And Now For A Fish Story ...

[Don Wittenberger]

I never did get around to posting fishing reports for our 2007 Merwin Lake Fall Muskie Camp. We started late this year because all 3 of us (me, Tony Welch, and our host Mike Nielsen) were tied up earlier in the month, so the Muskie Camp started on Sept. 14 last year. About 4 p.m. that afternoon, I hooked my best fish of 2007.

It took a shallow-running crankbait near logs close to shore. As I always do with big fish hooked in cover, I muscled him into deeper water to keep him away from the logs. That's why I don't like light tackle -- big fish, shallow water, and logs call for the ol' Warn 8000-lb. winch. Muskies typically don't react immediately to being hooked; you've usually got 3 or 4 seconds to drag him clear of the cover before he starts to fight, and if you want to consistently land big fish you'll learn to make full use of that brief period of time to get your fish out of the cover and into clear water.

After playing her for a while, I brought him to the boat. She was well hooked, so I wasn't too concerned about landing her, and instructed Mike to use the cradle. Yep, I had my shiny new Frabill cradle in the boat, and I wanted to try it out. I want to make it absolutely clear that what happened next was a result of my own stupidity and in no way Mike's fault. Let's just say if you want to try landing fish with a cradle, you should practice on little ones first. This fish was (I thought) around 46 to 48 inches and over 25 lbs. I slowly led it head-first into the cradle.

The fish decided she wanted no part of that contraption, and came completely out of the water and tail-walked. She was almost vertical, her body straight as a baseball bat, thrashing the water to a white froth with spray flying everywhere. I counted 5 tail thrusts before she fell back into the lake, and I would say she had 95% of her body out of the water for at least 10 seconds. Unfortunately, she fell away from the boat, at a right angle to me, and when she did my 30# mono line popped like thread.

I wasn't too happy about losing the lure, because it was my hot lure of the entire 2007 season, and I didn't have another one in that size. For the rest of the Fall Musky Camp, I had to use light tackle to throw my smaller copy. Plus, Rollie's doesn't sell that color anymore, and it's becoming hard to get.

Now enter a young man from Yakima named Tyler Perryman. We met him on Merwin Lake paddling his kayak along the shoreline. Before I proceed further with this story, let me explain that it is my understanding that Chapter 57 awarded its "Angler of the Year" award to one of our members who caught something like 15 muskies last year. When we ran into Tyler, he told us he already had caught and released over 40 fish for the season, and that was only mid-September. In other words, a guy who fishes Merwin Lake from a kayak probably caught 3 times as many tiger muskies last year as our club's top angler. That may deflate a few egos around here, but hey, humility is a good thing -- it must be, because anything that expensive must be good.

Can I verify his story? No, but I'm gonna vouch for him, and I'll tell you why. He caught my big fish about a week later, that's why. How can I prove it? Because Tyler contacted me and told me he had my lure. It must have worked loose, because he said it was stuck in the fish's gill cover, and I know that fish was hooked in the mouth. Needless to say, the hooks were straightened out. The leader and broken line were still attached.

Anyway, Tyler dropped the lure off with a friend of mine who works in Yakima, and I'll retrieve it next time I go over to Ellensburg (where my friend lives). There's absolutely no doubt it's the same one I lost in that big fish. What are the chances of another angler catching the same fish a week later? It's pretty improbable unless that angler is catching a lot of fish. I have no reason to question his figure of 40+ muskies, and the fact he caught the one with my lure in it is proof enough for me.

We ought to get this young man to join our club, because it appears he could teach all of us a few things about catching muskies.

By the way, many of you know that my wife and I lost our dog on Valentine's Day. Sadly, my friend Tom in Ellensburg lost both of his dogs in January, including the opera singer. Yes, his dog could sing. I posted a little story about it here (under the screen name I've used for years on that board). http://www.walleyecentral.com/dc/dcboar ... ype=search

[muskie guy]

Hey Don, good story. Do you prefer mono all year? When I've been to Merwin the water was very clear. What happens to water clarity through a normal year? During the Muskies Inc. tourney this year will the water have become stained or turbid?

[A9]

Thanks for sharing. Sweet story...

[fishnislife]

That is a great story. Publishable material for sure. Thanks for sharing.



fishnislife

[kevinb]

Good story. Is that a secret lure? Sorry to hear about your dog. Talk to you later.




Kevin

[Toni]

Thank you for the great story. Sorry about your loss.

[AdsBot [Google]]

Thank you for the great story. Sorry about your loss.

I echo the loss. That's tragic...like losing a family member. Thanks for sharing your story, too. A very good tale to tell at a bondfire pre-funk fish party with lots of smores and beer

[Don Wittenberger]

>Hey Don, good story. Do you prefer mono all year? When I've been to Merwin the water was very clear. What happens to water clarity through a normal year? During the Muskies Inc. tourney this year will the water have become stained or turbid?<

Merwin's water generally is very clear and you often can see the bottom 20 to 25 feet down when the surface is calm. The last couple of winters, developer activity on a hillside above the lake has resulted in winter rains washing mud into the lake, making the water opaque at times with visibility of only 2 or 3 feet. However, because Merwin is a power reservoir, water is continually flowing through the lake and the water clears fairly quickly after the rains stop. Even though there was a lot of silt in the lake last spring, the water was clear last summer and fall. I think you should plan on clear water for the tourney.

I've experimented with different lines, in particular 80# superbraid (which is very popular in the midwest, where many lakes have stained water), have a reel or two spooled with superbraid, but I went back to using 30-lb. test Cortland Musky Mono. On the reel, it's color is black, but it almost disappears in the water -- not quite as good as flourocarbon, but close. While this is subjective, I tend to think Merwin's (and Mayfield's) muskies are spooked by visible line and I get more hits on the Cortland. I'm also used to casting it. Musky Mono is available from Rollie's in tests of 17, 20, 25, and 30 lbs. I have used all these weights but had fish break off the lighter lines and I pretty much use 25 and 30 exclusively now for Merwin because of all the logs there.

[Deadeyemark]

Don,
If you look at the Lk Tapps pictures on our web site, you'll see Miles holding a 40"er he caught. It has two deformed gill plates. The next weekend was our Chapter musky tournament on Lk Tapps and I caught that same fish. It's pic is on the web site also. Same deformed gill plates. Caught both times in the same area.