Thursday the 16th is a day I’ll never forget. Perfect Muskie weather, and not one other person on the lake. We went out and the fish were moving on every spot we went to. The pattern was easy, throw anything you wanted up against a windy island or point. It was just one of those days that you look back on and wish it never ended. 4 straight days of 75 degree weather which then turned into 59 degrees, blowing 20MPH, overcast and on and off rain. Most people tend to try and catch a nap or a movie on a day like that. Luke and I went out in search of a giant. From the first spot, we talked about how it felt like a 53 inch kind of day. After landing a super tank 48.5 inch on the 3rd spot, something just felt right as we moved from spot to spot. By noon we had boated 3 fish, and moved 4 others. As we pulled up to the next spot he told me that this was a big fish spot. It was one of those rare days where you feel like every cast could be historic, and this day, that was the case. As we worked around this rock outcropping, I bombed a cast downwind and reeled it in….nothing. He turned the boat so it positioned me to basically make the exact same cast, so I did. This time was different, about half way in to the boat I got that feeling that we all love to get, that dead heavy weight that stops your bucktail. As the fish came to the surface immediately after it hit, I knew it was big, and so did he. I knew it was hooked good and when the fish finally came to the boat and was swimming just below the surface, I started thinking of a number, 52 sounded about right. She made one hard run down deep but came right back up and as he extended the net I leaded back and pulled her into the net. “What did you say earlier!? 53? I think you got it buddy!” Luke yelled. A few high fives and actually a few hugs as well were appropriate for the situation. After getting the hooks out of the fish’s mouth, I slid my hand under it gills. You just know you have a giant when the size of the head is the first thing you notice. As I pulled her out and snapped just a few pictures, I was ready to measure her as I was unable to hold her up any longer. We put her on the bump board and he calls out “dude, 55!” I honestly couldn’t believe it; I looked back and sure enough it was just a shade over that magical 55 mark. I lifted her back up and gently put her back into the lake, that feeling you get catching, holding and then release a monster Muskie is unlike anything else. As she swam away, We shook hands, hugged the whole nine yards. I then just kind of kneeled down on the front of the boat and shook my head. I could not believe that I had just caught another monster. Having 3 muskies over 55 inches is amazing and almost not believable. I can honestly say I had the biggest smile in the entire world at that moment. The 55 inch Muskie hat-trick was complete!
Going to track this queen down in the fall. With a lake like this, you can only imagine what she will look like in the fall!