Esox Fever

There is certainly something that can be said about fly fishing for muskies. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that they are crazy, nasty, badass, murderous, vicious, fly killing, rod jarring, eating machines. Musky fishing has definitely taken over a huge part of my fishing career, I know I can say the same for Mike, we both used to be die hard trout fisherman, guides, and brook trout enthusiasts. Mike went as far as quitting his guiding job, buying a real boat and basically fishing for nothing unless it has teeth, I can say the same for myself although we both still enjoy the occasional cold water foray and hold a very special place in our hearts for trout and other assorted fishes, yet Esox certainly rules as king.

The following photos show our first official foray into the world of Musky fishing. This was no casual trip, we did months of research before we even wet a line unless it was to toss flies into Mike’s pool to see how they worked. When i say months of research by the way I mean months. Neither of us are capable of doing anything with one foot out of the canoe so to speak, we wanted to be fully prepared for what we were getting ourselves into. We delved deep into books, maps, phone interviews as I like to call them and tons of new gear purchases.

I like to say that it all payed off, our first trip resulted in at least six takes maybe more with two fish boated in total, all throwing flies. An epic day by any Musky hunters standards. I realize this even more now after moving back home to the Niagara region and continuing the hunt. been a year since that first trip and I have landed one fish since than, but not for lack of trying. One thing is for sure, this fish has me by the balls.