Something's Foul

I fished with John Anderson and Wally Robbins yesterday. It looked like the fish might be active as the first spot produced a boatside strike for Wally from a small muskie as well as a muskie that grabbed my bait for a few seconds before kindly giving it back to me. Our cloud cover dissipated and the action slowed. Soon the wind was roaring and it was evident that we were likely chasing inactive fish. I switched to a glide bait hoping for a reaction strike...

Before I continue I'd like to point out (perhaps state the obvious?) that fish will often strike lures from a variety of angles, speeds, and motions. With muskies, sometimes the fish stalk the lure and carry out a perfectly horizontal strike with a rapid lunge forward. Sometimes muskies will eyeball a deadsticked crankbait or topwater, then slowly and quietly nip the lure. Others will launch themselves completely airborne from a near 90 degree angle to viciously strike a topwater lure. Still others may quickly swipe or roll at a lure.

A swipe or roll strike can sometimes result in foul hooking. The photo below shows a chunky 37" male that rolled beneath a glide bait, missed the lure with its mouth, but whose body made contact with the bait causing the atypical hooking location. This isn't necessarily a rare occurrence as I have seen this happen before with gliders and crankbaits. However, there are a few considerations to make after realizing you've foul hooked a muskie.

I'm not too thrilled with this whole foul-hooking business.

To prevent further damage to the fish, avoid horsing your catch to the boat. These types of battles necessitate light drag settings (I prefer to free-spool all hooked muskies, regardless of hooking location). Also, net the fish as soon as possible even if its head is pointed away from the net which is usually the case with foul hooked muskies. Take extra care to avoid wrenching on the hooks during the de-hooking process. Cut hooks if need be and be sure to remove any cut pieces prior to release.

Good luck out there!