Poll: 50 inches

[RobertTB]

I am just wondering how many followers of this forum have netted a 50 inch Muskie. I have not, personal best is a 45" Tiger. You great anglers that have caught them that large, how many 50's have you gotten ?

[jkahler]

50, 52, 52.5 here. I caught them all while trolling alone. Netting was a little crazy. Actually the biggest swam right into the net. None of those were on the Chip (43.5 is my biggest there). I have probably only contacted one other fish in that class (casting / topwater) and I lost it due to..uh, user error.

[Ifishskis]

Just a tad under 48" is my largest and not on the Chip. Matter 'o fact....I've never caught a 'ski on the Chip but it's still my favorite body of water in Wisconsin!

[Jax]

Largest is a 48" out of the Chip. Have seen a handful of 50"+ over the years in the Chip and actually saw a world class fish back in the early 90s on the West side. Also have personally lost a 52-54 inch fish from the Chip......that i netted by myself and that was witnessed by a few boats on the same spot that somehow was able to snag the lure on the net bag and back its way out of the net......heart breaking. There was also a big fish that i lost a few summers ago on the southeast section that straightened two treble hooks. Not sure on the size of that one but was a very hefty fish.

[andracke]

Only 1 fish over 50" 51" from the Flowage last fall.

[Big Don]

Big fish hate me...my largest is a 45" Tiger out of the Flowage. My wife has caught four 46" fish and a 48" (her largest), all from the Flowage. Ty guided Debbie to her first 46" fish and she took off from there. Debbie lost a very large (certainly at least 50") fish on a very famous bar a few years ago when it straightened out the hooks on her Ghosttail--it happened so fast that she did not have the time to either freespool or back off on the drag.

BD

[releaseher]

@Jax

just read your post and had to reply: the same thing happened to me last summer (fishing alone large fish frees itself in bag and swims away). i dont think my "swimmer" was a 50 (probably 45-47") but that experience is something that will stay with me for a while. serious question--how did you react? i thought about tossing out the loud F-bomb and kicking my rod but instead decided to drop to my knees and put my forehead on the front casting deck of my boat like a praying Buddhist--for 15-20 seconds. i could almost hear the birds and squirrels around me laughing. looking back at it i can laugh at myself but when you are in the moment--it's just a terrible feeling.

that kind of stuff makes fishing fun and keeps us coming back--and people that dont have our muskie chasing disease really "don't get it".

[BradD]

Only one over the 50 mark for me but she came on the figure eight when it was 30 degrees on thanksgiving day so it s still a vivid memory . That is the coldest i have ever been in my life while fishing . My biggest on the chip was a 45 inch tiger several years ago,

[Jax]

@releaseher

Well, I literally sat there for 10 minutes and thought about what I did wrong or if there was anything I could have done differently. Actually, there wasn't much i could have done. It seriously was so heartbreaking/disappointing that i just didn't feel like fishing anymore for the night so I went in. Thing is about 4 other boats saw the whole thing so that made it sting a little more especially since 2 of the boats I knew from the resort my trailer was at and had to endure questions for a day or so. There went a chance at a possible 40 pounder.

The following summer I had an eerie experience from a huge fish that actually towed my boat a little and ended up straightening two treble hooks before freeing itself. Never saw the fish as it was close to 10:00 at night and hit a globe about 40 feet from boat. had some real power and ALOT of weight. I regularly think about that fish and about how big it could have been........will never know.

[makins117]

My personal best on any body of water is a 44" tiger caught on the Chip back in 2010. Hoping to best that this year, but so far haven't gotten a single hit in two outings. Lots of year left though.

[udee2159]

Have only 1 over the 50" Mark. A 51" that I caught on Lake of the Woods. Biggest Chip fish is 45.5".

[muskie bill]

My personal best 47inch hybrid. Biggest in boat 48 inch by best friend. Both fish released.

[releaseher]

Jax,

i agree, it is quite hard to keep pounding the water after you lose a tanker right at the boat. work pretty dang hard for those fish--and to lose one that is right there, heartbreaking. hooked the fish, fought the fish, saw the fish, bagged the fish....but out she goes, now its just a story (with no picture, replica, etc). basically like an olympic athlete leading the whole race and falling right before the finish line. or maybe winning the race but being disqualified before the medal ceremony?

all that being said---your second story might even be a tougher pill to swallow. i've always thought it is even WORSE when you get broke off or lose what feels like a complete monster and you never see the fish. even when you are panfishing or jigging with lighter mono and a fish breaks you off--was it an 18" snake? probably--but its the whole "you never know" deal. to have hooks straightened out on a muskie lure? i'd have a hard time sleeping for a little while after that one.

[jkahler]

Surprising how many PB's are tigers on here!

After I lost the big one mentioned above, I did the same thing...hung my head a little, then called it a day. I might have made a few more casts first, but not many. My failure on that fish was a locked down drag, the fish wanted to run but I wanted to try and turn it and get it in the net. It didn't turn. Heavy like a snag until the lure popped out. That was opening day 2009. If only I had hit freespool and thumbed the line, I'm positive I would have caught it!

My first one was in 2007, then I caught the other 2 last fall. I put in a lot of time last year, as much as I could! If you fish 410 hours something cool should happen right? You just have to believe that it will happen, put yourself in the right place and keep plugging away and it will!

[Thumperman]

Personal best is 45 and that is from the Chip. Had the biggest fish of my life on July 20th 2002. Fish quitely came up and took my Lelure thumper about 10 feet from the boat. Not hooked well at all. Seemed like it happened in slow motion. After that is where the story gets hard to relive. My brother had the fish on the rim ot the net and the fish would just not go it. One little headshake and she was off. Sat there on the surface for a few seconds and gone. Fish was at least 52". That also was on the Chip. And to prove there is no justice in this sport my brother took his friend out, who has never musky fished in his life, and on day 3 boated a 50 incher from the Chip. He has not fished a day since.

[BradD]

I have to add my little expierence on to this i didnt loose mine at the net but had actually netted the fish and had the hooks out of her turned around for a brief second before i went to pick her up as i turned she gave a big push into the side of the net bag and made her own door and just swam away . i sat there with i garuntee was the dumbest look on a face you can imagine as i watched her slowly paddle away . Dont know for sure but i think that one would have possibly added one more to my 50 incher list . I wont mention a net company but we i switched brands that day hah

[wicked]

Personal best is 48.5 caught from chippewa river but not out of the flowage.I've had two chances at fish larger but didn't get them in the net.Would love toget a tiger but haven't even seen one yet. Russ

[MCR_at_BigMusky]

47 from the Chip

[pikldik]

I caught a 50 fishing with Ty in October 2009

[muskieman]

I have got 4 over 50, all MN fish. 2 52's and 1 51 out of Minnetonka and one 50 out of Miltona. Biggest Chip fish is a 46. Had a low 50 on and lost it boat side, which sucked!

[lil man tait]

49 and several upper 40s from the chip... but it weighed twice as much and was twice as strong as my biggest Illinois fish...... those were 46, 46 with 12 inch girth, and fat 45

tait

[ChipVet]

49 and several upper 40s from the chip... but it weighed twice as much and was twice as strong as my biggest Illinois fish...... those were 46, 46 with 12 inch girth, and fat 45

tait

Bonified 50 inch fish on the Flowage are rare; for some reason there are not many caught and when one is it is a big thing. Many years ago I caught a 45 1/2 that weighed 30 lbs on a certified scale. I have caught quite a few in the 46-48 range but my longest was 48 1/2; but all of the fish were very heavy and strong and without a doubt 30 lbs and over. The flowage is known for heavy and strong fish but if you are only interested in length you have a better chance somewhere else. I have only had 2 on that I am sure were over 50 in 50 years and they both got off. I suspect many fish in the upper 40's are mistaked for fish over 50 because of the amount of water a heavy fish moves. A few years ago a guy came back from canada that caught a 56 incher and I was impressed until I say the picture and was taken aback on how skinny the fish was. On the weight chart it would have weighed 23 lbs. So I guess it depends on your barometer but for me I love the flowage because of the weight of the fish and I know there are a few long and fat fish in the flowage plus it's like canada without the rocks and you don't have to cross the border to fish it. If you catch a long fish on the flowage you have a chance at that "world record" because the weight will be there.

[Ty Sennett]

Great post Chip Vet. You hit the nail on the head.

I'm not sure how many 50 inch fish we've boated off the Chip. I think it's somewhere around 10 fifty inchers for my clients and I. My clients caught most of those as it should be. Three 51's and a 51 1/2 are the biggest. We've had shots at bigger but that's the way it goes. I've caught a few bigger in Canada but not much bigger. 52 1/2 is my personal best.

Probalby the most impressive fish I've seen on the Chip is the one my wife Rachel caught a couple years ago. That was a 47 1/2 inch tiger with a crazy girth. I would guess it to be in the mid thirty pound range for sure. Pretty cool.

[Jax]

There has always been big fish in the flowage historically and today as well as some absolute giants. My family has been fishing the Flowage since the late 70's and from that time until about 2005 we saw maybe a dozen fish that would go 50 inches. Two distinct fish that stick out in that time frame was a super thick 55 incher my father had follow around Big Banana Island in the late 80's while he was fishing with Joe Jasek and a "World Class" musky my uncle and I saw in the early 90's while crappie fishing. Seeing that fish SLOWLY swimming at the surface about 10 feet from the boat for a good 10 -15 seconds was an amazing sight and the length and thickness was unbelievable. Honestly one of the most impressive things i have ever witnessed. Makes me think twice now about swimming in there!

Now since 2005 I have seen a handful of 50 inch fish. Not sure why that is.....maybe It is because I am able to fish more often and more seriously. Maybe because i have learned areas alot better or maybe i have just became a better musky fisherman over the years.....who knows..... but i do have to think that the C&R has played a HUGE part in that. The 40lb class fish I caught/lost in the net a couple years back and the fish I lost and never saw that straightened two treble hooks the following summer and seeing ALOT more upper 40 inch fish being caught definitely has me excited for the present and future of the flowage.

[jmcalpine]

Personal best 50.5 inches. Weight is difficult but my 3 year old is 40 pounds and this fish sure felt like that. Likely a 35 pound class fish, maybe more, just a tank. When it hit I set the hook and nothing moved. I thought it was a tree stump and actually gave up on it after a bit. I started to try to free the hook. Then it started moving. Then it shot out of the air and the entire fish was straight up out of the water with my bucktail barely hanging in the corner of its mouth. The sound it made when it hit the water was like a large boulder being dropped. My buddy and I sat there for a second processing what we just saw and then what little fishing instinct I have took over and I set the hook again. Sure enough it was still on. Got to the net and the hook came out just as it was scooped. The fish was in a very unusual location. This is one reason I love fishing the Chip.