Further North

There's not criticism here of the angler or the biologist, they absolutely did the best they could under the circumstances.

For sure? No. Would we bet on it? Of course we would. Red fish = Dead fish in the experience of every "lunatic musky hunter" I've seen comment on it. Again: Great fish, and this takes nothing form the achievement of the young anglers that caught it. The problems - the failures - are in the poor job we've done WRT angler education.

MMDV from that at all, in any way that could possibly matter. It's like the difference between hunting wild upland game birds and going to hunt club to chase poultry.

I'd be frustrated too. It kinda goes to what I posted about on that "record musky" topic: I really wish we spent more time and money on angler education. ...and I have a real problem with "giving license buyers what they paid for" with any species, fish, fowl, or critters.

I fill up the 42 gallon tank on my 18 1/2 ft. Crestliner once a season...twice if I go to Canada. ...and I fish 3 - 4 days a week. The big motor (a Suzuki DF140 with a Johnson cover on it - Johnzuki) runs maybe 15 minutes a day... I'm not terribly concerned about gas prices.

I wish that were true... They did do the best they could, which is all we can ask of anyone.

Good advice. For more than just jerk baits. I just sent in my annual order.

A few things: Congratulations are certainly due. Where was anyone criticizing him? He tried as hard as he could, and did what he thought was right. Anyone who thinks my posts were criticizing Mr. King either doesn't understand what I wrote...or is choosing to be offended for Mr. King. Evidence suggests (as evaluated by some of the most savvy musky guys in the US) that a fish that red...is a dead fish swimming. I'm sorry of that offends some people, but it is what it is. It makes sense that the state agency involved wants to shine the best possible light on the situation...even when they know they released a dying fish. It encourages C&R, and I would absolutely try to do the same thing. It sends the right message to others. this is a perfect example of...

Poor fish handling, when C&R is the goal. Places like BR help, and it's less common among people who frequent active fishing forums/pages...but there's still a lot of it out there. There's an on-going post on another forum's fishing page about this year's fishing pictures...lots of fish dragged up on sand, or up on the bank, vertical holds on big fish, bass held at the wrong angles...it's a fishing sub-forum on an upland hunting focused forum...so they probably don't know any better. It's always a touchy subject to bring up...because there's almost always someone who jumps on the person bringing it up for being some kind of elitist that doesn't think any fish should ever be killed...and there's always the "it swam away" bunch... There was a decent discussion of this fish on the FB Musky Fly Fishing page...and those guys see a ton of muskies...it was good because no one got angry or defensive about it, and recognized it as an opportunity to do a better job teaching proper techniques. Some fish are going to die when caught...it's a fact of life in our sport. We can increase the odds a lot of ways, and handling is one of the biggest impacts, when C&R is the goal.

It was...and I know better than to start a discussion on this... But again, while the one fish is important, it's the systemic issue that was the point...not the one fish...which seems to be the distraction people want to talk about.

Look at the picture. That is not a healthy fish. Anyone who spends any serious time chasing muskies knows this.

...again, not the point, and I've been clear about that.

The loss of this particular fish's DNA matters, but not as much as the systemic issue. We've all seen it, and will see it again this season with every species we fish for.

I saw that. It's a great dish. But I'm torn between celebrating that, and realizing that fish - and years worth of her incredibly important offspring - is lost to the fishery. That's not on those anglers, and I don't want to take way from their excitement, and accomplishment, but this is a a failure of a system that elevates records above the health of the resource and angler education. I cringe every time time I see a big Esox held vertically...dead fish swimming. Again...that's not on the anglers...they don't know, or most of them wouldn't do it... Sorry to go off on a tangent... 20 years + He'd have a new nickname if he did. "Lefty" if he lipped her right handed...

A basic question: Why do you feel like you need to see the fish? Look for and ID the structure the fish relate to and fish it. It'll pay off. Fishing isn't a video game. Don't get wrapped up in the images we see now and then that represent perfect conditions where we can see see our target fish, baitfish, and structure.

That'll work. ...and that's why I have steel leaders on most of my fly rods...

I thought so, seemed like too many coincidences. Dustin is a friend, and a great guy. He's helped me considerably with fly tying things over time, and we finally got to fish the same river back in October, and sit around and tell lies for a while. You got some killer flies there and you've got a great resource on the page for questions and help.

That's awesome...I thought I saw something like that transpiring on the FB Musky Fly Fishing Page. If you're the beneficiary of that, you're pretty well set. Keep an eye on the guides for wear, with the Reddington Predator rods, it's a certainty, and you don't want to lose a fish because of it. Watch the tip guide closely, and replace it as soon the wear is evident. Great observation; You're learning fast.

I don't fish jerkbaits at all for muskies. Most of the fish I catch with gear are in rivers, with a #5 Mepps, a 1 oz. Doctor Spoon, or a Smokin' Rooster texas rigged over wire. Almost all the rest are on flies. I doubt that helps much, but it's the information I have.

I think that's the one I have. It probably hasn't changed much... ?

Thanks - I didn't find that info when I searched.

Finally going back to LOTW this summer...I hope. I have older versions of the map chips LOTW, and went to look for new ones, but don't see them listed on HB's website? Did they get discontinued? Added to the MN chip? Thanks in advance for any info.

With the exception of very lightly weighted flies...same here. When a "fly" becomes heavy enough to throw with gear, it's a jig in my head...and I throw it with gear. I don't see any reason to throw it on a fly line...there's no benefit, for me. I also have a few rods set up for BFS...for the same reason.

Your application (single rod wading) make sense. I almost never do that. I'm either in a drift boat on a river, or a bigger boat on a lake...so I;ve almost always got more than one rod. Some variation of the Belgian cast - a continuous tension cast that comes back low and goes out high - helps to not break rods...but sooner or later I'll either forget...or the wind'll foul me up... Thanks...that's an FNF material, very similar to the FNF Creeper I used on my flies above. I"ll get some on order. I'd love to see pictures of that process...I think I understand it, but I'm not sure. What I was doing, on the Ned Rig flies, was tying in about an inch of FNF Creeper at the back of the jig hook, then tying in another hunk of it...advancing the thread to the eye, wrapping the FNF Creeper forward to the bead, whip finishing, and done. They take about a minute... The "Senko" flies are three strands of FNF Creeper Braided together...the material you're using might work better for this... ...and if you're not already using these, give them a try: https://www.feather-craft.com/empty-chenille-spools-6-pack