Further North

Been there. Done that. I have the t-shirt, the hat, and numerous scars... ...and two boats... An 18 1/2 foot Crestliner for lakes and deep rivers, and a drift boat for shallow rivers...there's very little I can't fish...haven't found it yet...

Yes. ...but like any species, pay attention to what it takes to keep a solid population of good-sized fish going. Small ones suffer from the Y-bone problem. ...and anything over about 30" can get mushy and fishy.

That net folds down pretty small.

Not terribly well... Frabill's website looks like it's down, but I found them elsewhere...this is the net most of us use in drift boats. https://www.norsemenoutdoors.com/product/ts116y-muskie-net-116/ I've had had 48" muskies in it. See above - Frabill Stowmaster 116 is what I use in my smaller boat.

I'd missed the part about a kayak. I use a Frabil folding net in both my big boat and drift boat; they make a big difference.

I do the same, with a net. Virtually zero risk.

Those tools break jaws if not handled properly...and few people handle them properly. An appropriately sized net is the best way to deal with any Esox.

Turns out I had the wrong Butternut Lake. This is the correct one: https://dnr.wi.gov/lakes/lakepages/lakedetail.aspx?wbic=2283300 Which shows... Fish Musky (Abundant) Walleye (Abundant) Panfish (Common) Largemouth Bass (Present) Smallmouth Bass (Present) Northern Pike (Present) Sturgeon (Present) ...in WI, I usually take "Present" to mean, "They're there, but best not to target them."

I tend to agree...but their info is based on shocking surveys, so has to be semi-accurate...perhaps not updated often enough.

I'm a bit south and west of there and have not fished that lake yet. I took a look at it, and it's connected to the Flambeau River by a feeder creek...so it's got to have smallies in it. The DNR web page ( https://dnr.wi.gov/lakes/lakepages/LakeDetail.aspx?wbic=692400) says: ...and since it's connected to the Flambeau, I'll bet a dollar there's muskies in there as well. If he's just moved up there, there's a chance the smallies have already moved into their fall pattern.

I picked up its twin last Wednesday, about a half hour after the musky.

I haven't weighed a fish in years. I barely take any pictures these days.

Not long. 2 - 3 minutes, max. Just a nudge over 40", exact same tactics, except gear instead of flies, because I was fishing with a gear guy, and the two don't mix well.

I dead drifted a 9" pink-and-white musky fly around a mid-current boulder...and that fat little piggie came up and ate it.

That exact thing happened to a guy I know not long ago. Smallies eating musky flies, musky eating smallie flies.

Landed two smallies that ate musky flies. We missed one that was easily the best of the three. Life is good.

Dat's da troof...

I got out for a while Thursday afternoon, went to a lake I don't go to often, but my "favorite" lake has been busy lately, so I gave it a shot. I went straight across the lake to a small back bay that's shown my musky a few times in the past, I got there just as the the afternoon's "peak fishing time" started. I started with a big pink/red/brown synthetic Buford, and it wasn't long before I had a follow on the figure-8 from decent 40"+ fish. Couldn't get her to eat on that cast, so I tossed the fly out a few more times...got another follow on the figure-8. She did this twice more, so I decided to swap flies and see if she'd eat something different... That's where it got weird. For the next two and a half hours, and 13 different flies, she apparently set up house under the boat...or near it...and would come out and follow a fly once or twice, a couple three times...she actually ate one of them twice, but spit it back out so fast (the line never went tight) that I couldn't get the hook in her. I put the boat on spot lock and didn't move 20 feet in any direction the whole time. Here's the flies: The ones on the left are the ones she followed, the two on the right are the ones she ignored. The one she ate is the 3rd one down, still on the 8 wt. I've never had a fish that hot, for that long, that didn't eat something...

If you're going to pursue pike specifically, I'd recommend braided line, and a wire leader. I tie my wire directly to the braid, with a Mustad FasTach swivel clip at the business end so I don't have to be concerned about the upper leader connection running into, and damaging the tip line guide. Here's two examples - the first is single strand Knot-2-Kinky Nickle Titanium wire, the second is 7 x 7 Tyger Leader (no longer availabe, AFW makes a great substitute). THe swivels are tied in with a perfection loop to maximize action. ...yeah, the 2nd one is on a fly, but I do the same on my gear rods. Here's two other examples for when I don't want, or need to allow for, the lure (or fly) spinning: Same rig, but just either tied directly to the hook: ...ore to the Mustad FasTach clip: I hope that's useful!

I read something a while back - I can't recall where - that this is the norm. Musky will take over the dominant feeding spots in a system with both fish, making it a slower process for pike to attain larger sizes. An interesting counter-effect (I think) is that pike spawn earlier, and eat musky fry...reducing musky numbers. Ma Nature tends to be all about balance unless people foul it up.

Half hour fight? From a 19" fish? Even a 19" bass - which would have close to twice the mass - wouldn't take 3 minutes.

Pike much over the mid 20" range go deep when the water warms...but for the sake of discussion, let's say over 35". In places where musky are not a factor (much of northern Canada) bigger pike are easier to catch...the water doesn't warm as much, and there's no competition. Fishing in water that has both...I catch far more big musky than big pike.

'Zactly. Harder to catch than musky. I'm over a dozen musky for the season...only two big pike...

It was the gills that got me Regarding getting cut up...since I seldom take fish pics, I mostly leave 'em in the net, unhook, resuscitate and let 'em go.

I've never managed to hurt myself on an Esox...but I had a walleye get me once.