Tom Gelb with another late fall row trolling fish. He tried to release her but she wouldn't go.
"><url url="[Permission to view this media is denied]<url url="[Permission to view this media is denied]
"><link_text text="[Permission to view this media is denied] … entkf3.jpg">[Permission to view this media is denied]
” alt=”
"><link_text text="[Permission to view this media is denied] … entkf3.jpg">[Permission to view this media is denied]
” />
"Scott Williams" said:
Is it just me or is it a little ironic that he's standing in front of a LAX sign?
No more ironic than the fact that he's standing there with Rick Lax in the lower left photo. LMAO.
Seriously though…. Lax mounted the fish he kept last year and I'm sure he wanted him to get this fish too after it died on him. I'll bet Lax will make a few molds from this fish too.
This was posted by his son on other sites:
from the email, subject: the bad and the good news:
The Bad news is that it died.
The good news is that I caught it.
So here is the story.
Caught about noon on Tues, 11-27- 07
Three days after the full moon and about 1:20 hour after moon set.
Weather: Wind gusting to 24 mph, snow and 12 degrees air temp
Fish hit an 8” Tuff Shad- silver scale and black.
The lure was 16 feet down over about 34 feet H20.
Weighed at Eagle Sports scale 47 1/4 # 52 ¼” Length 27 ½ “ girth
Weighed at Lax certified scale 48 # 52 ¾ “ Length 27 ½ “ girth
The fish fought very hard and was hard to get in as the boat was blowing with the wind. I could tell it was big. Very good fight. But when I got it to the boat, the front (7/0) treble was completely in her mouth. The jaws were pined shut, 2 points in the bottom and one in the top. At boat side and it was beat and fairly still. But I could not get the hooks loose, a spreader did nothing and I could not get at the hooks to cut them. So I had to put her in the net, which I guess was a bad move. Finally got the head up and finally some of the twisting had exposed one of the hooks. After lots of trouble I managed to cut one of the hooks out. (I have lost most of the strength in my hands, so it was really hard to cut them.) I finally managed to get the other two cut and the bait out.
I tried to hold her upright, but she was really to long for the net. So I got the net out and tried to hold her upright at boat side. This didn’t really work as the boat was blowing downwind crossways and I could not hold her head first and was dragging her backwards. I finally got her along the boat on the down wind side, but she would not stay upright. She got away from me twice and just floated on her side. I had to row back up wind to get her. I finally drifted to shore and got out. She was whipped and didn’t even move. I held her upright and tried to get her moving, but at that point she was almost gone. I probably spent another 20 minutes and could not get her upright.
All this took to about 2:00. I finally gave up and put her in the boat, with lots of trouble.
If someone had been with me to hold the boat, I probably could have save her, but no such luck.
I know I am going to take a bunch of heat on the Musky message boards. But I tried as best I could to get her revived. I don’t need another mount!
So last year's pig died as well as this one… that is too hard for me to believe. I'm sure I haven't caught as many fish as this guy but I've caught enough to know that very few will just belly up in cold water if you take the proper precautions. In fact, I've never had one belly up period. Not saying I've never killed one via delayed mortality but have never had one just role over and give up in my hands.
I hope this isn't being to critical but, come on… two real big fish that both had to come to shore… seems there must be a reason.
John, put yourself in a row boat, 12 degrees, snow and wind gusting to 24 mph and you by yourself! When I'm up there in the fall I've watched 2 guy's in a row boat doing this with six bobbers out with suckers. All I can think about is a fish hitting one of those lines and it's got to be a absolute chinese fire drill to get those other lines in. It's pretty neat to see these guy's doing this. Steve
Steve S.,
That is why I wouldn't run six lines or put myself in any position so I couldn't land a fish with proper care. Sometimes things can get really chaotic when you are by yourself but I've never had one just die because of it. I live in the UP and fish in some wild areas and conditions by myself and seem to find away to keep all of them swimming away from the boat. I guess I am pretty narrow minded when people tell me the reason that they are keeping a fish… I just see their reasons as bad excuses normally. I feel that a huge percentage of the time that killing fish can be prevented. Whether it be fighting fish to the net quicker, cutting hooks, not using excessive hooks, less time out of the water… a lot can be done. In this instance, maybe he should have had a way to get the fish netted quicker. Maybe it just kicked the bucket… I don't know.
This is just my ignorant opinion, and I'm not trying to crucify Old Tom, but what are the odds you think that even if that geezer had someone with him, his orders to the net man might sound something like "Not yet- she's too GREEN!!!"
That stinkin line of crap is one of my pet peeves… you bought a net the size of Louis Spray's boat, you do not need to tire the fish out so she's still enough to take a crack at with your revolver anymore!!!!
Duke – and here I thought I was the biggest cynic on earth [smilie=brickwall.gif] …. I would just once like to see someone own their behavior ie "I went out under geared and I overplayed the fish and it died. It happens so get over it." With the size of that fish and the relative growth rates was it really gong to get much bigger or do much more spawning? I think that as a skin mount it could be used to promote reproductions and CPR so that more fish of the size it is could be cultured. Im all for CPR but here is a guy who has NOT harvested many large fish does he really deserve to be punished by the Musky community at large?
(BTW not targeting any comments here just editorializing in general)
Kevin
57
14
1 Guest(s)