How to land a muskie?

[zbigbadaaron]

Well this weekend im going up to the Flambeau River were I have a nice muskie pin-pointed due to this muskie eating many of my smallies grrrrrr. So I am going to be bringing live suckers,high # test, and a leader. My question is how should I land it: net, gilling it, etc? And how should I fight it? Like letting it get tired, or just constant reeling?

[basser89]

bigbadaaron,

Are you fishing from shore or from a boat? I handle them differently depending on which I'm fishing from.

When I'm fishing for musky from shore, I have a Lindey glove (the orange one) and my Rapala grip with me. Whenever possible, I'll use the glove only as the grip can damage muskies (as a matter a fact, I've had a couple of rare encounters that I haven't been able to get the grip on the musky's lower jaw - BIG FISH!).

When fishing from the boat, I use a large net and my Lindey glove.

Fishing for them either way (boat or shore), you want to play them out some. It's not the best idea to try to handle one that to very green as they can be very unpredictable and you can possibly get hurt trying to handle them (example: get stuck with one of the hooks, which isn't a good experience, which I know first hand!). If you fight them too long and they stay belly up, it's harder to CPR them and their survival rate isn't as high (even if they eventually swim off, there's a chance they can still not survive). Make sure you have a LONG set of needenose pliers or a hookout tool to remove the hook(s) and even a a heavy duty pair of cutters. Hope this helps! If I (or anyone else) can answer any other questions, let me/us know.

Good luck and let us know how you do!

[bdiggy]

Nice piece of advise there! My buddies and I are headed out to Northern PA for 3 days of guided muskie fishing next weekend, so hopefully I can contribute to a thread such as this in the near future!

[Pitchinkid]

I landed a 50+ incher for Jimzee this year with bare hands and i dont recommend it at all. ID say those big krill nets or a minnow sane would work the best.

[basser89]

I've thought about the sane nets before myself. My only concern with them is if you're flying solo. Easy enough to lay the one side over the boat and lay the othe end in the water. The problem that I could see happening (with my luck) is reaching over to grab the end laying in the water to pick the fish up. If the ski decides to kick its head up, there's a chance of getting hooked (mostly concerned with baits with trebles). A question that I'd throw out there on the saning nets too. Would a regular sane net be durable enough to pull a 25-30lb plus musky out of the water? Not sure what those nets are rated for.  :-?

[J Francho]

Get a Fish Grip:

[basser89]

WOW!!!! You're a brave man! There's no way I'd attempt that move! I'd be swimming with the toothy critter for sure!  ;D

[Lucky Craft Man]

The best purchase I ever made for landing muskie was the Stowmaster Muskie Net.  This thing is pretty expensive for a net, but it is worth it's weight in gold when you have a "green" muskie on your line with 6/0 Treble hooks flying everywhere.  The Stowmaster folds up and you can get a carrying case with a strap, so if you are fishing from shore, you can carry it around.  Hand landing a muskie is risky business and I have used those cradles in the past, but you have to play the muskie out a little more to get it to go "willingly" in the cradle.  If you are planning on releasing the fish, I wouldn't recommend playing out the fish that long.

[J Francho]

WOW!!!! You're a brave man! There's no way I'd attempt that move! I'd be swimming with the toothy critter for sure! ;D

My boat is as stable as a bass boat - made to stand.

Seriously, get a Fish Grip, its $12, and it works: