MI50 in the House!

No, this is not a trailer for Mission Impossible’s 50th installment which will no doubt feature a ripped up shirtless Tom Cruise who will save the world from evil.. It’s a shout out to Muskies Incorporated Chapter 50 from the Philadelphia area. MI50.com

A few weeks back I had the pleasure of hosting fine club members Archie and Jenny on their first visit ever to the O. It was a day of teaching as Jenny is a relative newbie to musky fishing and Archie (aka Rick, aka Not Kirk) is a more seasoned veteran who was hoping to learn a few things to take home to PA and up his game there. Oh ya, he also said he wanted to catch the biggest musky of his life.

We had an approaching cold front the first day out on the water and as they are supposed to do, the muskies wanted to play with us. Jenny learned proper technique for casting and for the first time, she enjoyed throwing baits. A lot of people make casting for muskies difficult and painful by not letting the equipment do the work, and using incorrect posture, motion, and technique. A cast is like a golf swing in 3D; if you don;t have good technique the ball skips out in front of you or goes deep into the forest when you swing too hard. It’s all about being smooth and following some simple rules.

I was proud to watch Jenny set the hook hard when her fish finally hit. It was her biggest musky too and a wonderful ending to a day of being a great student.. Rick got a couple of nice ones too and the Phillies fans had a three fish day. Not a bad introduction to the big river at all.

If you read my piece on how to fish cold fronts a couple of weeks ago then you know rubber is what you need to throw for a good part of your day. Archie had one shiny bulldawg in his box. This is a sign that Archie knows bulldawgs are supposed to be good musky snacks but he’s not totally sure what to do with it. Two days later, on the dreaded day two of a massive cold front, Archie’s dream came true. The big girl rose off the bottom and ate rubber!

Musky fishermen are just like muskies; they are visually oriented creatures. In the case of musky fishermen, they have to see it to believe it. Then it gets locked in. Archie will never forget what to do with dawgs and Shadzillas from this day on.

Musky dreams come true more often here on the Ottawa River than just about anywhere else. Many of my guests are well traveled veterans of the musky world and more often than not, if they get to see this new heartland of the musky world, they don’t go anywhere else.

Can’t wait to fish with you again. Thank you Archie. Thank you Jenny. It was a pleasure to spend time with both of you.