How "The Accidental Musky" came about.....

Something blew up behind Steve’s pike lure, bit it and disappeared with the lure, in seconds. The line, ten-pound test was shredded, and the lure gone. It must have been a musky, though it did all its damage underwater, and was never really seen. With that Rapala Husky Jerk lure in its face, it was probably going to die no matter what species it was.

My friend Steve Critharis and I were waiting for Cy and Snooky to show at the marina one day. While I puttered around, Steve did some casting under and around other boats in the slips, he caught a small pike, about 15 inches. Then he caught a little nicer pike, about 20 inches. He kept casting, Cy and Snooky were late as usual. Then the lure was gone in five seconds.

Muskies are caught by people who are after other fish, every year,. Sometimes they are landed and released. Sometimes they are killed. Some people, unwilling to deal with that set of teeth, just cut the line and forget about it. These fish die.

There is much written about how a musky angler should handle catch and release. The gap in the conservation literature is what does an angler do who doesn’t have the tools of the musky trade; big net, high quality bolt cutters, jaw spreaders, long needle nose pliers and extra long hook out? The Accidental Musky tells the bass, walleye, or pike angler what to do with the big musky.