30 Minute Muskie Fight!?

[Chrisper4694]

Well Saturday I had the longest fish battle I've ever had...but it's not what you think. I'll just start off by saying I hate all sailboat owners!

Anyway, we struck out at the first lake we tried and made a rare decision to just completely pick up and go to a different lake. less than an hour into the switch i get slammed by this sea serpent about 10 ft from the boat and it goes berserk mode.

I quickly realize the back of my boat is right next to a sailboat mooring buoy that is sunk just under the surface of the water because this moron like to leave hidden ropes right at prop level. With the fish going nuts just a few feet away i knew i had to get away from it but when i tried to slide the boat it sucked the rope right into the prop and we were stuck...seconds later the fish dove directly into the rope!

At this point I start cursing all sailboat owners to the depths of hell as I hand JDtuna the rod and pull the motor up. I undo the wrapped prop. I thought for sure the fish was gone at this point but i pulled the rope and could still feel it fighting. I couldn't budge the rope...i pulled it so hard i almost dipped the side of the boat...I tried to unwrap it to no avail...but the fish was still stuck.

I knew if we broke the line from our end the fish would be stuck there and die. I took the long net and started poking downward blindly hoping the fish would brake off from his end and be able to swim away. Didn't work.

30 minutes we did this and FINALLY with me pulling the rope and fishing line in opposite directions and Justin working the fish up with the net something slipped and the fish's tail came within a foot of the surface and i put the death grip on it.

Justin was then able to wriggle the fishes head up the rope a bit with the net, he tossed me a wire cutter and i just start cutting somehow freeing the fish and landing him after over 30 minutes!

[AndyS]

Epic battle !!!

[Jigman13]

Niiiiiice!

[thmyorke1]

Wow more like a 30 min rescue mission than a fight

That's incredible, great fish to compliment it!

[KenBeam]

Beautiful Esox Chris! It was real nice to meet you & Justin up in my neck of the woods. Hope to see you guys again.

[reely]

awesome , salt or fresh always a great report and pictures. Thanks

[FASTEDDIE29]

Crazy, crazy story! What a fish and what a way to catch it!?!? Sheesh! Well done gentlemen! Unreal!

[ALS Mako]

Great job by the both of you. Congrats on the catch and rescue. You guys are top notch.

Would have been a real shame to have such a trophy fish meet it's fate that way. Was the mooring buoy submerged because of the amount of water we've had this fall or was the boat owner at fault in your opinion? Many anglers unfortunately (maybe with the exception of the musky community) would have given up well before a half hour. Awesome job sticking with it, fish doesn't look any worse for wear. Beautiful fish, great story with an even better ending. I'm sure that conversation will be told many times! Great job!

Just FYI. Many of you know Chris and Justin. Aside from being quality guys, don't know many others who put the time and effort in on the water they do (Chris in a boat barely the size of a Campbell's soup can) and you couldn't ask for two more conservation minded people. They catch an incredible amount of trophy fish, most if not all released as it relates to fresh water and to a large degree salt water as well. It's a model of the way we should all treat the resource. Fish hard, hope for the right bite, take a pic and watch it swim away for another angler to experience the thrill of a lifetime. Talking about trophies here which is all I think they catch! Again great story and even greater job making sure the fish survived the mooring buoy ordeal. You guys do it right and I guess there is something to be said about good karma.

[JDTuna]

Definitely an adventure! After all those tense minutes it was great to finally get the fish in the boat and watch her swim away.

Thank you for the kind words, Dakota.