My phone slipped out of my pocket during the early morning drive to the river with Bob and his son Gibb. I had no camera for fishing today. We had scenery I wished I captured. It’s starting to look like November here in Northern Wisconsin. The trees are bare and the sun stays low all day.
Regrettably, it felt like November as well. We experienced a high of 44° with wind. We were mostly in clouds although the sun managed to break through at the end of the day. Not soon enough to warm things up however. It was chilly!
But the cold temps didn’t slow down the fish. If you read the blog you know Bob and I have caught very few muskellunge this year. And the three I’ve posted all came this month. Well, today we caught a boat load of fish – nine to be exact. While Bob didn’t fish at all because he kindly rowed Gibb and I all day, Gibb landed four beautiful pike. I landed two pike and three muskies. THREE MUSKIES!
I’ll admit, none of the Great Northwoods slayers were big. In fact, one was a musketeer. But all were colored up in a combination of shinny greens and tans with barring matched by few other freshwater fish. It was an awesome day.
I got the muskies on my 9-weight Winston Air Salt on wire leader. I stuck to my floating line all day. I’ve been playing with sink vs float all season and I’m feeling/learning that the hungriest muskies seem to be hunting the shallows. I can ride my fly high through these places without dragging bottom.
The return life to WI is invigorating. Learning new fish behaviors and creating tactics to deceive them is the ultimate! Stay tuned as Granny and I take some time off from fixing up the house the next two days and take the van and our waders to the muskie waters. Finally getting Granny out!
Don’t forget the holidays will sneak up on you! Visit my online store for “Gifts for the Angler that has Everything”. Or order a Cliff Fly Box with my original sharpie art, a painting or order my decals as the ultimate stocking stuffer from my friends at Pescador on the Fly!
3 Musky in 1 day is fantastic! Way to go Jeff. They look gorgeous.