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I am not typically a big fan of fishing unless I catch one fish after another. Although a fair number of outdoorsmen enjoy both hunting and fishing, I have always been partial to hunting. That was the case until I was fishing for muskies in Canada. Fishing for muskies is as close to hunting as you can get while fishing. A musky is the ultimate predator. These fish are as mean and hungry as great white sharks and can put up one heck of a fight once you have one on the line. Many anglers who chase muskies are obsessed with catching monsters. They hunt muskies the way many of us chase whitetails. In fact, there is a magazine called “Musky Hunter” that is dedicated to catching the elusive musky.
While in Canada, I stayed at the Rushing Wind Resort, a remote fishing lodge in Ontario. The lodge is only accessible by float plane and although it is extremely remote, the lodge and cabins are first class. While on the five day trip, I fished for a variety of fish including walleye, pike, and musky. Muskies are not found in the lake the lodge is located on. To fish for muskies, a long boat ride is required to get to the far end of Populus Lake (the lake the lodge is on). Then there is a half-mile walk through mosquito-infested woods to reach a lake that has been dubbed “Musky Lake.” The only fish that can be found in the lake are musky and bait fish because muskies are such predators that they eat anything they can wrap their jaws around. A few years before I fished Musky Lake, I heard about the enormous muskies that can be found in the lake. According to Arnie Wolf, Owner of Rushing Wind, there are real lunkers in the lake. Some anglers have reported sighting a new world record swimming around.
As I hopped in the boat and headed out for a day on the lake, I didn’t really know what to expect. I’ve heard how muskies attack a lure with reckless abandon, but I hadn't seen it so I was hoping to see a ferocious musky attack my lure. When fishing for bass or pike, small jigs or rapalas are usually used. For muskies, we tossed monstrous frogs and other large lures the size of baseballs into the water. I repeatedly tossed my lure into the water and reeled it in at a quick pace. After what seemed like hours of tossing my lure into the water with no results, I began to wonder if fish even lived in these waters. When I was about to give up, a musky attacked my lure about a foot from the boat. The fish took my lure and began fighting. He jumped and danced in the air like a crazy man. Eventually, my friend, Gerry Caillouet from God’s Great Outdoors, got the fish into the boat. One look at those teeth made me realize this was one predator I wouldn’t want to run from in the water. They are designed to kill and they have the teeth to prove it.
As the day went on, Gerry and I caught a few more muskies before we headed back to camp. After a long day of fishing, I realized I finally found a fish that I was fond of. Muskies are full of attitude and chasing them reminded me of hunting because of the adrenalin rush I got when I had one on the line. It wasn’t like fishing for bluegills. Muskies are mean and can grow as long as five or six feet. Even the small ones we caught put up quite a fight. If fishing isn’t your thing, give musky fishing a try. I am sure you will agree that hunting for muskies is as much fun as hunting for big game.
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