46 inch muskie bass fishing!

[Bassboss]

Yesterday took the boat out just to get it off the trailer so my dad could work on the trailer lights. Lets just say it proved fruitful!

Started out throwing a beaver around the dam which is usually good for a fish or two but came up with nothing. Headed over to an swampy island with lots of good laydowns around with weedy cover to boot. Switched out my 3/16 oz weight for a 3/8 oz weight and got the sucker to plummet to the bottom when I got it right outside the weed clumps. Got one hit right off the bat buck couldn't get it stuck! Moved down the shoreline and pitched the beaver through pockets in the weeds for a while but didn't hook up.

Put the trolling motor on 5 and headed to some open water so I could take a look in my tackle box and decide where I wanted to go next. I tied on a weightless t-rigged 5-3/8" BPS Stick-O and motored up the lake to a shore line that's really good in the spring before the weeds get to thick. Another good shore line is right across the river channel so I would'nt have to go far to go to another spot if it didn't produce. With all the rain we've had it made the area little more navigable as well.

After fishing the 30 yards of shore line and coming up empty handed, I crossed the river channel by the train track bridge where where we catch bull heads to the next shore line. I get past a dock where I usually always catch one and nothing. I head down a little ways and notice a small, 3" stick sticking up out of the water in about 8 feet of water. I take a cast over by it next to shore line.

Without even feeling a tap, my line drifts over to the right about 4 feet. I reel up the slack a jar the hook set hopping for my first bass of the day. Immediately I see a huge flash and can see it's no bass I've hooked into. I can a muskie down there thrashing it whole body trying to shake the hook. Right off the bat I start shaking realizing what I've just hooked into. The fish surges for deeper water off the back of the boat... I jump from the small casting platform and fallow the fish to the back of the boat trying to keep my line out of my outboard prop.

The fish circles around the boat, all the while thrashing around and running while stripping sticky drag from my Daiwa Advantage with 15lb P-line Fluoroclear. The fish comes and swims on the the surface with half it's back sticking out of the water. Here's when I realize how big this thing is! It loops back around the boat and with one hand I tilt the motor out of the water hold my rod with one hand hoping I can keep the line tight enough.

What seemed like ten minutes pass and I finally get the fish close enough to start thinking about landing it. I get her boat side and reach down trying to get a hold of the the gill plate... as soon as I touch it it make a huge run bellow the boat slashing water in my face. I engage the reel so I can more easily control how much line the fish takes out. Despite that my rods in the water up the lock nut and the fish is still just a-takin line like no ones business.

After a while I regain some ground and see what my net can go with time. I get the fishes head in there and same ol same ol... turns around and surges under the boat. Do that once or twice more with the net... didn't take long to see that wasn't going to work.

I decide to just play the fish out and tire it out. Every time it would get close and touch it and it would go for another run. Eventually I tire the fish out and am able to get a hold of it's tail. Going out on limb, I set my rod down and with my other arm wrap my hand around the middle of the fish and horse up into the boat.

Sh!t... no camera!

I call my dad who's working on the trailer lights and get no answer cause he's in the garage. I leave a message telling him I just caught a 50 inch muskie and he needs tom come now! I fantastically see if I can remember some numbers but get the wrong person each time.

Their's a girl in my class who lives right on the lake so I decide to motor up to her house and to see if I can get a pic. On the way there I remember the 5th grad teacher, who fishes allot, is closer and also on the lake. I tie my boat up to his dock and run the back door and knock. Nothing. I try to open the door and it's lock.... so much for that!

I run back to the boat, crank her up and head to Ally's house. Eventually she comes to door and we run out snap a pic, and thank her and I take off. Wasn't a good one since she was up on her dock and I was down the boat, but it was something.

I stop and stick the fish in the water for 5 minutes to get it going again and lift it back up and head to main landing hoping someone comes by with an actual camera. I get there put the fish in the water and jump in next to it and try to revive it some. My phone rings and caller ID says it's dad. Eventually he makes his way to the landing with the camera and we snap some pics trying to keep the fish in the water as much as possible. After the pics in let the fish to go see if it'll swim off... a few twitches and shakes it floats belly up. Again the grab hold and further try to revive it to no avail.

"Might as well mount it!" I hear my dad say who's standing on the shore.

I throw the fish in the truck and motor up to the other landing while dad gets the trailer at home. I get there and we load the boat up and head home where I take the measurements.