After a long day of tracking yesterday (7/30), I received an email from Ottawa Chapter MCI member Larry Lambourne that he and fellow member Ross Nichols (holding fish), along with John Anderson (left of Ross), caught and released a 48". The same fish was caught previously by us on July 8th on a large bucktail up shallow. The fish was recaptured using the same large bucktail, but the catch location was slightly deeper. What's even more ironic is we just tracked the fish that morning, even stopping to cast at it!
It will be interesting to see where the fish goes in the next little while after being caught a 2nd time. Perhaps she'll be caught a 3rd time? Who knows!
Wow, that's pretty fortunate to get a re-cap via angling and the guys who caught it knew you! Especially for a 48" -- kinda goes agaist the "non-agressive fish are the ones who live the longest and get the biggest" thought.
ReplyDeleteA lot of the specialized muskie anglers in the area are acutely aware of the study going on, especially since many of them are involved or still have ties to Muskies Canada. I spoke with John a couple weeks ago and told him we had a few fish in that particular area and to look out for them.
ReplyDeleteA 48" up here is like a 32" back home :) Certainly aren't the "biggest"! (But I know what you mean because it's still a "big" fish)
Want to take a break from Champaign and come up? Bring Kerry! Road trip! :)
That's good that what seems like the majority of the people who are going to be catching muskies in the Ottawa are aware. I was thinking of a similar study in the New River in Virginia (I think) where something like 1/3 to 1/2 of the guy's tagged muskies got harvested (or something like that). Anyways, still pretty awesome the support you have from the public.
ReplyDeleteDon't kid yourself: a 48" is a big fish regardless--they are just more common up there than they are down here. What is the max length of a musky, like 60" (I'm talking like absolute maximum, they rarely get that big). A 48" is 80% of its maximum size -- like a 10 lb northern largemouth is about 80% of its maximum size (which I'd say is abour 13 lbs).
I would grab Kerry and go on a road trip but I have this thing called a "thesis" I have to write and a "defense" that I have to get ready for.....
Glad everything up there is looking good!