Funny story

[ttabaleulb]

So, I finally got what will probably be my last trip in earlier this week. Even though it was a little cooler than I expected, things looked to be shaping up for a good couple of days of fishing. Once i got to the lake and put the boat in the water, my outboard decided to have a fit. I've never had issues with this motor and I am certainly no mechanic. I finally got it fired up and started scouting. Found an area with tons of baitfish and had two very nice fish follow. More trouble with motor, but got back to cabin that night.

Woke up to 24 degrees out next morning. The lake was like glass as the fog started to clear. I was psyched to get back after those fish I saw the night before. Again, had big time trouble getting the motor running. Decided I would still make the long run to the fish since I would have all day to make it back using the trolling motor. By the time I reached the spot, the wind had whipped up enough to cause good old white caps. Not fun in a 14ft Jon boat. Needless too say, cut my trip to that section of lake short since I actually didn't feel safe.

Got back out in the afternoon and fought with the outboard one more time. Decided to stay close and just use the trolling motor. Did my best to stay out of the wind. Was feeling pretty bummed that I couldnt get back to target the fish from earlier but just kept at it. With only about an hour left in my trip to fish, I ended up landing a nice heavy low-40s fish. Best part about it is that this fish was within about 50yds of where I landed my very fist Musky. AND, when we got that first fish, we were also fishing that area because we couldn't get the outboard to fire and just used the trolling motor. I didn't even think about that until much later. LOL Funny how things work sometimes. Good luck out there guys.


Jay

[Red Childress]

A story (not sure it is funny but still a story nonetheless) that just happened to me a couple of weeks ago.

Short version:

I netted a 48 inch musky and it is his first musky ever. The hooks are so tangled in my net that I feel it necessary to remove the fish, untangle the hooks and put the fish back in for the safety of all parties involved. The fish looked very stressed out and was very docile. As I pull the fish from the bag, she flops and shoots thru my grasp and is gone before any pics can be taken of the fish/angler. I am stunned and embarrassed but thought she would have a tough time swimming away due to a problem with her swim bladder because she showed signs of a "bubble" while in the net. As luck would have it, I kept looking for the fish to re-surface and seconds later, she came back to the surface unable to get deep and was struggling. I re-scooped her and all was well with the world once again!! After a few photos, we released her but she still had problems going deep so we drifted about a mile along side her taking pics as she swam right beside us with her back sticking out of the water. After 10 minutes or so, she opened her mouth and swam out of sight.

[ttabaleulb]

That is a tough feeling when a fish gets away from you like that. I had that happen with a buddy a couple years back. I took him out to get a shot at his first Tiger. When he hooked one, I wasn't able to lift the net fast enough and the fish jumped back out, and of course the hooks came out shortly after. Luckily, we got him another about an hour later. Thats very cool that you guys were able to track that fish down, and give the assistance.