Michigan Muskie Alliance

Ok so at least we can all agree BM is a retard- hmmm BM??? what else does that stand for....

Anyway on the issue of stomach acid killing fish uuhhh no. Not unless they are in the stomach. The chemical system in a fish is similar to any other predator. When there is an excess of acid ie low ph the endocrine system will sense this and release buffers to bring the stomach to its normal operating range. There is a coating to the inside of the stomach which prevents the "acid" from getting to it. When there is no coating like an ulcer then the acis is a factor. This is not caused by stress, even in humans, we now know that Helicobacter Pylori and not lifestyle causes ulcers. So unless you are going to quick strike rig a half-pound burrito from Taco Bell I would not worry about that.

The issue of lactic acidosis is entirely different and occurs in the muscles when there is not enough oxygen for the cells to use in the production of adenosene tri-phosphate as cellular fuel. When oxygen is lacking the cells will switch over to short term anaerobic respiration which is much less efficient the result of which is less energy per chemical reaction and a greater amount of waste in the form of pyruvic acid. this acid can only be converted with the presence of oxygen. The bigger the fish the harder it is to get oxygen to all the muscle cells that need it. Since the arteriole structure of a fish is limited and the capillary beds are much larger it takes a long time for the new supply of oxygenated blood to get to their muscles. Fish cant increase their oxygen intake nearly as much as humans can in times of need which multiplies the problem. You have all heard this before but think of it this way. Every minute you play a fish is equivalent to you running up about fifty stairs. First fifty- no problem. Second fifty (if your in good shape like a fish) a little more of an issue, after that pure hell. Now at the top of the stairs you are shoved into a tight space where you cant breathe well (a net) and then after that you are held up in the air and asked to hold your breath for pictures. Then all you have to do before you can relax is run back down all those stairs with a limited supply of air left in them and then you can relax. This is why you don't release tired fish over deep water. They do not have the energy left to stay in the littoral zone and recover. They need to be able to sit down at the top of the stairs (shallow water) and chill for a while.

Many people don't understand this because for catch and keep it does not matter if you "play them out" however for good catch and release the fight needs to be shortened and the release immediate. Of course fish that are too green can cause problems as well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZgRPkAC-50

KK

Well Put Kevin. Mike and Michelle

First of all, Duke, I LOVE your post! It was predictable, yet you said it even better than I thought you (or anyone) could! I even told Bryan the other day that you would say that very thing! Besides, we all know that muskies regurgitate prey (what animal doesn't at some point) as others mentioned above. I saw the muskies in my tank do it a million times. They lived. Furthermore, Mr. Duke even has his own original muskie bait color that features a partially swallowed/digested look. It's the NDE - Near Death Experience color. By the way, Will, great comment about a good application for live bait.

Michelles a little older than 12 and younger than 40 . I would not try to take this fish away from her. Quick strike sucker for a sweet 45 incher. Kingfisher

Nice fish Michelle! Well my thought about live bait. I read alot about guides useing it for whan the take people out fishing to get a fish for people. And as long as the person who is useing it knows how to use a quick set rig and fish is not hurt then use it. Me I like to use frogs for pike. I tryed a quick rig one time with no luck but oh well. I get a lot of small pike on tip-ups and I guess they live when I let them go if they are under size. But it had to tell when you let them go under the ice. The lake I pike fish in the spring I have not seen any pike floting in the spring. So I think most of them live. But then they are pike to. Just my thoughts.

LeMay OUT

Man does this group of guys get me chuckling- hopefully my co-workers just think I'm watching the video of that dog riding a skateboard for the 1,000th time instead of surfing. "Those weeds smell like muskies...","quick strike a half pound burrito from Taco Bell". \

And BM is such an easy target, we could fill pages with the stupid crap he's said. I remember back in the heyday of MuskieFirst.com, it got so bad that they actually had to make Mehsikomer a "bad word" that the board would automatically censor if you typed it. It didn't help, it only fanned the flame that his name was the same as cursing. Lets get back to that subject this winter during the down time, just for entertainment! "101 Dumb things Bob said"

i have 2 of his videos, go firgure 2 for 1...haha
but what i liked is how he would size judge fish. He would land a fish about 43" and say things like"its 54 inches if its an inch" when it is truly a low 40's fish. Or how he would say, "oh yea, this fish is pushing 45 lbs...easy.." and its like 22lbs..and skinny.
but yes Duke....what takes the cake is where he had pulled weeds from the lake with his lure, took them off, smelled them and turned to the camera and said " we got muskies in these weeds" with a straight face no less.... what a crackhead.

Got to admit he does catch a lot of fish on Jackpots but the remarks :o :P :P . "Hold my Rod John" or "Right now I need you to hold my Rod John" When Michelle and I need a good laugh on the lake we say "Hold my rod Bobby" Dr John Schnieder "its critical Bobby" And he says that while wearing white Michael Jackson gloves :lol: :lol: :lol: . All kidding aside though his video called close encounters of the right kind is a very entertaining collection of near misses played out to classical music. There is some real great footage in that cd. His anatomy of a Musky lake has helped to put me on a lot fish but those tips are pretty much the same things Saric,Bucher and Maina say. I dont care who said it first the info was correct. I donk like the way he takes fish away from the people on his boat like the video with Libby Hoene. He casted right in front of her. Michelle said she would have pushed him off the boat for that. I cant take much of any of the so called experts. I do think Bucher can fish and like his shows. The guy Michelle and I want to fish with next year is Doug Johnson. I think he is still the best of the best . Our big trip next year is either to the St. Lawrence with Captain Rich Clark or Lake of the Woods with Johnson. Mike and Michelle

"Net in the water!!!" I think he'd be in the water if I ever fished with him.

MuskieMagnet and myself have had good success with live bait rigs for muskies but have also had a snap break on the hookset and also a wire knot break on a rig that was tied directly to the hook. Other than those two mishaps, using live bait can sometimes save an otherwise fishless day.
As far as Bob Mehsikomer goes, I have some of his videos and they are funny at times, especially when he isn't promoting the Pig bait, or Jackpot or Awaker. I personally like when he fishes with Dr. John Schneider who wears the white gloves when he fishes, the two of them together make for an entertaining video.
Pete Maina's video "Live Bait Techniques" or something like that is pretty good for demonstrating how to use his rubberband style quick-strike rig. I would suggest getting the video if you plan on using his quick-strike rig.