Another weekend to chase muskies...Crystal and I were up for it. The Fall colors were starting to light up, and our hopes were high to chase some fish in the larger pools where we could put in and take out without having to float and shuttle long distances.
Unfortunately, the brisk wind got the best of us. 25 mph gusts that blew us upstream all day, made for some frustrating fishing. To top it off, Crystal was sick...but she hung in there, and an occaisional Octoberfest Beer kept our fishing fuel up.
A few scenes from the arrival on Friday, and the windy Bluebird Saturday:
Evening sank in, and we decided to launch from a deep bend in the river that I've been dreaming about fishing since I saw it 4 years ago. We launched in the steep canyon walls with the wind still gusting, but as the sun sank, the wind died down. In the first hour of fishing, I raised 2 smaller muskies to follow the bucktail, but they gave up after short chases both times...Still, this fired me up for more, as Crystal napped in the back of the boat.
With the light fading, I threw the fly for a bit, and watched a Nice musky chase my Purple Hang-Time in for 10 yards, nipping at the tail in the last few feet.
Now the glare of dusk made the whole river calm. I woke Crystal up, and we both cast to two more muskies spotted in the deep water. One of which chased my fly up to the trolling motor, but wouldn't eat on the 8.
DAMN! We finally found fish in the 11th hour, and now it's dark.
Last resort, I cast a Big Zara Spook as we neared the truck and had a huge boil and bust that I know was a musky. I reacted and ripped the bait out of the water, and could see the fish still waking. On the fast cast back, I snagged Crystals rod, and managed a horrible backlash that couldn't be untangled. GAME OVER! It's dark now, time to go. I'm so fired up now to return to a stretch where we spotted 8 fish in less than an hour's fishing!
Sunday Morning we had to head home to finish some chores, but I got to sneak to the river while Crystal rested, to sleep off her cold.
The river was so nice in the early mist. If it had been 2 weeks earlier, I'm certain the topwater bite would have been great. Still I did manage to hook a musky that made a Dog-Sized Boil in the river and gave me atleast 5 seconds of head shakes before he shook off.
Here's the bait he ate...Note the fields of weedlines...this hole is absolutely loaded with them:
Peaceful morning and sunrise:
The Mayhem of musky fever...I've got it bad boys...can't get these darn fish outof my head:
I'll have to take the pursuit back home...I found this stetch near the house last week...I know I'll get one here:
Travis
