Silver Lake Muskie

[Anonymous]

I just happened to run into Musky Guy tonight on Silver. I'll leave it to him to post his report and share the detials of his day but here are the pics I was able to take:

[Deadeyemark]

Nice pics.
Nice to see that fish left in the water during the hook removal.
Way ta go Musky Guy.
I put a styrofoam bobber on a short lanyard on my jaw spreader just in case. Did the same on my hook cutters.
Congrats on a nice fish.

[Aaron]

Hahaha... bobber in the cutters... love it.

His pliers found their way to the bottom of the lake on this one. He had to borrow mine. That's a great idea.

[Deadeyemark]

Aaron,
Obviously you know what I'm talking about. A large split ring is an easy way to attach a little nylon lanyard to most anything and then through the middle of one of those large bright colored styrofoam floats. Test it in the shallows to make sure it's big enough to float the item it's attached to.
Right now my cutters have a lanyard attached that I put around my wrist. Either way, ya gotta do something.
Laugh at Musky Guy

[Aaron]

Well... we don't need to laugh at him.. we can laugh with him. He was having a VERY difficult time with that fish.. he was hooked up pretty good. It was a race to see if he could get the hook out before the fish died. The only time the Muskie came out of the water was for a second or two for the photo then he was sent on his way.

[hewesfisher]

Yes, Aaron, very nice pics indeed. I've caught three Tigers at Silver, all on light tackle with a crappie jig and that's no fish story. The biggest was 34" and the other two were 24" - 28" and none of them cut my 6lb test line. The biggest took me 20 mins to get in the boat, because I didn't want to break the line. It took 5 - 10 mins to get the fish close enough to the surface to see what it was, and then it went back down twice after that. It was too big to net so I did my best to get it in the boat. It was properly rescusitated and released primarily because I was uncertain as to the legal length.

Frankly, there is a lot of fuss being made over Tigers, and of the ones I've caught, none were anything spectacular on the other end of the line, more like a dead weight trying to be pulled to the surface. I get more fight from a decent sized perch or crappie. I think the mystique these fish hold is more their size and teeth than anything else. I do, however, think they are a cool looking fish.

I'm surprised at how lethargic they seem to be when compared to the Northern Pike I caught in Alasaka. They fought like no tomorrow, and some of the smaller ones fought so hard you would think they were monsters until you got them in the boat. I caught several 36"+ Northern's while there and my personal record is a 44" monster that now has a permanent place on the wall. I set a goal, and it was a minimum of 40". Several 36" - 38" almost went to the taxidermist because they were absolutely huge pigs, but I held out and lucked out. Mounting cost me $10/inch in 1993 - ouch!

Anyway, thanks for the great pics!

[Don Wittenberger]

"It was a race to see if he could get the hook out before the fish died."

I would cut the hooks in that situation.

[Aaron]

"It was a race to see if he could get the hook out before the fish died."

I would cut the hooks in that situation.

I was really hoping that Musky Guy would be here by now responding to all of this... but...

That's exactly how he lost his tool in the lake. He had cut the hook already and was trying to retrieve the lure when the pliers went swimming.

[Deadeyemark]

Yes, Aaron, very nice pics indeed. I've caught three Tigers at Silver, all on light tackle with a crappie jig and that's no fish story. The biggest was 34" and the other two were 24" - 28" and none of them cut my 6lb test line. The biggest took me 20 mins to get in the boat, because I didn't want to break the line. It took 5 - 10 mins to get the fish close enough to the surface to see what it was, and then it went back down twice after that. It was too big to net so I did my best to get it in the boat. It was properly rescusitated and released primarily because I was uncertain as to the legal length.

Frankly, there is a lot of fuss being made over Tigers, and of the ones I've caught, none were anything spectacular on the other end of the line, more like a dead weight trying to be pulled to the surface. I get more fight from a decent sized perch or crappie. I think the mystique these fish hold is more their size and teeth than anything else. I do, however, think they are a cool looking fish.

I'm surprised at how lethargic they seem to be when compared to the Northern Pike I caught in Alasaka. They fought like no tomorrow, and some of the smaller ones fought so hard you would think they were monsters until you got them in the boat. I caught several 36"+ Northern's while there and my personal record is a 44" monster that now has a permanent place on the wall. I set a goal, and it was a minimum of 40". Several 36" - 38" almost went to the taxidermist because they were absolutely huge pigs, but I held out and lucked out. Mounting cost me $10/inch in 1993 - ouch!

Anyway, thanks for the great pics!

hewesfisher,
Congrats on the big northerns. They are fun and the small to midsize ones also eat pretty good. Beer battered and deep fried is my favorite.
As far as mounting goes, a fiberglass or graphite reproduction is the way to go. Just as real as skin but without the restrictions or maintenance plus the fish is released to thrill someone else and pass some trophy genes along for our kids and their kids to enjoy.
Fighting ability: My opinion(and it's just that)is that since these fish are basically hatchery raised untill they're about 14" long and only living with others of the exact same size with no predators or having to compete for food, they do not develope the survival instincts and fighting ability untill they've been in the lake for a couple of years. I've had some come right to the boat and others that you wondered if they were ever going to come in. Either way, they're the top of the food chain in our freshwater lakes.
Sounds like Musky Guy did it right. I met him the other nite at the chapter meeting so I wanted to tease him about losing his pliers. Seems like a nice guy and a good fisherman. Glad to see him passing on the thrill. Congrats again Musky Guy.
As far as eating them, they are not very good eating. Growing up in northern WI, I've eaten my share growing up but they were usually not even fished for if we were after a meal and for good reason.
Release them all. Keep a few crappies and perch for table fare. They'll eat much better. Besides, tiger muskies are sterile and once taken out of the lake, are gone forever.

[Don Wittenberger]

Rollie's sells a pair of floating pliers but the catalog blurb doesn't say whether they'll cut hooks.

[hewesfisher]

hewesfisher,
Congrats on the big northerns. They are fun and the small to midsize ones also eat pretty good. Beer battered and deep fried is my favorite.
As far as mounting goes, a fiberglass or graphite reproduction is the way to go. Just as real as skin but without the restrictions or maintenance plus the fish is released to thrill someone else and pass some trophy genes along for our kids and their kids to enjoy.
Fighting ability: My opinion(and it's just that)is that since these fish are basically hatchery raised untill they're about 14" long and only living with others of the exact same size with no predators or having to compete for food, they do not develope the survival instincts and fighting ability untill they've been in the lake for a couple of years. I've had some come right to the boat and others that you wondered if they were ever going to come in. Either way, they're the top of the food chain in our freshwater lakes.
Sounds like Musky Guy did it right. I met him the other nite at the chapter meeting so I wanted to tease him about losing his pliers. Seems like a nice guy and a good fisherman. Glad to see him passing on the thrill. Congrats again Musky Guy.
As far as eating them, they are not very good eating. Growing up in northern WI, I've eaten my share growing up but they were usually not even fished for if we were after a meal and for good reason.
Release them all. Keep a few crappies and perch for table fare. They'll eat much better. Besides, tiger muskies are sterile and once taken out of the lake, are gone forever.

Thanks for your input and I agree with you on beer battered and deep fried pike, it's awesome.=d>

My Northern was mounted by Hunter Fisher Taxidermy in Anchorage, and they offered to do a fiberglass mount, but I wasn't sure if that's what I wanted. Cost was the same either way, and I had frozen the whole pike as soon as we got back from the outing. My boss was along that same day and he also caught a 44" Northern in the exact same spot almost an hour after mine. While I can appreciate the thought of releasing a trophy to pass its genes on and to let others enjoy the thrill of catching, I was in a very remote section of the Alaskan interior where sport fishing is virtually non-existent. Keeping or releasing a pike there wouldn't really matter in the big scheme of things. I was fishing the sloughs and streams off the Yukon River in the vicinity of Galena, AK. At the time, I was stationed there with the USAF and had a blast with outdoor recreation. Nothing like fishing at 11:00pm with daylight like it is at 5:00pm!!!

I suspect you're right about why the fight isn't as aggressive as the Northerns I caught in AK. I attributed it to the Northern/Musky cross and its resulting sterility.

We always keep perch & legal sized crappie for table fare, and after landing a few of the Tigers there's no worry about me keeping one for that reason and since I already have a Northern on the wall, I won't ever mount a Tiger.

I now have a camera on my boat at all times, so next time I catch a Tiger while crappie/blugill/perch fishing I'll be able post a picture. =p~

[bad esox]

Hey Muskie Guy,

Excellent fish!!!! Nice release... I want to say it was a pleasure to meet with you, and your wife, at the last Muskies Inc. meeting. How was your trip home? Did you get that boat you were looking at? You are a "class act" my friend. Thanks for everything you are doing for our sport over there on the "East" side. I hope to see you soon, ether on the water, or at a meeting. We will always have room for you over here also if you wish to fish with us.

Thanks for making the trip:) It is always good to make a new friend(s).

[muskie guy]

Hey guys; I was glad to meet all of you and it was well worth the gas prices! I thank Aaron for tossing up those pics. Now I've got some pics that didn't come from a camera phone, thanks Aaron!

And I've got to attach a float to my cutters and new longnosed pliers, thanks Mark. Should have done that long ago. I like the mini bolt cutters I have and I don't want to lose them. I use them without hesitation, it's far easier to replace hooks then tigers.

As far as fight goes, I would agree with Mark again. This fish did 2 big jumps and was bulldogin' like crazy. I was using one of my heavy set-ups and it still ran me around the boat, great time.

I always check the solunar tables too. I noticed the moonrise time was 3:30 pm on the 26th so I wanted to be on the water by noon. It was a very busy day on the lake, there had been 5 or 6 boats fishing in the spot where I caught this muskie and pleaseure boaters were up and down all afternoon. Even with all this pressure I had 2 fallows during the moonrise hour. One of them was this fish. I came back after the skiers were gone and fishermen had moved off at 7:30 pm. I'm a big believer in fishing the moonrise and set times, especially when they occur during sunset and rise. Like on the 30th and 31st of May. I'll be fishing one of these days for sure!

Again, it was a really pleasure to meet you all. See you at the next meeting.

[bustin]

Awesome thread and again great pictures Aaron. I have fished Silver a few times from the bank, but never have seen a Musky in person it would be awesome I am sure.

[Wilkstr]

Again, nice fish muskie guy.
I realize this is the muskie section, but I was wondering if anyone has any info on bass in this lake. I figured since you guys are out there fishing muskie you might have a report… I will be out on the water today, maybe at silver. I would love to catch a muskie, but I will most likely throw my some of my heavy bass & pike gear with steel leader… maybe I’ll get lucky.
Today I will primarily be after bass. – Thanks --don’t mean to be off topic, just looking for a report from someone that knows the lake.

[muskie guy]

The bass are in the shore line wood, active fish are on top and inactive will be down by the base. Down south they are barried in the weeds. I've been told a jig and pig is the best bait for bass on this lake. But I know from experience that they like rainbow trout swimbaits like the "Charlie" by megabaits. Hope to see you out there Wilkstr!

[Riverman]

Beautiful fish, congratulations. Glad to see this fish will live to see another day.

Jed V.
Bikini Bait Co.

[Wilkstr]

The bass are in the shore line wood, active fish are on top and inactive will be down by the base. Down south they are barried in the weeds. I've been told a jig and pig is the best bait for bass on this lake. But I know from experience that they like rainbow trout swimbaits like the "Charlie" by megabaits. Hope to see you out there Wilkstr!

Well, unfortunately I didn’t make it out there. We went to Downs instead…. Why I don’t know. Didn’t catch any bass but a few trout (see report)
I guarantee you will see me out there soon lookin’ for bass – maybe I’ll get lucky and pick up a muskie. Thanks for all the great info.