How Big Was It?

So, I've been busy the last few hours scrubbing out the Due North Triton Allure.   On hands and knees, scrub brush in hand, I "swabbed the deck" as they say.  Oh, and did I mention I had a wide smile the entire time?   Last Thursday, I zipped up 371 and pulled into Northern Lights Casino to gear up for Muskie Mania, a bigtime fishing tournament all about raising money for Muskies Inc., a group dedicated to furthering muskie fishing here in Minnesota.  At the pairings party Thursday night, I had a chance to see a lot of old friends, and also meet a new one;  Dave Bretschneider,  a first-time muskie fisherman and the guy who helped provide all the spirits for the post-tournament dinners and parties.   Dave and I hit Cass Lake shortly before 7 a.m. Thursday morning and fished, almost exclusively, an older muskie bait called a Boogerman.  The topwater bait has a big blade on top that gurgles on the water, creating a lot of noise and moving a lot of water.  Think washing machine.  The real secret to the bait though is that the blade also dings against the lead body everytime it spins. Boogerman's create a terrible sound, something I can't really handle, but more importantly, the fish can't handle, so they just eat it.  That's the theory anyway.  Dave and I chose to fish shallow water and reeds near drop-offs.  By noon first morning, we had seen four or five fish, but no hook-ups.  A little bit of a bummer considering we watched two boats near us land two big muskies.   Dave and I moved on to fish a flat with reeds, but no deep water nearby.  I wondered if we were quite in the right spot.  Not much wind, heavy gray skies, light rain falling.  I was about to move to new water when I heard, in a fairly high-pitched voice, "I think I have one on!"  "I have one on!"  I turned just in time to see a tail fin go down and Dave's rod bend over.  He lifted the rod tip, set the hook and began a battle I won't ever forget.  I hadn't seen the fish, but it sure looked like a nice one considering the bend in the rod and the look on Dave's face.  I was about to tell Dave to drop his rod tip when the giant fish broke the surface of the water and completely cleared it!  Jump number one and fish still on!   About five seconds later, the fish launched again, completely clearing the water!  Absolutely awsome stuff to watch.  The fish made a run straight out and it looked like the drag on Dave's reel was too tight because the fish didn't take line out.   Instead, Dave pointed his rod right at the fish and I figured this was the end of the game.  The fish didn't pull too hard and another thirty seconds later, she drifted into our net and I started snapping pictures of Dave with his fish of a lifetime. She measured out at 47 inches. Actually, I could have probably gotten 47 1/2 inches, but kept measurements fairly quick so we could get that fish back in the water. Girth measured out at 21 inches.   I figure the fish was right at 25 pounds or so.   Dave gently laid the fish back in the water and held her upright as she got her bearings back.  About two minutes later,  she got her energy back and slowly  drifted off with a rather embarrassed look on her face.    Dave's look was just a bit different that day.   See it in the picture? Dave's big fish would be our only muskie on day #1.  Day number two, we saw a few fish, but only hooked up with one muskie.  I lost her in deep water after just a couple seconds.  I'm guessing a quick head shake and the fish was gone.  We did manage to catch a couple of snappy largemouth bass and a few nice northern pike.  It was great to share the lake that second day with Travis Frank, who recently signed on with our little production company.  We consider Travis the Official Guide of Due North Outdoors.   As Dave and I zipped back into the launch, the sun setting off to our west, Dave and I made a promise to each other.   We'll be fishing partners for Muskie Mania 2009.  In fact, we already have our baits for next year's event picked out.  Ever heard of a Barry White?  If not, watch out!  Barry's coming.....He's coming.   

Comments

[Due North Editor]

What a blast fishing with you and Dave! Cannot wait until next year. Nice fish Dave!

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