Decent Fish

I recently had the pleasure of catching my first decent fish in a while.  Limited time on the water and a possibly misdirected mania for muskellunge have really pinched my numbers.  This recent fish wasn’t the biggest, most dangerous or unpredictable quarry, but it was the largest targeted game fish of the day.  The day was just unpleasant enough (weather-wise), and the fishing just difficult enough (by which I mean it wasn’t Stupid Easy) to make me think I earned the encounter.  I shared the day with a good friend, who was just pleasant enough to not get tossed overboard (by which I mean he was on his game in relentlessly attacking my abilities and character, as only a brother or true friend could.)  So really, what else could I ask for?  Time on the water, a few fish, a successfully executed plan, some laughs, a picture and providing for a shared meal; these are all good things. 

So while my first impression was that this was a decent fish, further reflection indicates that it is clearly more than that.

Pretty decent!

For the record, she came from a local, urban lake and measured 32 inches.  She ate a gold and black Husky Jerk HJ12 presented on two colors of lead, trolled with an in-line board off the break line at typical pike speed (2.2 -2.7 mph).