My son sent me that link yesterday, I think. I have read of cheating back in the early days of musky fishing back in the 40's and earlier. There are many books on the subject. Guys put anything inside the fish to make them weigh more including, obviously, lead fishing weights, ice - which would disappear, other baitfish, all sorts of things.
I was really shocked to see that link. I thought that stuff was ancient history. It is hard to believe that it still goes on today and it's hard to believe that the crowd didn't take care of them.
Glad they were caught. Should be banned from any future tournaments, any past winnings returned, and hopefully the awards given to whomever rightfully won the tournament (s).
Thanks for sharing. I did share that with one of the authors of one of the musky history books about the past musky crimes. It sounds like a good chapter for a new book.
Great stories!!! I love the Old West stories.
Thank you!!!
Thanks for the story, RJS. We were all having RJS withdrawals when you were gone.
Thank you trying to catch us back up!!!
I love the Old West stuff. Is there any local legend about the way Johnny Ringo died besides what we see on YouTube or the movies.
Thanks again.
Have a good day.
So good to have you back!!! And a powerful story and so true!
Kids can be so brilliant!
God Bless you RJS and all of our Stage friends.
Have a good weekend!
I love Ladyfish!!! Ladyfish on light tackle is a gas. And being only a sport fisherman, I really enjoy catching them when I have to be in Florida for some reason. I keep a rod ready to go for the ladyfish that collapses into a case that I can take on a plane easily. I pretty much fish only for Muskies, Northerns, Pickerel, Ladyfish, barracuda, and I love the giant smallies that we catch 'accidentally' while musky fishing. And we let 'em all go to let them all grow.
Sorry to ramble. But for sport, ladyfish don't get enough attention. Little lightning bolts that hit your lures!!
GOOD to have RJS back in some capacity!!!
Thank you for sharing!!
Thanks for sharing. Those types of situations are ones that have details that we seem to never forget.
They just seem to always remain vivid because it is so 'serious' or we are on high alert.
I don't know how to verbalize it exactly.
Powerful story RJ.
Thank you.
Amen Slimshady. I skip through the fishing stuff and if there's nothing that pertains to my fishing or my areas of fishing interest, I race down to this section to see if RJ has a story to read. Great stories.
Thanks RJS.
Just Sayin.
Wow RJS! Thanks for sharing another great story. I am as white as white can be but have just bought a small cabin in Northern Wisconsin near Hayward in the heart of Musky country there. I agree that we really can't go back. And I believe things are slowly getting better for our Native American or First Nation brothers and sisters. I have many friends up there that are Native and I attend the Pow Wows, etc. But I still see plenty of racism toward these people.
That is not right. We hear all about racism every day in the news, but rarely are these folks considered in those discussions. We just all have to do our part and help to make that go away someday.
Regardless, RJS. I love your tales.
Take care. God Bless.
Cool thing to share RJS! It might have been a dream or a vision and I don't think it matters which one.
I'm sure it was a true vision that came to you in that way.
I'm sure it is very real.
God Bless.
Wow!!!! That's a crowd pleaser! Well done! Absolutely a great catch! Fly fishing for muskies is, for sure, a tactic not that often used and it should be. And the bonus as you said about musky fishing is that we always get good smallmouth action while waiting for the muskies to wake up. There are some that tie flies for them and add a little extra weight to the fly to allow for spincasting them. That's for folks that are not good with the fly rod. But the rise and fall technique seems to work very well. And not related at all, but I bought some really strange lures from an older gentleman that had an outdoor booth at the Apple Fest in Charlevoix Michigan. He makes the lure out of literally wine bottle corks. But the are painted and they really don't look like corks. The lures are with an imagination similar to a floating bucktail with spinners on them. The one I was using had a chatter bait style lip on the front. Regardless, when fishing with my son, I throw very weird stuff with the idea to try out the new stuff and to hopefully have him catch more of the muskies. I just want him to have a good time and catch as much as he can. I was throwing the cork lure over a weed bed. I had a very good sized smallmouth jump from the water to grab the lure before it hit the water. I'm not affiliated with the man who makes the lures. And I think it is just a one retired guy operation. I think they are called Corker Bait Works, if anyone wants to see what they look like or to try one. Sorry for the long story. But I love it when fish do that. Weird lures though. I haven't caught a musky on that lure yet. I am not sure how it will handle the teeth. But we will find out.
Thank you for sharing the photo.
Take care.
Hey Bud! I am a Musky fanatic, which might be an understatement. I have caught lots of Muskies. Never on a fly.
But I can tell you this. A friend of mine that also fishes the Chippewa Flowage in Wisconsin, catches muskies there when no one else can get any action. He fly fishes for them exclusively. He caught the largest fish the week we were there last year in September. My son caught a 26" and a 37" musky.
The fly fisherman, Stefan, caught a 45" musky. And the muskies were not very active that week at all.
It is brilliant to fly fish for them. It is a subtle presentation that seems to always work well. It is generally a slower presentation. So, on a very large lake, you really have to pick your spots wisely.
I actually bought a cabin up there in January to fish up there more often and to be able to keep my gear up there.
It has gotten ridiculous toting several large tackle boxes up there every time I go.
Good Luck. Please share some photos of your catches.
I would love to see them.
I gave up on foot warmers and bought Baffin Selkirk boots. They are good down to -94 degrees F. I'm diabetic and love snowmobiling and ice fishing. These boots are big and bulky, though. They do have other varieties of boots that are good to -40 and even some good to -147 (I think). I'm afraid those might be too bulky for ice fishing though. There are other good brands out there too. These were just the easiest to figure on the right boots for me. I bought my daughter the -40 boots. She loves them. But other than that, I agree with Slimshady. You could get by just fine with good insulation in your shanty or anyway to keep your feet from the cold floor.
Good Luck.