T-Billy

Honk. I had a muskie break a 4x strong vmc treble yesterday while in the net. The fish got hung high, near the hoop, and it snapped one point off the hook while thrashing around. It was only a 38" fish. They can generate an amazing amount of torque. Those VMC's are hard to bend with a pair of pliers.

Awesome to see you two lovebirds enjoy a day on the water. Congrats, and good to see Lynn feeling well enough to get out. Nice job getting that pike unwrapped from the anchor line.

big 4#, Big 5#, BIG 6#, BIG!!! 7#

I started today out right with this gorgeous 45" about two minutes after I put the first crappie down. She ate before I could even finish rigging the second rod. Then... 6hrs of NOTHING!!! 😂 Super tough. I had a few lookers, but no more bites. A couple of wardens stopped by to check my license at about 13:30. They said I was only the second muskie fisherman they'd talked to that caught one, and the lake was packed today. The other fish was also on a crappie. Super nice guys. We talked muskie fishing for awhile, and one of them took a pic of my crappie rig so he could make himself some like it. I spent a couple hours late in the morning pitching grass for LM, but it was a dinkfest, so I went back to musky fishing for the last few hours. Back to the grind tomorrow for 5 days.

Go rest high on that mountain brother. I'm looking forward to meeting you when I get there.

Congrats on a real Buckeye Bruiser!!! Actually, I'm fixin to start getting some late night bassin in. Shortly after this cold spell gets through, the gills are gonna hit the beds, and the night bladed jig bite will get hot for bass and big eyes. Then I'll transition to muskie in the cool gray light of dawn. 😉 This will be the S.O.P all through June and July. Come August it'll be back to all muskie fishing. The cooler nights in the second half of August will bring those big slimy girls shallow.

You won't regret it.

Absolutely.

Ha!!! Here ya go.

I watch @A-Jay's Smallmouth Smackdown Show. All thriller, no filler. 😉

It's just a matter of "want to". Ya can't catch 'em if ya ain't out there. I always get at least a few hours sleep, and usually a shower. As for the change of clothes, well.... I mean... they're just gonna get covered in blood and muskie slime so.... 😂

Yep.

No need to feel embarrassed @IcatchDinks. We can only catch what's available to us. I'm blessed to live near a couple of Ohio's best muskie lakes, and I'm also blessed to be friends with an awesome muskie guide, plus a couple other guys who've been at this game for decades. Their mentoring has dramatically shortened the learning curve for me. Nice pike brother. Congratulations.

I got out for a short trip this morning. Ended up going two for three. Netted the thick 40" below and a 32". Had an upper 30's come unbuttoned boat side. Edit to add: I got back out this evening for a few hours, and added three more to the tally. 35", 38", and a 39.5". No sows today, but going 5 for 7 is a pretty awesome day of musky fishing.

Praying for a successful surgery and a speedy recovery.

Now that I spend most of my fishing time with a 9' - 9.5' H or XH muskie rod in my hand, when I do go bass fishing, even my 7'11" XH flippin stick feels like a fairy wand. All my flippin/pitchin gets done with the 7'11" XH now.

Papa's little buddy caught his first fish this morning. The beginning of a lifelong passion right here.

No doubt about it.

Lol. Thanks A-Jay. I get to fish Monday morning and Tuesday yet, then it's back to the grind.

I got to add two more to the tally today. The nice thick 43.5" below and a 34". Ten muskie over the past five days with 7 of them over 40". It's been a great week.

PB is the 48.25" in my avatar. More like setting the hook on a Ferrari. They're sprinters, fast and explosive fighters but not much on endurance.

Thank you Katie. It's sure been an awesome ride. I try to get 'em all back quickly. I have a pretty good system worked out. Once netted, I get 'em unhooked and let them chill out in the net until I have the bump board wet and opened up and the camera set up with a 10sec delay. Then it's out of the net for a quick pic and bump. They're out of the water for under a minute. Now that I won't be taking pics with the smaller fish, they'll be out of the water for more like 10 -15sec.

I had a beautiful start to my day.

Only one today, but it was the right one. 46" on a crappie. It was the only bite I had all day, but I raised a couple on cranks, and raised four on blades. We're getting close to chuck and wind season!!!