Lake M Musky!

Primary reasons for taking on the second job at the store were to meet some new fishing friends, to learn from them, and to get exposed to some new-to-me fishing experiences.  Ironically, my fishing has suffered from the job; I've simply been too busy to spend much time on the water.  Similarly, my co-workers aren't on the water very much, but we have shared some stories, past and present.  A couple of the guys I get along with best have serious Muskellunge Leanings; and one of them has made his living pretty much as a Musky Pro.  He was excited to relocate here from Eastern Minnesota ("Musky Heaven?") for this store, and he's openly shared his optimism about local musky fisheries, such as Lake M, with me.  Moreover, he's been out a couple of times and has seen many muskies in the shallows and has caught at least a few of them.  I've pretty much discounted the local musky scene based on our crowded lakes, my lack of experience and proper gear, and never hearing much of any good about these fisheries.  But, buoyed by his enthusiasm, and with a couple of lures he confirmed as good choices and a workable game plan, I targeted muskies for the first time this past Sunday.

I arrived at Lake M before 6 AM and was quickly on the water.  Conditions were clear and quiet, and I knew if I kept my Bucher Shallow Raider or Rapala Gliding Rap above emerging weeds in the shallows, I'd have a shot of at least raising a musky, or at perhaps encountering a big bass or pike as a consolation.  And so I enjoyed the first couple of hours exploring the lake, casting, and sharing the morning with a nice assortment of herons, cranes, waterfowl, song birds, turtles and mosquitoes.

Lake M has some undeveloped shoreline and was a pleasure to fish early in the morning.

Lake M is only 20 miles from home, but I've actively avoided it for the past 20+ years.  It's simply too developed and there's too much boat traffic for my taste.  But early on a Sunday morning, early in the season...conditions were pleasantly fine.

After a couple of hours of casting and a few re-locations without a hint of a fish, my confidence and hope were fading to a faithful reliance on luck when, unexpectedly (and bordering on unbelievably), I clearly sighted a nice muskellunge lying in a weedy bed in about 4 or 5 feet of water.  She was in water I'd already fished through with the Shallow Raider, and so I quietly turned off the electric trolling motor and glided past her.  I lost sight of her when I reached down for a rod equipped with a pitch bait; unable to find her, I threw my wacky-rigged Senko in what I hoped was her vicinity.  As I lost sight of my sinking Senko, I twitched it back up, and she re-appeared.  All lit up, she confidently inhaled my bait.  A lucky hook-set secured the small hook in the corner of her mouth, and after a nice struggle on my 8-pound test, she was boat-side and docile.

Now, my landing net is for harvesting fish, and I tend not to use it on fish I intend to release.  At an estimated 40 inches, she was too broad for me to grab by the shoulders, and she was still too green to gill her.  It was simply easiest, safest, and best for her to conduct a simple boat-side recovery and release.

Data - from the web!

She was clearly Numenon's biggest Esocid ever, and the above chart indicates a weight of about 18 pounds.  Just to have seen her was enough to make my day.  For my luck to hold through the subsequent, unlikely sequence of events (right lure, right cast, right reaction, lucky placement of the hookset and my thin, leaderless mono holding through the fight) indicates that she was clearly meant to be caught on this day.   I'm glad I was involved, and it was my pleasure to release her and watch her swim away.  The only things that could have made this better would have been to get a nice picture of her, or to have shared this experience with somebody else in my boat.  Oh well, these shortcomings can be addressed in future outings; and no picture would do justice to my ingrained memory of her visible strike.

This day's offerings; the wacky-rigged Senko was irresistible to a musky and a couple of bass.

I should probably consider retiring from musky fishing to preserve my 1.000 batting average.  They are, of course, The Fish of 10,000 Casts, and so I'm probably due for a very long slump.  I'm probably also not smart enough to recognize my advantage and avoid the process of things averaging themselves out.  So I'll probably be out there again, and I can certainly say that "Early Season Sight Fishing for Muskies" is now definitely on my Annual Fishing Calendar.

Back at the store on Sunday evening, I got to brag a little bit (which is always fun), but mostly I expressed my thanks to my co-workers for providing the motivation, confidence and advice to get me to try this new-to-me fishery.  My Musky Guru expressed his pride in me; when I reminded him that it was just a fish, he reminded me that it wasn't the fish he was proud of; it was in my effort.  We both agreed that the success (if catching a sub-legal fish can really be considered a success) is just a bonus.

Vajiggle-Jaggle Ain’t too Beautimous! And other West Michigan Musings

Honey Boo Boo and her Mama crept into my consciousness during a period of convalescence last year, and something the matriarch shared has stayed with me.  In reference to the appearance of customers at a local Summer’s Fair, she noted something very close to this; “Vajiggle-jaggle ain’t too beautimous!”  Pot/Kettle, Preacher/Choir, it’s too easy to even comment on the source of this statement, but her unique eloquence at the very least made this a memorable string of (almost) words, perhaps never before spoken in the History of Language.

Now Spring has sprung in West Michigan, and we’ve quickly transitioned from Winter to Summer.  Heating and cooling systems are lagging behind in response, and many public places (including the store) are simply too warm.  Folks, let me tell you, the coats are off, and the v-j is out!  And while such appearances might be uniquely American (at least in abundance and concentration), there’s a certain West Michigan contribution to this style.

My main employment is in a business building in the downtown of Michigan’s second largest and arguably most thriving city.  And yet I was recently confronted with the owner of a XXXXL Beauty School Sweatshirt.   I was awestricken by the irony of such an expansive article of clothing advertising a local Beauty School, but I was doubly stricken by the fact that it was, in fact, two sizes too small.

This reminded me of an electronic post card I’d received in the past.  The first screen depicted a French Beauty with “Paris, France!” as a caption.  I won’t describe the second screen, but let’s instead leave it to the imagination; just know that “Paris, Michigan!” served as the caption.

What’s this got to do with Numenon or Fishing?  On perhaps one of the most beautiful spring days in West Michigan history, one that was soon to become the most enjoyable Lake Michigan Weekday Brown Trout Fishing Excursion Ever, I stole away from work at noon to pick up my boat.  But first, I needed provisions, so I went to the local Subway.  This was several years ago, when Subway first started offering different breads.  I waited, second in line, while the Mountain of a Person in front of me discussed the relative health benefits of the various bread offerings with the Sandwich Artist.  After much hemming and hawing, a Combo Meal involving the 12-inch steak and cheese sub with chips was selected; but (to accommodate health aspects?) with a large Diet Coke!

A large Diet Coke!  

2013 Boating Season

The 2013 Boating Season has begun!  May 7 marks the latest ever start to the season for my boats.  With a 2013 maiden voyage on Reeds Lake, Numenon began her 11th season.  After a smokey start, she ran fine and fished well.

Water temps were already pushing 65 degrees, and the fishing was kind of slow.  I did take the first game fish of my season, but at 20 inches or so, this pike was a short of legal.  It ate a new Rapala F11 Scatter Minnow, and I had several other follows and bumps over the course of the evening. Crappies were making themselves known in the shallows, too, so I should have plenty of options by the time I get out again.

Finally... ahhhhhh, fishing!