From: 08/30/2017
To: 08/30/2017
Type of Water: Freshwater
Species: Muskie
Wednesday August 30, Sunny with daytime temperature of high 77deg and low temperature of 72deg. This particular watershed is an outflow of a local reservoir and it has a soft silty bottom so the water clarity is always minimal at best. This day was on the better end of that discolored water spectrum.
I started fishing around 9:30 am ET on a stretch of water that is known to hold some Musky. This particular spot has some deep pools with some thick weed lines that the fish like to hold in. I always like to start off using Tony Sandrones 12" Kraken in Perch color. This fly has the "slim wiggle tail" on it and it usually will attract any active Musky into at least checking it out. I worked my fly on the edges of the deep water weed lines, making sure not to miss a single possible hiding View more...Wednesday August 30, Sunny with daytime temperature of high 77deg and low temperature of 72deg. This particular watershed is an outflow of a local reservoir and it has a soft silty bottom so the water clarity is always minimal at best. This day was on the better end of that discolored water spectrum.
I started fishing around 9:30 am ET on a stretch of water that is known to hold some Musky. This particular spot has some deep pools with some thick weed lines that the fish like to hold in. I always like to start off using Tony Sandrones 12" Kraken in Perch color. This fly has the "slim wiggle tail" on it and it usually will attract any active Musky into at least checking it out. I worked my fly on the edges of the deep water weed lines, making sure not to miss a single possible hiding spot. But after a few hours of no action I continued downstream to the next spot.
This next stretch is the best spot on this particular waterway. It has all the essentials that a big Musky needs to call home. It has beaver dams, blow downs, and lots of deep slow moving water and eddies. My Musky partner Andrew caught a 42" beauty here a few weeks prior along with many many follows. So this is "the spot" and we spend a great deal of time fishing it.
I started at the head of the pool, casting my fly at the opposite stream bank at a collection of stream debris...stripping my fly back through the deep water of the pool. After countless casts I move downstream to a series of blown down trees and continue my routine. I fish my way down through the 200 yard section without moving a fish let alone getting one to hit. It was time for a fly change..
I quickly tie on my next fly, Tony Sandrones 9" Beast Style Game Changer in Firetiger color. I start fishing the bottom of the pool and working my way back up to the head. I target an over hanging tree branch that happens to be next to a beaver dam. I place my fly behind the overhang and against the edge of the beaver dam and start my strip. My fly gets a foot past the overhang and I see the large dark shape of a 40" Musky following behind. I accelerate my strip retrieve to illicit a strike but the fish just follows my fly without taking before turning off to deep water. The frustrations of Musky fishing!
Was this my success for the day?? Should I be happy with just getting a fish to follow??? Heck no!! I wanted to catch one so I pressed onward. I moved upstream and continued to fish all the same hiding spots with the new fly that I hit previously. Hours passed and I had no more follows. With doubt and frustration creeping in I made another fly change.
This time I change to Tony Sandrones 9" Beast Style Game Changer in Perch color. I really like the way this fly looks in the water and I have caught some Bowfin on it and I had a lot of Musky follows and misses so it is definitely a confidence fly for me...which I needed at this point in time...confidence!
I started casting to the opposite stream bank again, targeting some blown down trees and stripping my fly back through the deep water. I don't remember the exact number of casts but it wasn't many, when she exploded 3' away from me taking my fly like a Great White Shark taking a baby Seal off the top of the water. I'm not sure if she followed my fly from the opposite bank and then decided to eat it or if she was laying that close already but I was hooked up. I strip set hard 5-6 times to ensure I wasn't going to lose her like the last 3 fish that took my flies.
I quickly got my line to my reel and I pulled her close...at which point she still didn't know she was hooked. I got her a few feet away and that's when I knew I had a brute on the end of my line and also when she knew she was in trouble. She turned and ran to deep water and after feeling the pressure of my rod decided to jump and somersault out of the water in an effort to lose the fly. What an incredible site!! It will be forever emblazoned into my mind. She Jumped several more times before I could get her to the bank. After a few quick pictures I made sure she was revived properly and I then released her back to her lair. What a day filled with ups and downs but isn't that what Fly fishing for Musky is all about??
