New PB Ski
 

I went muskie fishing in the rain today with Dale and Jeremy, my first muskie trip of the year. I got a flag and lost a fish just before noon. The fish was on for a second but it didn't have the hook in it's mouth. Jeremy went home around 1 but Dale and I stuck it out. We started to lose hope as the day went on but at 3:40 the flag where I lost one earlier went up and I hooked into a heavy fish. After a good fight I got her on the ice, snapped some quick pics and sent her back down the hole. She taped out at 41", new PB ski! Caught her on a 14" live sucker in about 30' of water. When we got back to where we were sitting I checked some old pics because I thought I might have caught her last year. Sure enough it was the same fish that I caught last winter at 39". It's crazy that my PB muskie, tiger, and pike were all recaptures. Catch and release works!

https://scontent-b-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/...3d&oe=5522A229

https://scontent-a-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/...f6&oe=552BB96B

Re: New PB Ski
 

Great job Matt - beautiful fish

Re: New PB Ski
 

Congrats

Re: New PB Ski
 

That's a face only a Momma Musky could love!!!!!
Glad we stuck it out!!!!

Re: New PB Ski
 

Wow nice fish, twice too!!

Re: New PB Ski
 

Very cool. You use quick strike rigs or circle hooks?

Re: New PB Ski
 

Neither. Quick strike rigs are good for open water because you can set the hook right away, but through the ice by the time you get to the flag muskie can swallow the bait and the trebles which most likely is a death sentence for the fish. Circles are bad because you don't get a good hook set unless the fish is running and the fish has the hook deep in its mouth. I use single 5/0 octopus hooks.

Re: New PB Ski
 

Never went after musky through the ice just pike and a vet from Canada told me to use a quick strike rig, stay near the flags and whack them immediately. I'm usually too far to use the quick strikes but big circles have almost always worked great on big pickerel. I can see how it wouldn't work with a bigger bait though. Do you use that knotable thin metal leader or just heavy flourocarbon or mono? I use the circles so I can use thin line and hook them as far from the teeth as possible.

Re: New PB Ski
 

I use 80lb floro, and I had a pike snap that on the hook set this week. I wouldn't recommend lighter line.

Re: New PB Ski
 

Nice fish Matt!