Was going to post this awhile ago but forums was down so I figured Id post it now. Hired Will for a day on the chain along with Chris Musselman and by day I mean DAY. Will dont mess around. We were on the water from 530am til 1030pm non stop fishing. Probably the hardest I've fished in a single day. Water temps were around 70 if I remember right. Weather was pretty bad conditions with mile high blue sky all day long.
Fished mostly Skegemog with a little time spent on Elk. I think Chris was targeting pike all day as I think he caught like 5 or 6 of them in the day. Will smacked a football of a smallmouth that was about 23" on top water and we got a couple largemouths too.
As for the muskies it was a pretty slow day but considering the density up there and the weather conditions that day it wasn't unexpected. We had 2 follows, both of skeg but neither hit. I had one follow early afternoon and Will had one late afternoon. That was the first follow I've ever had on skeg in the countless hours I've spent on that lake so to me that alone made it a successful trip. Definitely got my heart pumpin hard. The trip was a huge learning experience for me and Will taught me more in one day than I thought was possible. I definitely recommend to anyone looking to hire a guide up there to get Will. It is well worth it in the knowledge you gain alone.
One word of advice to anyone fishing a full day up there, when Will recommends taking a break to save yourself for the evening, he's not shitting. Our version of a break was trolling for 45 minutes and going out and casting bulldawgs in Elk. At the end of the night I could barely hold my rod, my wrist was numb, it hurt to fish and even though the lake was glass and beautiful as usual I was miserable for the last two hours. I needed an Ice pack when I got home. Matt has a bad back and you could see him struggling and losing ambition every cast. When it counted the most to have those lures working we had to half ass it.
I know how you feel….Chad and I up on the Ottawa fished from morning till night casting constantly. The only breaks we had was when we moved from spot to spot. We'd pound water, eat quick and sit down for just a couple minutes and then back up casting. We did this for 4 long hard exhausting days!!! When the trolling motor was in the water we never took a break, never. We knew was was swimming around us and that was enough to say to eachother that we won't stop casting while the boat is positioned to cast. Only breaks were when big motor took us to another spot and the boat rides were not long at all from spot to spot. What a challenge and just a grind. My forearms and hands were numbing pain every morning and night. We as Muskie Anglers go the distance and it's pretty impressive how long we can stay on the water constantly casting until that fish eats. If it was easy everyone would be doing it. We are all Angling Warriors!!!!
What I do so I don't get tired like that is go to my smaller reels 5500. Easier on your hand and arms. You don't have to throw DCG's & Dawgs all day, go to lighter and smaller baits. Artillery is great but lighter infantry can be deadly too. Plus you can always tell the drill seargent no more PT, bite me!! 🙄
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