If its true that fishing teaches patience, then casting a line for Ohios largest sport fish - the mighty muskellunge - is an education in perseverance as well! Known for good reason as the fish of 10,000 casts, this freshwater giant can aggravate, exasperate and exhilarate anglers in its efforts to evade capture.
These strong-jawed fish are consummate escape artists, smashing into fishing lines at speeds of up to 30-mph and escaping into the watery depths with exotically named fishing lures such as terminator, death trap, grim reaper and muskie mugger.
Native to Ohio, muskellunge - or muskie - normally live in lakes and slow-moving rivers with clear water and numerous underwater weedbeds. They are a long, slender fish with large duckbill shaped mouths and needle sharp teeth. The dorsal fin is soft and located near their forked tail. A pattern of dark bars, spots or both on a pale background helps identify these awe-inspiring fish.
A member of the pike family, muskie can grow to lengths longer than four feet and weigh more than 50 pounds. Ohios state record muskie - weighing 55 pounds, 2 ounces and measuring 50-1/4 inches long -was caught in 1972 at Piedmont Lake in Belmont County.
Ohios top aquatic predator is not a picky eater with a surf-and-turf appetite that includes gizzard shad and small waterfowl. In fact, even a boats propeller can elicit a strike as it passes over a muskies favorite hole in the weedbed.
Muskie are ambush feeders when they have weedbeds to hide in and will strike anything that appears to be struggling or injured, said Elmer Heyob, a state fisheries biologist and passionate muskie angler. The majority of the time they are open water feeders that hunt in small loose packs for gizzard shad, he added.
Like other species at the top of their food chain, muskies are greatly outnumbered by the prey they feed upon. For instance, a healthy muskie population might include two muskies per acre of water, as compared to 50 bass in that same amount of area. That might not sound like many muskies, said Heyob, but such populations actually offer Ohio muskie hunters some of the best catch rates in the country.
Muskellunge reproduce in only a few of Ohios waterways. To improve fishing opportunities, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife stocks nine inland lakes each September with young muskies measuring at least 8-inches in length.
The nine lakes across Ohio are: Alum Creek in Delaware County, Caesar Creek in Warren and Clinton counties, Clear Fork in Richland and Morrow counties, Cowan in Clinton County, Leesville in Carroll County, Piedmont in Belmont County, Pymatuning in Ashtabula County, Salt Fork in Guernsey County and West Branch in Portage County.
While noting that Piedmont and Salt Fork have both yielded a couple of 40-pound muskies already this year, he suggested that beginners should cast their first attempts on the waters of Leesville and Clear Fork. Both lakes, he said, have consistently yielded good catches of muskie.
Muskies frequently follow a lure as its reeled back to the boat and are known to breach or come out of the water after the bait. You can actually lead a muskie around your boat five or six times by dragging the lure through the water, said Heyob. As the fish becomes more agitated and excited youll see it flexing its gills and snapping its jaws, thats the time to speed up the movement and get that muskie to grab the bait!
But, Heyobs number one tip for beginning muskie anglers is: Hook-up with an experienced muskie fisherman and save yourself years of aggravation! Doing so, he said, will greatly improve a beginners chance of early success. These are not easy fish to catch, in part because they have a much wider ranging territory than other fish.
You might also want to check out the Ohio Huskie Muskie Club, which recognizes and records trophy muskies, or one of several other Muskies, Inc. club chapters around the state. These organizations not only help educate those interested in muskie fishing, but also promote the concept of catch-and-release.
When Heyob fishes for muskies, he prefers using jerk baits. Such artificial baits allow him to control the action of the lure, moving it through the water at a speed and style he thinks will best attract the fish.
Here are some other helpful hints from Heyob about muskie fishing:
- Join a muskie club for the advice and the fun!
- If youre out on a lake and meet up with a resident muskie angler, politely ask him or her to recommend a couple of good fishing spots and to suggest some favorite techniques.
- The Internet is a great resource for more muskie information.
Ohio is fortunate to have a wide variety of sportfish in its lakes and streams - from trophy bass to steelhead trout - but its worth developing a 10,000-cast kind of perseverance to find out why many veteran anglers believe muskie fishing reigns supreme.