not because you antagonized them or for some other weird reason everyone speculates on like Atlantic Salmon.

I might have a bunch of misconceptions about these fish but I'll be happy to be proven wrong by catching one.

At one point I wanted to catch one of these fish anyway possible including using conventional tackle.  I have to admit those big, crazy swimming plugs are pretty wild too.  Seeing a musky explode on one of them must be awesome.  After seeing the trailer to the film The Musky Chronicles I am all jacked up again to give them a shot.  By the way if anyone knows when and where this will be playing or how to get it hook me up.  Thanks to Brad Bohen and the musky tribe for working out the details on how to consistently get them on the fly that's the only way I can imagine myself doing it now.

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