"If you think you can win, you can. Faith is necessary for victory."

On June 22nd of 2009, Project Noble Beast's commencement came with the capture of the study's first muskie from the Rideau River. Over 550 angler hours, 60 outings, $2,000+ in fuel, $2,000 lower-unit rebuild, two emergency room visits for volunteers, and a total of 95 days later, Project Noble Beast reached its goal of 30 muskies for Season 1 of the study.

The finish was textbook. Our last 11 fish came before noon - with seven of them before 10AM - which told us there was a sure-fire morning bite. Yesterday, we captured, tagged, and released three muskies in a two hour span between 8:45 and 10:45AM. Our last five fish came from one spot. Thus, the decision and resulting game-plan was easy: get up EARLY to maximize time during the morning bite and fish our go-to spot.

Our first run-through produced one boil from an unknown species. I was throwing topwater while Hedrik threw a bucktail. When we reached the top of the weedbed, Hedrik continued using the bucktail and I clipped on a big plastic Curly Sue (per Hedrik's suggestion). We drifted back down and toward the sweetspot of the weedbed, and as I entered the L-turn at the end of one of my casts a muskie rolled up and CRUSHED the lure at the boat. All morning I was on edge knowing we needed just one more fish to reach our goal, so the hit sent my heart rate SKY ROCKETING. In 32 seconds, the 41 inch female was secured in the net, and we became the victors!

Though we have reached our goal of 30 for the season, this benchmark was merely a goal and not the end-point. We will continue to opportunistically catch additional muskies as the water temperatures drop to gain data across a gradient of water temperatures. Currently, we've captured muskies from water just over 81 down to around 63 degrees Fahrenheit, but would like catch fish in water around 50 degrees or even lower. We also need additional fish to boost sample sizes for the blood physiology.

It's been a blast, and most definitely the best summer job ever! I'd like to thank all those that volunteered their time to help with the project. Regardless of whether we caught fish or not, you folks provided me with motivation to continue flogging the water in an effort to enhance muskie fishing for generations to come. Without angler support, we wouldn't be where we are today. Period.

So, I will tip a cold one back tonight for all those that have provided support either in the form of man-power, money, and/or lure and equipment donations. Thanks folks! Looking forward to continued support, and success!