Muskies over memorial weekend (and other fish too)

We headed up to the cabin in northern wisconsin on friday, got there about 430pm and went right out to the dock to do a little fishing.  Throwing a rainbow trout pattern rapala I had a hit, it ended up being a skinny 36 inch muskie with a very good "bar" pattern. Not a bad way to start off the weekend either!

a pretty, but skinny fish!

Later that night we went down to on of our favorite spots on the local river in search of some smallies and walleye.  I decided to use the fly fishing gear and I'm glad i did!  Right away i landed a nice smallie, then a few casts later i had another hit... it was a muskie! I was throwing an articulated black leech and using my 6wt. rod with 0x tippet.  I played him till i thought he was ready, then hopped in the water to try and grab him (we didnt have a net or anything to help me out)  I grabbed the leader and slowly pulled his head to might right so i could grab his tail with my other hand.  As i was reaching for his tail he gave one last big headshake, and the line broke, "my" muskie went swimming away with my fly.

An average northwoods smallie!

We kept fishing and caught quite a few more smallies and my dad even caught a fat little muskie, about 27inches, and we caught 5 walleye, including my personal best on a fly rod 22.5"

A fat little muskie

The next day we went to a private lake that my grandfather has property on looking for bass and pike in the shallows.  The day started off pretty good, then the rain came and we had to take a break in the cabin to let the weather pass.  At the end of the day (12pm-4:30pm) we caught exactly 50 fish, most were largemouth, a few smallmouth and pike.

We headed back to out cabin and had some dinner, then went back to the river for some evening fishing.  We caught more smallies, a couple more walleyes. This time we brought the net, just in case, and I'm glad we did, as just like the night before, i hooked into another muskie.  This one was BIG, and again on the 6wt. with a 3-4inch leech pattern that i often use for trout!
After a fierce battle we got him in the net, making it officially the first muskie i've landed on a fly! It was also one of the biggest muskies i had ever caught! Right about 48 inches (possibly even larger, we weren't that worried about exact measurements at the time)  It was a healthy 48 too!  All on a 6 wt rod too!

Finally, got one on the fly!

A BIG one on the fly!

The biggest fish I've ever caught on a fly rod!

The little leech that made it happen!

The next day was more of the same, smallies, walleyes, quite a few largemouth, and again a muskie!  My friend Brett was with us, and he had never caught a muskie before, so it was his turn!  We started off fishing for bass and walleye and were having decent luck then i hear brett yell from upstream, He yelled "MUSKIE!!!"  I grabbed the net and started running.  I got there to see another BIG fish, probably around 44inches on the end of his 8lbs mono spinning gear.   The fish took a long run, and he spit the hook.  So close to his first muskie!  Later that day he got a second chance, this time with a rod more suited for catching the toothy critters.  The fish missed several times first cast, then second cast he hit again and it was game on!  This time Brett won, and landed his first muskie ever!  It wasn't just any muskie either, it was a HUGE fish!  We taped it out in some grass in the water and it measure 47.5inches,  talk about a big first muskie!

Another first and PB of the weekend!

Another HUGE muskie!

Not a bad weekend!!
I'm currently working on another video, and it should be out pretty soon!
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