typical tournament will be the equivalent of 300-400 man days of fishing, more days than any casual fishermen will fish in 20 years, but how many 50 inch fish do you see caught in these tournaments? I can't remember the last time I saw a 50 inch fish caught in a tournament in our area even though there are a number of tournaments each year on some of the best lakes in the area. I am not trying to discourage anyone; I’m only trying to give a rational perspective. There are many fishermen out there who love the sport, but between raising a family, working a job and paying the bills there just isn't that much free time available. Many of these people also hunt and don't fish in the fall when many of the trophy muskies are caught. When time to fish is limited, the fishermen will need to decide whether to focus on numbers or trophies. So why aren't more big fish caught and how does one go about catching one? Looking at some statistics supplied by the Wisconsin DNR gives us a good understanding why there are so few really big fish caught. According to the survey referenced earlier, only 1.9% of muskies in Wisconsin lakes are 44 inches or longer. Now a 44 inch musky might go 25 pounds if caught in the fall but in the spring or early summer might only way 21 or 22 pounds. A nice musky, but if your goal is 30 pounds it isn't going to come close. Leon Johnson wrote up another study conducted by the Wisconsin DNR In 1975. This study tracked 1000 stock muskies and found that only one half of one percent were still alive after 18 years. Now if you were to talk with a taxidermist that has mounted a lot of muskies, he would tell you that an 18 year old female musky is likely to be 49 to 52 inches depending on the type of lake from which it came. Male muskies rarely get that big
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