Then it happened…A Musky shattered the surface of the water with a violent attack upon the globe. This was no timid hit and in an instant the water was foaming with a nice sized Musky doing everything it could to dislodge the lure it had inhaled. As this was going on, Dennis got his lure out of the water and placed the rod out of harm’s way as John continued to battle the Musky, being pulled around the boat by the angry fish. I maneuvered around Dennis to get the net that was perched at the back of the boat while keeping an eye on where John was and deciding where I had to be to be in the best position to net the beast. It was now pretty dark and the fish had hit before we had a chance to put on head lamps. All I could see was the vague outline of the Musky as his back broke the surface during his battle with John. Finally, John managed to turn the fish and lead him toward me and the waiting net. A quick dip and a scoop high out of the water, and the Musky was in the bag. The adventure was not over yet. We still had to get the lure out of the fish’s mouth. The Musky had the tail hook of the globe pretty far back in its mouth and it was all John and I could do to stabilize the fish in the net, leaving the net and fish in the water, and cut the hooks using a compound bolt cutter. At times like this it becomes very evident that knowing how to handle a Musky makes the difference between a good release without injury to fish or angler and a ugly post capture experience. After a minute or two of serious work with the bolt cutter, the Musky was free from the lure. John pulled it out of the net and measured the fish while I got John’s camera and prepared to snap a photo or two. The fish measure 43 inches and after the photo he was back in the water and on his way.
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