Over the past ten years or so I had landed two other 40 plus inch muskies … a 41 and a 42 inch fish, but tonight and in this video you will see my new personal best, a 45 inch giant of a fish!
I decided at about 4pm to take a trip down one of our three nearby rivers, all of which have a nice musky population. Everything felt right, the moon was full, the weather was warm and the barometer was falling.
I had made it through 2-3 miles of river and had caught a few nice smallmouth, even lost a true beast that would’ve gone over 20 but spit the popper on the second jump. I was nearing the end of my drift when the sun came out and gave the water and the nearby fauna a glow that was nothing short of incredible when I reached a stretch of water that just looked juicy!
The funny thing is that I made a back-cast that got caught on a limb and was able to jerk the popper loose and make the cast where the big musky was lying in wait … happy that I didn’t have to unsnag the popper and miss the fish. As soon as the popper hit the water I saw the large presence and surface tension below it and … just like in Jaws, here came the wave towards my fly!
Here is the crazy part, from that point forward I was as calm as I can be … that, of course, is a good thing, but there was no panic and I handled the hook set and landing of the fish like I had done on hundreds if not thousands of other fish; with the exception that this one was 45 inches, probably weighed near 30 pounds and had large teeth!
Anyway, it was indeed a truly special night and fly fishing moment in my life and I was so pleased to be able to share it with you. Actually, the other funny or odd thing was that my first camera ran out while in the midst of trying to land the fish, you will be able to see that while watching the video. I had to dig around in my backpack, find the other Go-Pro and make the switch … but it all worked out and I hope you can enjoy and appreciate this magnificent fish!
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