My Introduction to Muskies

November 26, 2009

    I was introduced to Muskie fishing in May of 1959 when my father caught a 52 inch, 29-1/2 lb. “monster”. At least, to a 14 year old boy, it was a monster. Back then, electric trolling motors and 200 horsepower outboards were unheard of, so we got around with good old muscle power.
    Dad had bought a wooden rowboat from a friend for $5.00, and we spent many hours scraping, caulking and painting it to make it seaworthy. Once it was completed, Mom, Dad and I spent many enjoyable hours on the water. It didn’t make any difference if the fish were biting or not, because we gauged our success on the good times we had, not on the fish we brought home. As dad used to say, ” If I catch them, I’ve gotta clean them!”
    We weren't real familiar with musky fishing, although we were familiar with the saying about muskies - "The Fish of a Thousand Casts." It is easy to see why dad picked trolling for muskies over casting. Why wear yourself out flipping heavy lures when you can take it easy by slowly dragging a couple of suckers behind the boat. You didn’t get too tired rowing and you could also try your hand at trying to catch panfish with a fly rod and popper. It is quite a thrill catching hand-sized bluegills on a fly rod, and the end result in the frying pan makes it even more enjoyable.
    We used to rig two suckers in a home-made harness and suspend them beneath a large bobber. One sucker would be set deep and the other between 3 to 6 feet, depending on the topography of the lake. Then all we had to do was row slowly around the lake keeping the bobbers, and the suckers, the desired distance from the weeds. It sounds easy enough, but in a heavy, flat-bottomed wooden boat, it did take some work, especially if the wind picked up. There was also a major problem with this type of fishing, but at that time, I don't believe it was given much thought. Using live suckers with the type of rig or harness we used meant that often the fish would swallow the bait, or was swallowing the bait, when the hook was set. This often would injure the fish seriously enough to prevent releasing it. Although back in the late 1950's, I don't think that catch and release was well known, although Michigan had been using it since 1952 for trout. That meant if you caught a nice sized female musky, you just removed the genetic diversity of that fish from the lake and seriously damaged natural reproduction.
    Also, the boats of the time were functional, but heavy and not very maneuverable.And of course, if the boats were wooden, you always had the possibility of leaking. Our old flat bottom always has a puddle or two in the bottom. Nothing serious, but it could get annoying, so we always carried a coffee can for bailing if it got too bad. Aluminum boats helped to solve the leaking problem, but then you had a noise factor to consider, although there were ways of counter-acting it. And depending on the type of aluminum boat you had, they didn't always handle well either. The aluminum boat I got in later years was lighter and didn't leak, but it had high sides that would catch the wind making it difficult to handle in windy conditions.
     But back to the story.  It was the opening weekend for musky fishing in Wisconsin, and Mom, Dad and I were going to give it a try. We also invited John, my best friend at the time, to join us. It was a beautiful, sunny day, a welcome relief from the cabin fever of winter, and we were all enjoying it. We liked to fish what is called "The Upper Chain". The Waupaca Chain O'Lakes is located in central Wisconsin, and consists of 22 spring-fed lakes, none of which is over 120 acres. The "Upper Chain" is a grouping of 5 small lakes in the 10 to 20 acre size range, all slow, no wake so you aren't bothered by skiers, etc. Just a nice peaceful area to spend a sunny afternoon. Pope Lake, where we were fishing, covers 14 acres and is a maximum of 40 feet deep.
    We had to row from the boat landing on Marl lake through a narrow connecting channel to reach Pope Lake. Upon arriving, we broke out the gear, got two suckers rigged up and started around the lake. I don't remember if we were on the first loop around the lake, or if we had already made a pass or two, but as we passed a small patch of lily pads, one of the bobbers suddenly disappeared. Of course, the initial thought usually is the sucker is caught in the weeds. But not knowing for sure, dad stopped the boat and we just sat waiting for about 10 minutes. About that time, John happened to look over the side and let out with a yell, "My God, it's a monster!" The fish had taken the sucker on the shallow line, and you could see the bobber about a foot below the surface, and 3 feet below that the largest fish that he and I had ever seen, slowly swimming by.
    Dad had me switch places with him so I could row the boat while he fought the fish. Not knowing what to expect, he had me slowly row towards the middle of the lake while he kept the reel on free-spool and helped pull line out so the fish wouldn't feel the pressure until dad was ready to set the hook. Of course, we expected all sorts of action. Once in position, dad slowly took in the slack until the line grew tight and then set the hook. Nothing happened! No line screaming off the reel as the fish made a mad dash, no majestic leaps from the water, NOTHING. It was like being hooked to a log. Well, dad started reeling in line, and the fish just came along quietly. No fight at all. He got the fish up to the boat and dad took the net and poked the fish to get it to put up a fight. It did make a short run, but that was it. So dad brought the fish back to the boat and landed it. THEN the fireworks started!
    We had a small dog chain along to use as a stringer, and when dad tried to attach it to the fish, she made a flip and dad's hand went partway into her mouth. He got it on the second try, but his hand looked  like someone had used a razor blade to make a series of slices in the ball of his thumb. Once the fish was on the stringer dad started to put her in the water to keep her alive when we saw why she probably didn't have much fight in her. The point of the hook was protruding from her side where the back of her stomach would be. We figured that it was so uncomfortable that it took the fight out of her. Once back in the water, I started rowing back to the landing.
    When we arrived at the landing, there was another family there having a picnic and enjoying the day as we were. The woman asked if we had any luck, and dad, not passing up an opportunity to have some fun, said "Sure", and held up the sucker. The woman said "Nice catch". When dad told her that it was just the bait, she asked, "What do you catch with that?" Then dad lifted the musky from the water, and all the picnic goers were amazed. They didn't realize fish that size even lived in the chain. So we got a good laugh from it.
    When we got home dad called some friends of his, and one of them, the editor of our local paper came over to take some photos. Then he had the fish weighed and measured. She was 52" and weighed 28-1/2lb. When he cleaned her, we discovered that she was a spawned out female, and the only thing in her stomach was the hook and our sucker. We figured she was so hungry she must have swallowed the sucker on the first bite. We guessed that if she would have been caught late in the season she probably would have been in the 30 to 40 pound weight class. But being hooked as she was, she probably wouldn't have survived being released and besides, we had some fabulous fish dinners for a while after that.

    I hope you enjoyed the ramblings of the now much older fisherman that had such fond memories from 1959. This is the first of what I hope will be more enjoyable "fish tales" from my experiences over the years.

Jaymz