Author Topic: early ice tiger muskies (Read 6270 times)

elcapitanmas · « **on:** Nov 29, 2008, 03:14 PM »

shot 11/24

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRGA7UqSE3A

NH Trout Fisherman · « **Reply #1 on:** Nov 29, 2008, 04:08 PM »

Great Video! It took a while to download, but watching those muskies come up under the ice was worth the wait

I Got a laugh outta the part about the stove

Nice Job, Thanks for the video

Roncarr · « **Reply #2 on:** Nov 29, 2008, 04:56 PM »

thats awesome way to go guys

tip-uptwo · « **Reply #3 on:** Nov 29, 2008, 05:05 PM »

Great job on the video

Some really nice tigers caught!!

Barleydog · « **Reply #4 on:** Nov 29, 2008, 07:20 PM »

Nice tigers guys! Love the turn and burn fish up by the hole. Now you need to invest in a bigger auger!

FishingNewEngland · « **Reply #5 on:** Nov 29, 2008, 07:41 PM »

Great video! What was playing during the opening? Super heavy!

Neptune · « **Reply #6 on:** Nov 29, 2008, 08:37 PM »

Nice Fish!

Airs24 · « **Reply #7 on:** Nov 30, 2008, 11:29 AM »

So close but so far from first ice, which leaves me doing nothing but dreaming until then!!! Great video!

Ed_r · « **Reply #8 on:** Nov 30, 2008, 03:37 PM »

Very cool. They made the holes look small. I'm assuming those were 8" holes. I've never fished with a hand line tip up, only with an Arctic Warrior. How do you keep the hookset in the fish. Specially a Musky with the boney mouth?

icejunky · « **Reply #9 on:** Nov 30, 2008, 03:51 PM »

very nice video guys, i love the clear black ice, we jsut dont get that enought around my area...very nice...Oh yeah the fish were nice too

bart · « **Reply #10 on:** Nov 30, 2008, 03:55 PM »

Nice video! Beautiful Tigers too! I got a chuckle out of the stove comment, happens to the best of us.

Thanks for sharing, I needed that!

elcapitanmas · « **Reply #11 on:** Nov 30, 2008, 04:05 PM »

Machine head at the beginning of the video. 6" holes. I still havn't gotten all my gear out yet for the season, so the 6 was all I had. It was a riot wondering if it was gonna make it.

E

jimmygunns · « **Reply #12 on:** Nov 30, 2008, 07:18 PM »

Nice! I love the fresh new clear ice. That is way cool!

ThirstyM · « **Reply #13 on:** Nov 30, 2008, 08:42 PM »

Cool vid guys. I was nice to meet you up there that day glad to see you had some more luck. We fished it on wed and again on fri. Got a nice perch and two LM on wed and went back fri and got a tiger about like the first one we seen you with. Let me tell you it sucked to go to a flag with the thing screaming and pull up a LM twice. I have caught thousands of those but no tigers so we were even more happy to catch one on fri. We got the one on fri in about 5ft right near shore.

wedkarz · « **Reply #14 on:** Dec 02, 2008, 06:09 PM »

awesome vid. keep 'em comin

bart · « **Reply #15 on:** Dec 02, 2008, 06:24 PM »

Had to watch it again, Great job!

Rob Wasser · « **Reply #16 on:** Dec 02, 2008, 10:30 PM »

Guys, I myself specifically target muskies through the ice and over the last fifteen years have logged over one hundred caught and released muskies. I can really appreciate your effort to film muskies through ice because I've done it numerous times in amateur videos and for the show I work for. However, I would like to offer some constructive criticism. Before I start, remember this is constructive criticism and nothing more. Have you ever tried using a larger hole? I noticed in your video that you guys got a little nervous on the last fish, fearing that it may not fit through the hole. I'd hate to see you lose a big fish because the hole was too small. I wouldn't use anything smaller than an eight inch hole when fishing for muskies. Second; why were you guys waiting to set the hook and what kind of rigs (leader/hooks) were you using. With a properly rigged quick strike rig you never have to wait to set the hook. The reason I say this for catch and release purposes, which I was happy to see you practice. If you wait too long on these fish, they will undoubtedly swallow your rig and if that happens it has been proven that the mortality rate is 100%. I also noticed that while you were retrieving these fish that there was a lot of added tension on your line that could have been reduced by positioning yourself in line with the fish and remaining in line with it until it reaches the hole. This will reduce the friction of your line on the edge of the hole and the risk of cutting your line t the edge of the hole as well. Third, if you are going to release these fish, it's better to reduce the amount of time these fish are out of the water. Allowing the fish to lay on the ice isn't really a good practice, not to mention the fish is without water. Also, when you do release a fish...hold the fish upright in the water as best you can and allow it to regain it's balance before you releasing. Otherwise that fish may initially swim away but then go belly up. Lastly, if you're like me the health of these muskies is paramount next to my own so, remember:

-Use a minimum of an 8" hole
-If practicing C & R, use a quick strike rig
-Get to the hole as soon as possible and set the hook immediately
-Have all of your release tools and camera(s) ready to go
-Stay in line with the fish when setting the hook and during the retrieve
-Use good handling techniques
-Minimize the time the fish is out of the water
-Allow the fish to gain it's balance before releasing it

I hope you will find these tips useful in your next outing and wish you many successful trips throughout the remainder of the season. If you feel that I misinterpreted any part of your video please, by all means correct me. I just wanted to offer some advice that will help you catch more muskies and improve upon some of your techniques.

Good luck,

Rob

get the gaff · « **Reply #17 on:** Dec 17, 2008, 04:04 PM »

nice fish guys!...did you get them in NY? or another state..i know you prolly wont say what lake, but i was just wondering what area if you wouldnt mind...?

elcapitanmas · « **Reply #18 on:** Dec 17, 2008, 05:39 PM »

appreciate it rw, def a learning experience for me to say the least. Using single hook circle hook rigs. Now I pack a "dity" bag with long handled needle nose, boga, tape, and mouth spreader. Def need to have the stuff on hand when you have a fish on. I also will be bringing my carp landing mats next trip so when the fish does come out of the hole, it doesnt get damaged on the ice chunks from drilling the hole. Thanks again for the tips, may seem like common sense to some but its early season and some people (myself included) are a little rusty.

E

Rob Wasser · « **Reply #19 on:** Dec 17, 2008, 08:43 PM »

elcapitanmas,

You're very welcome for the tips. It sounds like you guys have those tigers dialed in. As far as ice fishing for muskies go, every time you catch one
is going to be a learning experience. You'll become more efficient and more productive with every catch. Start logging your catches and pay close attention
to the moon phases, weather, bait fish and structure and write down all of the details. It'll pay off BIG TIME! Stay away from anything you can get tangled
in like stumps. Look for the weeds, rock piles and drop offs. You're on the right track, keep going and get that BIG tiger. Just in case you need something to
shoot for; the World record tiger musky is 51 lbs 3 oz. and it came off the Michigan/Wisconsin border on a lake called Lac Vieux Desert.

Good Luck,

Rob

get the gaff · « **Reply #20 on:** Dec 18, 2008, 07:47 AM »

thanks Rob...nice tips

AirManCam · « **Reply #21 on:** Dec 19, 2008, 04:21 PM »

I don't fish much for musky, just the occasional tiger, but I'm a pike guy, and we release every fish we catch unless its going on the wall, and we use treble hooks, and 15lb mono. I'm going to disagree with the 100% mortality rate, we let the fish swallow the bait, then set the hook we bring them out of the hole, and cut the line as close as we can get to the hook. Sometimes even getting the hook. These hooks are designed to rot out, and they do their job. A few years back, we caught the same fish 3 times. I caught it, cut my line, a day later my buddy caught it, and cut his line, and then yet a week later another buddy caught it and kept it to mount it with the line still in his mouth and the hooks were about 90% rotted. Its not like the fish is going to stop feeding. But I would also recommend not horsing the fish as much as you're more likely to lose the fish.

Rob Wasser · « **Reply #22 on:** Dec 29, 2008, 06:10 PM »

Quote from: AirManCam on Dec 19, 2008, 04:21 PM

I don't fish much for musky, just the occasional tiger, but I'm a pike guy, and we release every fish we catch unless its going on the wall, and we use treble hooks, and 15lb mono. I'm going to disagree with the 100% mortality rate, we let the fish swallow the bait, then set the hook we bring them out of the hole, and cut the line as close as we can get to the hook. Sometimes even getting the hook. These hooks are designed to rot out, and they do their job. A few years back, we caught the same fish 3 times. I caught it, cut my line, a day later my buddy caught it, and cut his line, and then yet a week later another buddy caught it and kept it to mount it with the line still in his mouth and the hooks were about 90% rotted. Its not like the fish is going to stop feeding. But I would also recommend not horsing the fish as much as you're more likely to lose the fish.

I'm not trying to discount your reference to the pike that was caught three different times but I knew of some recent studies that were done regarding this issue. I did a little research and was able to recall two articles in Musky Hunter Magazine that were related to this very subject we're discussing and wanted to make sure I had my facts straight before I commented back. Below are the findings of two different studies related muskies specifically:

There were two studies -- the Chippewa Flowage Musky Study, which used radio telemetry to follow stomach-hooked muskies and ended up showing a 100% mortality, and a second study conducted by the WI DNR which showed in excess of 90% mortality after one year.

The muskies were not allowed to swallow treble hooks but rather large, 12/0 single hooks. It was quite common for fish to continue feeding. Some mortality occurred within days but some took weeks or months, depending on the severity of the injury when the hooks were set. The key is the near 100% mortality between both studies.

The feature articles were:

Single Hook Sucker Rigging: Dead Muskies Don't Swim, Musky Hunter, Oct/Nov 2000
Sucker Rigging Study Yields More Questions, Musky Hunter, Aug/Sep 2002
A Killer Tactic, Musky Hunter, Oct/Nov 2004

flagguy83 · « **Reply #23 on:** Jan 19, 2009, 06:51 PM »

cool video

saltydawg · « **Reply #24 on:** Feb 11, 2009, 12:31 PM »

This is a classic...great job

Bassfishin1983 · « **Reply #25 on:** Mar 12, 2009, 08:51 AM »

Nice fish and it would have been alright if it was a pike.

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Author Topic: early ice tiger muskies (Read 6270 times)