It Begins With A Bang

Had an absolute blast last night hitting the waters of Lake Waconia with Pete and Jeff in hopes of getting a muskie or two in the boat.  Pete was the first to strike and it was this fat 44 1/2" fish that fell victim on a great figure 8 by Pete.  Pete didn't even get a chance to make the second swing of his figure 8 and the fish just turned and inhaled his bait about 2 feet from the side of the boat.  After a short battle and a nice jump the fish was in the net for a few pictures, a measurement, and then back in the lake she went.

The season begins with a bang!  This time of year is the begining of a special time for fishwithmatt.com.  This is the start of my muskie season.  Yes, I know what many of you are thinking....the season has been open for 2 months why start now.  The reason I usually start chasing them around the end of July early Aug has to do with my schedule and also the weather.  The past few weeks have had many days getting close to 100 degrees and I prefer not to fish them on those hot of days.  But I do like when it gets hot, just need it to cool a bit in the evenings or over night.  That way the mornings are a perfect fit for a muskie catch. The weather is starting to do what I have been waiting for.  I also have a serious passion for bass and walleye fishing-as many of you know.  The bass fishing has been eating up much of my schedule the past 2 months.  The tournaments and what not are starting to taper off for the year already and I find it is time to start chasing the toothy critters (as Travis Frank would say).   

It's important this time of year, with this warm weather, that you not handle these monster fish too much.  If you are going to take them out of the water for pictures make sure and keep it short.  The sooner you can get them back in the water the better.  This fish was hoisted for no more then 20 seconds and then right back in the water she went.  She swam off without a problem.

Pete is far from a novice when it comes to fishing and especially muskie fishing.  It made my job that much easier last night.  Once I got him around the fish he did the rest all on his own.  It was fun to watch.  After it was all said and done we reminisced and shared many laughs.

I will be back at it this afternoon on the waters of Lake Minntonka and hopefully will have pictures and stories to come from this outing.  Until next time, Fish On(screaming)!