And... That's a wrap.

[T-Billy]

2024 is officially going out with a whimper. 12 skunkings in 13 December trips. 🤦‍♂️ Darn Cantankerous muskies anyhow. 😂

 It's been an awesome year though. The final count stands at 93 muskie between 30" and 46.5", plus Tammy put another 13 in the net. It was my first full year fishing for them and I've learned a lot. Hopefully those lessons learned will make for an even better 2025.

 I caught three 46.5" fish this year, but I'm gonna give the best of the year award to this big girl who mauled a double 10 under the August moon.

Best bass of the year was this 5.35# caught back in April flipping flooded bushes.

Best saugeye of the year. I didn't record the weight, but if memory serves, it was just a hair under 5#. 

Best crappie of the year was this 15" caught flippin laydowns for bass.

All in all, it was an outstanding year and even though the last month was an epic struggle, I feel very blessed. Looking forward to an even better 2025!!! 🤞

[Fishingmickey]

That is a hell of a year for the Muskie's, T-Billy! Serious dedication to go out that many times!

FM

 

P.S. That is one serious Crappie!

[AlabamaSpothunter]

93 Muskies is pretty dang insane brother, congrats! 

 

It was fun reading your reports and seeing all those beautiful dinosaurs.

 

Here's to breaking 100 in 2025.........and then you must return from the dark side, and rekindle your love affair with Mr Green Fish 😁 

[T-Billy]

9 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

93 Muskies is pretty dang insane brother, congrats! 

 

It was fun reading your reports and seeing all those beautiful dinosaurs.

 

Here's to breaking 100 in 2025.........and then you must return from the dark side, and rekindle your love affair with Mr Green Fish 😁 

Thanks, Alex. There's a good chance I'll break 100 next year thanks to lessons learned this year, but I'm not gonna concern myself with it. I was hooked up with 120 ish this year, but those toothy buggers are expert escape artists. The goal for next year is to have no goal, other than just fish, learn, and have fun.

 Muskie will continue to be the main focus, but there will for sure be some bass fishing. I'll spend some time flippin for some pre-spawn piggies, and doing some night bassin in June and July. I LOVE that night bite.

[Jigfishn10]

WOW! What a year. Congrats. Hoping you make that century mark in ‘25.

 

I really need to keep a better log and take more pics of my trips with my son. Sounds like a resolution huh?  

 

Nice job bud

 

John

[GreenPig]

Impressive! 

[BigSkyBassin]

What a year! I spent a summer in college up in Boulder Junction and caught the muskie bug hard...93 in a season is world class by all standards, well done and memories to last a lifetime!

[Jar11591]

93 muskies over 30”, dang. By my math, it should take 930,000 casts to catch that many, but we all know it took you no where near that many. Well done. 

[TnRiver46]

Slacker 

[T-Billy]

2 hours ago, Jar11591 said:

93 muskies over 30”, dang. By my math, it should take 930,000 casts to catch that many, but we all know it took you no where near that many. Well done. 

Thanks. We're really blessed with an excellent stocking program here in OH. We have no meaningful natural reproduction and are completely reliant on stocking by the ODNR. Hopefully they're able to continue the current stocking rate going forward to maintain our current population density. They stock at a rate of roughly one fish per acre in our 9 muskie lakes. Of course some of those are lost to predation, but we have very good population densities. 

 I know they had a significant shortfall last year covering the cost of feeder minnows. The Ohio Huskie Muskie Club has a minnow fund that most of us members donate to, and the club also makes donations. I believe Muskies Inc. does the same. 

  ODNR also has a tagging program, and the Muskie Angler Log, where anglers can log their catches to help them monitor size structure and catch rates at each body of water. 

 A couple things I feel pretty good about are my average size, 37",  and my 19 huskies in 2024. ODNR calls muskie 42" or greater Huskie Muskie, so roughly 20% of my fish qualify as Huskies. I feel like that's a pretty solid rate.

[gim]

1 hour ago, T-Billy said:

We're really blessed with an excellent stocking program here in OH. We have no meaningful natural reproduction and are completely reliant on stocking by the ODNR. Hopefully they're able to continue the current stocking rate going forward to maintain our current population density. They stock at a rate of roughly one fish per acre in our 9 muskie lakes.

 

Keep striking that iron while its hot.  I have a feeling that eventually the stocking will be cut way back like it has been in other states.  MN & WI did that years ago.  Now its about 1 adult muskie for every 40 acres.

[T-Billy]

Just now, gim said:

 

Keep striking that iron while its hot.  I have a feeling that eventually the stocking will be cut way back like it has been in other states.  MN & WI did that years ago.  Now its about 1 adult muskie for every 40 acres.

 One thing in our favor is the limited number of lakes. They only stock muskie in 9 lakes in OH so it's not like trying to stock the vast number of lakes y'all have up north. 

 They've been stocking since 1953, and in 1982 began stocking "advanced fingerlings" averaging 10", because the survival rates are much better than fry or smaller fingerlings. Muskie fishing here is also growing in popularity. 

 Time will tell, but the ODNR does a great job compared to the DNR's in many other states. Not just with muskie, but with hunting and fishing overall.

[Blue Raider Bob]

17 hours ago, T-Billy said:

fish, learn, and have fun.

Me too! I will focus on not-focusing on what doesn't matter.  Great job this year Tim, and best of luck, (and fun), next year!

[Swamp Girl]

I'm so proud of you, Tim. I had the musky bug for a few years, so I know how hard they are to catch. FWIW, I never caught more than 90 in a year. Nowhere close. 

[Dwight Hottle]

Count the wife's contribution and you are at 106. Job well done by you both.