A Small Dose of Success - Part 1
Over the past 10 years, I have religiously pursued the
Tiger Muskie species. I wasn’t only targeting the species, my goal was to land one in a lake that very few existed or according to most, don’t exist at all. Over the years, I progressed through many transitions as an angler. Through these transitions, I became a
northern pike snob which led me into believing that my skills with pike would up my chances of actually landing a Tiger Muskie.
Over the first few years, I would go out and throw lures for an hour before or after work chasing the toothy critters in hope of that first follow or major tug. After dissecting the lake and mixing in what I have taken in from pike fishing I felt I was getting close. I was in an area where no one fishes and I mean no one when much to my surprise, a follow by a healthy 25-30 inch Tiger Muskie. To this day, the tiger stripes down its side are still very vivid in my head. I watched her slowly fade away into the deeper water. Finally, my own proof and to top it off, my pike skills has put in me the general area that they do hang out.
On one hand my first emotion was anger that it didn’t strike. After all, by this point, I had put in several thousands of casts. After my emotions and adrenaline came back down to earth like a tube jig finally resting on the bottom, I realized how significant this follow actually was. It was at this point in my journey as an Angler I realized that anything can be done. I realized that hard work and not giving up can prove many people wrong. This is where the true addiction took place and that’s where setting a tough goal for myself was embedded into my thick head.
As the years progressed, my desire to catch a Muskie did not alter. However, my knowledge of angling did. Not only that, but my arsenal of lures that had hit the checkbook pretty hard because of my addiction. One early summer night, I had my tackle bag on my shoulder as I was leaving the lake after not seeing a fish, when I saw a Muskie grabbing the last bit of sunlight of the day. I dropped my bad behind my truck and went after it, and again, no interest. Disgusted in losing another opportunity and drifting off to Muskie land in my head, I drove off leaving my bag on the shore right next to the road. Yes, this was the bag that had somewhere in $800-$1,000 range of lures, gear and a waterproof HD Camera. Needless to say, that bag was never seen again.
As I progressed and the addiction became even worse, my muskie sightings and follows became pretty standard but again, I couldn’t seal the deal. I went ahead and took the plunge on buying more gear since it’s the same gear I use for pike. The sighting and follows became so frequent, that a buddy of mine and I named a lot of the fish. We had Patches, ( solid white mark on his head ) Slot, who was around the 36 inch slot limit, Hook, who had a jacked up bottom hook jaw and my personal favorite, Big Mamma, who I only saw twice in one summer but was every bit of 25lbs. But as usual, I still did not have the notch on my belt that I was the proud angler who had successfully landed a Tiger Muskie.
Continued in
Part 2.