Another oldie.

A FISH STORY-AND A BIT MORE

Hi Folks.How about a fish story?I’ve sure got one for you and while some may question it(I would have if not there),its true.
First let me set the scene.Its July and prime casting time on Lake Of The Woods.Prime surface bait time.I’m staying and fishing with my good friend Barry who had just built a new cabin on an island.His dad and brother-in-law were there as well and were doing some finishing work on the cabin while we fished.Fishing was good and topwater activity was picking up as our week progressed.
About noon one day we pull up to a large reef we know quite well but one that,with most water conditions,is hard and hazardous to fish thoroughly.A complex spot with numerous shallow rocks,deeper holes,fingers,etc.
Since its relatively calm I decide to get right up on it and pick it apart.I’m throwing a Topraider,one of my favorite surface baits.As we work the reef, I take a cast into very shallow water near a couple of large boulders and am rewarded with a follow by a monster-the likes of which I hadn’t seen in years.After quickly swinging the boat away from the spot,I turn and Zing,in goes Toppie and ‘pop,pop,pop’here it comes back-right through the gap between the boulders.As Toppie clears the gap the seas part into a black hole type swirl and the she monster emerges with my leader in her mouth and Bull Frog Toppie swinging futiley free on the far side. My computer quickly spits out that my only hope is to reset once she opens her mouth during her repeated,almost slow motion like,headshakes.Of course,she opens,I set-and dang near knock Barry out of the boat with the returning Toppie.Anger,embarrassment,sick stomach,appologies to Mr Toppie,you know,the usual,describes my reaction afterwards but, being an expert on this type thing,I eventually recover.Sort of.
Well no surprise but we beat the spot to near death day and night for a day or two to no avail.She’s gone- forever we think.Now we come to the last evening of the trip. Barry’s dad and bro-in-law have been working hard all week and we decide we should take them out that evening.Its decided Barrys dad,Jim(an accomplished multi-species fishermen)will go with me and its agreed we get ‘the reef’ at dark.As we are about to depart the dock,Barry walks over and hands his dad his scarred and well used Baby Loon Topraider with a precautionary statement,”Dad,don’t lose this,I’ve caught many muskies on it,including three 50s”.
Fast forward now to dusk,the bewitching hour.The wind is ‘up’and for the last hour or so I’ve been debating where our last stop will be.Wind or not,I decide it better be ‘the reef’.As we head that way I explain to Jim it will be difficult to fish-especially the spot where ‘it’was,but that I’ll be able to slide into a gap upwind of the spot,hold the boat,and let him cast to it.(Honestly,had I thought there was even the remotest chance of ‘it’being there,I wouldn’t have handled it this way,at least until I made 10 casts there myself.)
We do just that,Jim makes the perfect cast and Toppie starts ‘pop,poppin’his way home.After it clears the boulders uninjured,I glance away to verify our position and to start extricating us from the spot-just in time to miss the seas parting again,but even in the wind and all the commotion going on,there was no missing the loud ‘whoosh’ of that sucking chest wound type sound some big fish make when striking a bait on the surface.I turn and see her,the she monster,slowing shaking her head-with Baby Loon nicely stuck in her huge mouth.Instinctively I holler,’set again’,and Jim,an ex-marine-a very big ex-marine- does.Perfect I think momentarily.Only momentarily because a split second later Baby Loon was sailing past my head.’Oh no’,I said,’not again’.Yes again.The she monster was gone-again.
I ‘m looking away,unsure what to say,wishing I’d never said ‘set again’,when Jim says ‘Dick,look at this’.He’s holding Toppie and it takes me a second or two to realize something is wrong.Then it takes a few more seconds to comprehend precisely what is wrong.Only the top half of Toppie is still there!The bottom half is gone!Missing!AWOL!
What the heck I say as he swings it to me.And there it is,top half only,the through wire looking cleanly snipped off.By teeth?Impossible,right?Bottom line is we spend a long time that night and in subsequent days replaying,studying and thinking about this.There is only one plausible explanation.I have caught many muskies,big muskies,on Topraiders,as has half the western world.Its always been indestructible.I’ve always thought(still do think)its an engineering marvel with the straight tail and tank like construction.so whats the only plausible explanation?Fatigue,plain and simple.Numerous muskie,including many big ones.Numerous pike,including many big ones.Thousands of casts.A big fish that’s unmoveable,with leverage,coupled with braided line and a big ex-marine hookset=she monster escaping.A freak incident but true-not a ‘fish story’.Honest.
Barry is upset about Baby Loon of course,but his dad didn’t lose the bait-at least not the entire bait-so he has no recourse.Of course,we rename the reef.It’s now called ‘Top Half’.


*sidebar: Is this criticism of Topraiders?Absolutely not.The opposite in fact,an endorsement.I never leave the dock without a couple of Toppies in my boat.The message here is simple and basic,everything fatigues with use and time.Heck,I verify that every morning when I look in the mirror.The solution,whether dealing with gear or your body,is to recognize the fact and deal with it.

A BIT MORE
The ‘she monster’in the story above was in a foot of water or less all three times she was seen.Super shallow.What’s with that?Is it normal?Unusual?Was it the weather?The stained,fairly dirty water?Was she feeding?Digesting?Global warming?
You know what?Despite being intrigued by it,and despite writing a lot about it in recent years(recall my articles about the ‘twi-lite’ and photosynthesis zones,a muskies temperature comfort zone,and a host of other reasons I think they are shallow 99% of the time),I really don’t care’why’ anymore.Muskies are the top of the food chain.They go where they want,when they want.More and more I’m seeing they want shallow water.Very shallow.Very often.Under varying conditions.They are there and I’ll be there more often myself.Even on Trout or very clear waters, although so far my very shallow success there has been limited absent wind or current.
The reality Im afraid,is that I haven’t gone shallow enough in years past and have ‘missed’a lot of big fish as a result.I pass this on,for what its worth.

Remember:Thinking is just being thoughtful.See you next issue.
Good fishing!
Dick