I asked Casey to tell me about it.

It was Sun 18 Oct and the last muskie outing for the St. John River chapter in Fredericton called the “Ironman”.

It was a frosty morning around 2 C. We arrived just as most boats were departing the launch area at 8 am and were advised to pay our fees at lunchtime which was a mandatory break for all participants. We donned a couple of more layers of clothes and gloves and headed out.

We began trolling right away as it is the preferred method when the water is cold. I put on a 10″ Jake and my partner used a 10″ Believer.

We trolled for about an hour and had caught many loads of weeds but no hits. I hate catching weeds so I put on a 6″jointed perch lure, which is probably the cheapest one in my box.

At about 09:30 I had a strong hit in about 10′ of water, it turned out to be a 16′ bass but got the adrenalin flowing. Ten minutes later I got a real tug on the line. I set the hook twice and could feel the fish fighting. I knew it wasnt a bass.

My 8′ Okuma rod was bent big time when we finally saw the fish. It was a muskie and looked half as long as the boat.

My partner did an excellent net job and we had it. That’s when the shaking started. I couldnt believe the size of this fish, the biggest I have ever caught.

After about 5 min my partner removed the lure and lifted the fish from the net. We were both pretty nervous about handling this monster as it had a huge head and large teeth.

I was still trembling like a leaf but got a good grip for a few pics.

It took about 15 mins in the water before the muskie headed for the deep water on his own.

What a rush!!!

15 muskies were caught at this tournament and all were safely released.

The largest was 48″ x 23″

I was in 4th place and the prizes only went to 3rd.

Maybe next year.