Well folks it has finally happened and I can say there are actually Tiger Muskies in Newman Lake! Mark it on your calander, AJ's Dad has met the quota of casts required to catch a tiger musky. I must say, it was truly a remarkable experience. There I was in the blistering hot sunshine, fighting off the feeding frenzy that is known as Crappie Fishing, beating the water with my favorite lure, the 2" Berkley Gulp Alive minnow, earegly awaiting the arm wrenching strike and BANG there he was!! Absolutely amazing, what a battle. First he went left, then he went right, right to the surface that is. My brother the Drumdog watched in anticipation as I muscled my catch to the surface. "It's a musky" he squealed!! Get the net! We were on the edge of our seats, the tension was high as I lifted the little fella over the side of the boat with my ultralight and 6 lb test line. It's a shame I didn't have a cradle but as you can see in the photo, I handled this beast with the utmost respect and gently held him at a slight angle to insure no damage to his delicate spine. It's truely a day I will remember forever.

OK that was fun, now to the point. Yes, this is only the second Tiger I have ever caught. The other was about 8 years ago a whopping 5 lber. I have read posts where folks are asking what goes on to make the tails of these fish so jagged and torn looking. For the most part it seems the popular opinion is that the damage comes from fishermens nets. I now officially have an opinion on that. I do not believe the net theory to be true. As you can see on this 14" long 3 1/2" girth behemoth, his little tail is already somewhat in a disarray. My uneducated guess is that, thats just the way the Good Lord makes them. I know you're all wondering so the answer is yes, this fish was released without harm to live to devour another crappie jig on another day. I have finally caught my coveted tiger muske so now it's back to what I do best "Pike Fishing" !!! Happy Fishing

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