A Warm April Morning on the Susky

[fishin_musician]

I just got back from Ft Lauderdale yesterday. After spending a week in the midst of limitless fishing opportunities with out any opportunity to access any of it I was happy to be home. Tuesday is fishing day so after getting a late start I set out for some adventure. You guys have had some great weather while I was away and it surprised me to see so many wild flowers and trees in bud. From what I recall the bluebells are a full month ahead of themselves. I took a cat rod and my jiggin pole, a little cut bait and a can-o-worms. Things started off slow but after about a half hour I got my one and only channel cat. Soon after that the temp of the air and the fishing began to get hotter. I missed a few tentative hits then finally connected with a smallie. From there on it was good fishing for about an hour and a half. I got about 12 medium to smaller SM Bass. I didn't stop to photo all it gets tiresome posing for the same pic and I get tired of looking at them too. You know me and I don't BS. So here comes the big fish story. lol

So I'm doing pretty good with the smallies in the cloudy river water. I'm fishing a back eddy that is about 8 to 10 feet deep. I'm using a 1/4 oz white lead head jig w/eyes. On that is a chartreuse power bait twister tipped with a half crawler. I have on 6 lb test from last fall. As I lift my rod for another hop of the jig I feel a fish and as the line begins move off, I set. My line takes off like a bat outta hell, only one fish in the river does a blistering run quite like this, Musky! Big Musky! I hang on for dear life and manage to stop the fish. Now it starts to bulldog and dig while my drag slowly gives line. Suddenly it explodes out of the water, ending about 3' in the air, backflips and crashes back into river with a huge splash. It follows this up with another smoking hot run heading south and forces me to step around some bushes while keeping my rod high enough to avoid getting my line tangled in their branches. Back to bulldogging I have a moment to access the situation. My path is blocked by some thick brush and I can't go any further south without getting in the river to my armpits at least and I'm not prepared to go to that length. But, more important I'm starting to wonder why I my old 6 lb test line has not parted. Then the answer is apparent. The close to 4' musky is hooked in its back near the dorsal fin. I'm still hoping to get it in for a look and a pic when the jig pops out and wizzes past my head as I quickly duck. Whew! What a fish. After that the smallie action mysteriously quit! lol I think I managed one more after about an hour drought. It was time to start working my way back out to my car. I made one more stop at a place I had promised my self that I would check out when the water was at the right level. To my delight it was loaded with monster carp. I think I will be making a visit back this weekend and see if I can get a few of them on some corn and crawlers.

As anyone who jigs eyes or smallies in the spring or fall will attest you occasionally foul hook a fish that get in the way as you are lift falling on your retrieve. I don't rip my jig through the water as many do I use a very gentle lift fall and cover the distance of my cast slower and more deliberately than most also. As you are retrieving your line it will from time to time cross the path of a fish. Big carp channel cats and muskies can become foul hooked as the jig passes over them the bigger the fish the greater the chance of this happening. Muskies being so hyper to begin with will bolt at the touch of the line and hook themselves from time to time.



http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v102/virtualdave/F247_2010/?action=view&current=2ea19b57.pbw

[Carpy]

 I don't rip my jig through the water as many do I use a very gentle lift fall and cover the distance of my cast slower and more deliberately than most also. As you are retrieving your line it will from time to time cross the path of a fish.

The Salmon River Shuffle?     

[fishin_musician]

Nothing like it.

[Carpy]

Just bustin on ya .

I can't help but think of the Salmon River whenever I see the word lift..

[mast75]

Its amazing how we all can go to these nice places but no matter what like the old cliche says "theres no place like home"

[fishin_musician]

Just bustin on ya .

I can't help but think of the Salmon River whenever I see the word lift..

I figured you were just giving me an elbow. I thought of that when I was writing (lift/lifting). It is hard to write in the politically correct world. I try to keep the confusion and misunderstandings to a minimum with out getting tedious. That is why I added the last paragraph to help the uninitiated understand the how's and why's.

[perch tugger]

That had to be a great day , topped off with a great slide show!

[kingfisher]

Thanks for the slideshow 

[zziipp]

so when we hittin that spot  .nice pics and like mast said theres no place like home.

[fishin_musician]

I could be persuaded to take you there. You'd have to swear an oath.

[zziipp]

the 247 oath is always intact in my book. . i will owe you one