So lets hear the fish stories for 2010! what was the biggest and heaviest fish you caught this year? I wish I had a monster story to tell but I didn't have lots of time to get out. My biggest though was a 31in pike that weighd just over 5 lbs. It was the fattest pike I have ever seen. I dont have pics because I was alone when I caught it. post up the pics if you got them.
Was not my year at all for muskie as I am still learning alot but I did get a big 23" smallmouth while I was just messin around with family which is a personal best of that species and an extremely overweight pike that was only 34 inches but weighed 9 pounds…
I spent more hours on the water this year than I ever have in any other year of my life and it was by far the slowest year I have had in a long time…funny how that works when you start fishing for muskie all the time, Ima hire Will next year and hopefully learn some things thatll change that
54 fish caught (15 trolling, 39 casting)
260.75 hours fished
9 fish 44" or bigger
4 fish 46" or bigger
48.5 largest
Also thought I had a 50lber on one day, only to realize I had foul hooked one of Austin's infamous mega-carp. Only kept him on the hook for about 5 seconds but man did that fish have power! Bait came back with a couple GIANT carp scales on it.
I had a pretty good year out on LSC and my new boat brought me lots of luck…
Total fish I boated: 41 (all casting)
Total fish in my boat: 55 (inland lakes included)
My total LSC length average: 42.9"
Total boat LSC average: 42.7"
3 personal bests in my boat:
I got a couple 49.5" but best was a 49.5"x 22" girth from head to tail. My 1st honest 30 pounder.
My Dad's first Muskie was a 50" topwater
One of my fishing partners boated a 51"
Best story I have was fishing on a dead calm flat day. Later that day wind was suppose to pick up. The moment the wind arrived I hooked 3 muskies in 4 consectitive casts. First one hit and lost him half way to the boat. Cast out again and immediately hook another only to lose a few seconds later. Cast out again, nothing. Cast for the 4th time, hook and land a 46.5". That was the first time I really started to pay much more close attention to wind changes.
I also had a great day putting my Dad on his first Muskie which happened to be a topwater 50"er. It was an amazing fight and just an awesome feeling to see the excitement of my Dad.
I must be the worst fisherman in the club, because my catch rates were nothing near the previous few post. I averaged 1 fish in the boat every 20 hours. I only caught 9 this year 6 more in the boat by guest. 6 fish over 40" with the biggest being a 47.5" PB for my brother caught on the 8 on a day trip to LSC
Highlights were: a 3 fish morning on Austin with 2 over 40", my brothers PB, my first legal fish caught on the 8, learning quality LSC water fishable in my 14 footer, and some late season Thorn fatties.
Hopefully I can fish more with MMA buddies next year as I didn't much this year!
Scott
Scott my hours per fish sure isn't good but I don't track it since I think I could get too pist off if I did! I'm not happy with numbers or sizes this year so I'd rather not even post a summary, though it seems the average size of the fish has increased the past two years for me, with the numbers down, at least for the time spent. But this is likely more a reflection of maturing fisheries where I fish than improving ability with better fish.
Anyway, I'm happy to keep trying for the meager rewards that come my way, and I am glad to hear of the success others have had. I'd say we shouldn't get discouraged if we think we should do better, because everyone is on different waters, and/or with different timing and lots of other variables are at play. Good anglers still tend to do well over the course of a year if they fish enough on their regular waters, despite the inevitable tough times that all experience. But I've been fortunate enough to fish with you and other very capable anglers from this club and I'd say you are a darn good muskie fisher, right there with the rest of 'em. So a given year not showing the results we'd like is not a setback at all, it's just more reason to keep learning and go back after those stubborn biotches and fish 'em as smart and hard as we can again next year.
My biggest was a very fat 48", I would say 35#, that Scott (DetroitHardcore) nicknamed "Miss Piggy". She destroyed all three hooks on my Tallwacker (does that sound pornographic?) A 46.5 with a tumor the size of a tennis ball on it's face. A 21" smallie that hit like a runaway freight train. Didn't fish July, once in August and my hours to fish would probably be worse than anyones. But I don't think about it. I was happy with the year I had.
Didn't have a very good year compared to previous years, but still did okay and am going to come with out a vengeance next year! The year started off really well, but never really put things together after the long lay off from the hot water in late summer.
Total catch – 20
Average size – 39"
Biggest – 47" (on homemade bucktail)
Over 44" – 5
Definitely going to keep better records next year and am really going to pay attention to detail. Might even buy an underwater camera to really check out the lakes. I got stuck in a rut a couple of times in which I fished what I wanted to fish and not what the fish wanted. This will not happen next year!
Jason, I feel the same way, and made some of the same mistakes. That, coupled with too much work = one of the worst years of putting fish in my net. My new bumpboard still looks new. After seeing some of you guys' records, I feel like maybe I should be doing the same. Maybe I should start filling in more of the info into the Lunge Log.
Maybe what I should've been doing during the hot month that we had is do what Jason said. I should've just been out with my underwater camera and scoping out structure in the lakes I fish. Just leave the rods and home so I won't be tempted. I'll have to keep that in mind for the the next time we get some hot temps.
W e use the lunge log all the time. Its a great source of information. For instance last years women,s masters winner caught all of her fish on suckers. This was in November. Michelle had to fish in November and Live bait was the constant that put most of her fish in the net. From Indiana to Murray a 10 to 12 inch sucker is very effective. So we took a page out of someone elses book and applied it to our lakes and it worked great. Couple that with our earlier success trolling and all the fish we got casting lures it added up to our second best season ever. Casting,trolling, and using live bait. All great tactics that put fish in the boat. Mike
I myself was fortunate enough that I had the most "free" summer I've ever had. No girlfriend, no softball leagues, no golf leagues, nothing. The only thing keeping me from fishing at any time I wanted was my Mon-Fri 7-3:30 job. I am also blessed to have multiple lakes within 25 minutes away, and my "home" lake is only 2 miles from my door. Through keeping extremely detailed logs of the last few years I've realized there also seems to be very distinct patterns in my success/failures based on certain weather conditions for the lakes I fish. I know I over-think it at times, but I like to plan my fishing schedule based heavily on the weather. Having the freedom to pick and choose when to go around favorable weather/moon patterns has helped me tremendously. I know fish can be caught under any conditions at about any time but if not anything else it makes me feel more confident that I'm maximizing my time spent on the water. However, next year one of my goals is to not talk myself out of going just because the weather isn't what I want.
Everyones situations are different. Just like hunting it does no good to get caught up in comparing success/failure because there are just too many variables. It's all about doing the best you can with what you've got and having fun doing it.
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