Further North

I'll go along with that. If I lived in a different part of the country, that'd probably be true for me too.

Thanks - I appreciate that local perspective.

I'm not discounting what you've seen, I'm just asking a question about the attribution of the cause without data and study. I am very much a "correlation ≠ causation guy" and am reluctant to accept conclusions that haven't been proven out...it's an occupational hazard left over from when I was working. ...as far you catching fish up here, you're more than welcome to come up; you'll probably teach me a few things...and learn a couple too. If I come down there to fish, can I cheat? I know a few folks in the area who are doing OK so far this season. 😉

I'm probably nitpicking...but I know bunches...dozens...of musky anglers who are way past "serious", and close to obsessed with musky fishing...and no where near all of them troll. Some of us cast gear, some of us cast flies, some troll...some do all three. Some of us fish rivers so shallow there's no way to troll them. For a lot of us, the number of fish in the boat isn't our measure of success. I agree on trolling...but that's a me thing. Lots of people love it. I've got a friend who loves to troll for muskies out on Green Bay, and he's pretty successful at it. I also agree on follows...they get your heart pumping, even if the fish don't eat. That "debate" can get quite energetic. At this point in time, I'm in a place where I'll never use FFS...like trolling, I suspect it'd bore me (I don't fish so I can stare at a screen), and it'd be useless for 70% of my musky chasing. ...but I don't think poorly of others using it...yet. People I respect a lot who have used it have strong opinions about it, some positive, some negative...we need more data. If data comes in that shows it's a detriment to the resource, I will absolutely support banning it. Has FFS been around long enough to ruin anything yet? ...I'm not saying it hasn't...or that it has...but I'm skeptical of claims like this that don't include data and real studies that take other factors into consideration. As noted above, I don't have FFS and most likely never will...but that doesn't mean I'm willing to condemn it yet.

I agree with all of that...particularly the over-harvest of panfish/crappies. ...the inevitable result: The people participating in the over-harvest blame everything but themselves (bass, pike, muskies) for the lower numbers and demand "...something must be done!" You've seen that in MN on a couple of the bigger lakes up north, and we've seen it over here...and that was before FFS. The damage done to a fishery by hammering the heck out of critical forage is hard to measure at this point, but it's considerable. My best day was 7 in the boat, all with flies. I don't recall how many we hooked. It was a blustery, snowy/rainy late October trip to the northern end of one of our bigger rivers and it was a bunch of fun. I agree with that. It's much more "hunting" than fishing.

It's not. Even with FFS...or being able to see them, musky fishing is never easy. We fish shallow rivers - where FFS would be useless - more than anything else...we had a day last season where we moved 13, with only one eat...and another day where we saw 11...two eats. Seeing a half dozen in a day isn't unusual.

There's no evidence on the WIDNR webpage for this lake that this is happening. It looks like there's a local or a few of them spreading a rumor that's inaccurate.

FWIW, I've been fishing the lake in question for at least a couple decades...I've never caught a walleye there...bu I never fish for them either... I've caught a lot of bass, and used to catch a ton of pike, but the pike have fallen off in recent years.

Looking the lake in question up; there is no DNR regulation about catching and keeping bass without a size limit. ...so we can report anyone we see doing that, and spread the word that the rumor is inaccurate. I think getting the DNR involved might be a good idea as well.

I live near the Chippewa River; I sent you a message about which lake it is. ...there's a chance that if we make enough noise, they'll back off their plan.

Sweet! Big girls are still shallow, get out there and take advantage of it!

They travel miles. I've read of several studies using high tech gear to track it.

Thanks for tagging me, I seldom check this post. What great fun!

They were both 43" +. I didn’t weigh them. I know. That's why I mentioned pike first, then muskies as an add on.

I used to believe that until I caught two really big pike in the same spot in less than 15 minutes. It happens with muskies all the time.

Not schooling, but not lone wolves either. I have seen bays in Canada with a dozen pike in them.

@T2DM Thanks!

...and the guy who caught it is doing a vertical hold... "It swam away fine!" 🙄

Have there been any changes to the modern (2024) version of this reel?

It worked well. Swims great, kicks hard on the pause. Something will eat it...

Cool. I never know what others might not know.

...for the picture above, consider putting the hook through the base of the guide rather than the guide. Odds are slim you'll damage the guide, but it's possible.

That's not something I'd worry about. Bass is open all year here, but the lures/flies I use can easily hook up with pike, or even musky, which is closed. They'd have to prove intent, right close to impossible if all fish are released.

The best way to find out what's happening locally. Spending some $$$ helps.