Big Tiger Muskie

I hit Mayfield Lake on Tuesday afternoon to target Tiger Muskie. Referred to as the fish of 1,000 (or maybe 10,000) casts - I know it can be frustrating fishing having spent many hours on previous trips to come up skunked.  These fish lurk in the weeds or at drop offs along the weed lines.  I brought some big plugs, divers and spinner baits; changing frequently to see what they liked.  I hooked into a smaller fish that was 24 to 25" that shook the hook before I could grab him with the Bogas.  Had several fish follow my lure right to the kayak, only to turn at the last minute.  Right before dusk I trolled a diver on my paddle back and my rod buckled over.  Three jumps and vicious head shakes like a tarpon, I finally got her near shore to hop out of the kayak and safely land her.  Beautiful fish - 40" long. 

THAT'S a nice fish way to keep at it. Funny how they seem to strike when your done and heading in? How it works for me a lot, or just as you say " let's try another spot then whammy fish on. Congrats on that tiger. 

THAT'S a nice fish way to keep at it. Funny how they seem to strike when your done and heading in? How it works for me a lot, or just as you say " let's try another spot then whammy fish on. Congrats on that tiger. 

Thanks!

Great fish man!

Great fish man!

Thanks Z

Beautiful fish!

Do you fish a wire leader or heavy mono?

Beautiful fish!

Do you fish a wire leader or heavy mono?

i have caught fish on both.  I seemed to have forgotten my wire leader at home but had a spool of 100 lb.  I think 80 would be fine.  I use an 24" leader tied to braid on a Med/Heavy weight rod.

Nice fish Brad!  Good stuff!

Since I am up here at Lake Tapps,  I jointed the Chapter 57 NW Tiger PAC and started my the countdown to 10,000 casts pulling in only a few small ones.    All the members posting their monster catches insisted that multiple figure 8's at the boat was the secret.   Have yet to try and fish for them from a Kayak since the paddling reduces the number of casts and being so low to the water making the figure 8's a bit more difficult.

Since they are not a self replenishing species,  that club really stressed what they saw as proper ways to handle them.  This included never pulling them out of the water via LipGrips or the gills saying it can damage their spine.  They even promoted using a cradle to get them out of the water enough for a quick Photo / Release instead of conventional nets.   

Since I am up here at Lake Tapps,  I jointed the Chapter 57 NW Tiger PAC and started my the countdown to 10,000 casts pulling in only a few small ones.    All the members posting their monster catches insisted that multiple figure 8's at the boat was the secret.   Have yet to try and fish for them from a Kayak since the paddling reduces the number of casts and being so low to the water making the figure 8's a bit more difficult.

Since they are not a self replenishing species,  that club really stressed what they saw as proper ways to handle them.  This included never pulling them out of the water via LipGrips or the gills saying it can damage their spine.  They even promoted using a cradle to get them out of the water enough for a quick Photo / Release instead of conventional nets.   

It's a bit tougher to fish for muskies in a kayak.  It's a lot easier if you have a kayak you can stand in.  The figure eights I've done if you have a following fish to the the boat but have never gotten much of a response from doing that.

I brought the fish into shore and landed it.  I figured it would be a bit gentler on the fish even though I have a big net.  When you net a fish of this size, it wants to do a death roll in the net, often spinning the hooks and the net around the fish.  Hence, more time releasing the fish.   I used the lip grip to remove the 7 inch crank bait out of it's mouth and raised it out of the water for a quick photo.  Yeah, there's probably better ways I could have done it but this is the way I found to be the best under the circumstances. 

I, too, have a buddy in the club that's a tournament musky fisherman.  I've fished on his boat a few times.  It's a lot easier from a boat and with a second person to help net and release the fish.  He brings fish into the boat for photos.  Agreed on the less handling the better. I like to see these fish swim away and be caught again.

man that looks like a bucket list fish. 40 inch tiger, 50 inch ling, 100lb halibut, 40 pound king.

Wow that's a beautiful fish. Quite a catch!