Fellows Lake Muskie

[Lvn2Fish]

Are there any BIG muskie in that lake? 48" or better.

I have seen one in there that was easily 50". Not sure what the lake record is. This fish camp up beside the boat trying to get a spinner bait. He got it.... was so big there was no hope in landing this fish without a steel leader. Kinda freaky being in a 12 foot john lol.

[Lvn2Fish]

The others I have caught have been good fish I guess? about 38-40 inches

[Quillback]

Yeah I think up in the north woods, 40" is the minimum those guys shoot for.

[Lvn2Fish]

Yeah, these fish were all accidents. I love chasing the green and brown fish too much.

[REDSOXWSCHAMP]

there was a guy a couple of years ago that caught one that would have been the new state record, if he could've got the MDC to verify it, but while waiting on mdc the fish died and could not be considered for state rcord

[Kevin Vam Dan]

Bassattack1990,

The advice I will give you is to get the proper tools if you are going to musky fish. The fish are too rare not to take care of them. You need proper fishing equipment, and proper fish handling equipment. Heavy (50 lb. minimum) braided line and heavier leaders is a must, along with a large net, pliers, and hook cutters. Leave the fish in the water as long as possible when unhooking. And please don't fish for musky when the water temperature exceeds 80 degrees (the mortality rate greatly increases due to dissolved oxygen...they make look like they swim away, only to die later). If you do happen to catch one, photograph it and RELEASE it as quickly as you can.

There are some decent sized muskies in Missouri, but they are the exception and definitely not the rule. Your chances at catching a big fish increase the further north you go. There has only been one documented 50 inch musky in Missouri waters. That fish was the one caught a couple of years ago, but was nowhere near the state record (it was caught in the early summer and did not have the mass to make it a state record).

Kevin

[fishinwrench]

Isn't Lake O still holding the record ?

[Lancer09]

Isn't Lake O still holding the record ?

yes.

[Bassattack1990]

I caught one yesterday on a black buzz bait. Needless to say it wasn't on the rod with 60lb braid. I thought I had a wall hanger bass. Right as it got close to the bank him and my buzz bait went bye bye. Pretty disappointing considering when I fish for one with proper gear I never catch one. But when bass fishing I do catch one. Thanks Kevin for the advice. I'm going to get a net free willie can fit in tonight. But won't be fishing for Muskie on purpose till the water temps cool down.

[Kevin Vam Dan]

Bassattack1990,

I'm not sure how to take your remark about "going to get a net free willie can fit in." If you didn't mean anything by it, fine. But if you were trying to be a smarta$$, I take a little offense. I was only trying to help educate a little bit. The reason I talked about using the right equipment was because of situations, like yours, where fish break off and then swim around with a bait in their face. I want to protect the limited/fragile resource that we have. There are too many people that fish for musky that aren't prepared to deal with them when they are lucky enough to catch one. We don't need muskies killed unintentionally by decent people wanting to catch one (there are enough idiots that kill them on purpose).

Kevin