| Halley's Muskie Lake |
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Gapen, Dan Sr. (2009, March 13). Halley's Muskie Lake. Outdoors Weekly, Volume 55, Issue 50, pp. 10 - 12. George Halley's Cessna 206 floatplane gently lifted off the English River and we became airborne for the fourteen-minute flight to a muskie lake that would test our skills. This would be day two of muskie fishing on the lake which contained a hundred islands and a thousand ideal bays, rock reefs, points and hidden weedy areas for muskie. As best as George could tell this pristine body of water was the highest latitude body of water that holds a natural population of reproducing muskie in North America. "Bobber" Anne and I had arrived two days after the first fall arctic cold front which had shut down fish acitvity in the Minaki, Onatrie area. Our first day on the lake was a testament to that. We'd boated only a single fish a 39-incher Anne managed to entice with a blue 6-1/2 inch Flub Dub plug. the fish was boated late in the day after 30 follows, near misses and a couple short strikes by numerous non-aggressive fish. Today should be better. As we approached the lake, George began a series of banks to check out any new muskie spots he may have missed on previous trips. The weather this day seemed better. It was warmer and a gentle breeze from the southwest greeted us as we stepped down on the 206's floats. "let's try that fish we rolled yesterday behind the island," George commented as we headed to a rocky black spruce island a block away. On my third cast with a red & white Flub Dub I hooked what appeared to be a 46-inch muskie. Finally, after two long runs, then a final leap skyward she disengaged the Flub Dub and sent it flying back towards me. It may have been a lost fish but a good sign anyway. In the next hour we encountered a dozen follows, one near 50 inches, which I attempted to entice with a Tantalizer Fly on a 7/8 weight fly rod. The huge fish's only response was to nose the fly. Finally, a second fish was boated this one a beautiful hybrid at 28 inches. Once again the fish succumbed to Anne's blue Flub Dub. Recorded on film the fish was released. At least we had two fish on videotape for our muskie show Fishing the World with The Ol' Man and "Bobber" Anne, on the Sportsman Channel. The day seemed to be going better! Next, I accomplish what I'd come here to film. I took a muskie on a fly rod. It was only 38 inches long but, a muskie none-the-less. The fish had followed George's Rapala-style crankbait in, reusing to bite as it bumped the bait with its nose. Even a fast figure eight didn't work on the stubborn fish. As it departed I grabbed my fly rod and cast the chartreuse and white Tantalizer Streamer in the direction it swam off. Enticed by my fly and its jerky retrieve the fish returned, this time he appeared more aggressive charging the fly twice with an open mouth but missing each time. The water was clear enough that I was able to watch its reaction each time I worked the fly. Finally with the muskie eight feet away in ten feet of water he nosed my fly but refused to bite. Using an old trick I've used on large northern pike for years, the moment he next touched the fly, I stopped the retrieve and allowed the fly to settle towards bottom as if dead. That's all it took! With the fly a foot off bottom the muskie roled down, flared its gills and sucked in the dead falling fly. the moment the fly disappeared I set the hook. The fish ran about 50 feet and went airborne. This time there was no dislodging of the feathery fly. And, after another leap and several more runs he was in my hands. Challenge accomplished! During the next four hours we must have had 30 more follows, making the number of follows near the 65 mark for two days. Never in my life had I seen so many muskies in one body of water during such aa short period of time. We did, however, land four nice fish, the largest caught by George, a 43 incher. George makes claim to having boated 42 muskie in a single day with two anglers on his unusual muskie lake. I believe it's possible seeing he number of muske follows we had in two days. We completed our show with George boating the 43 incher. If you are an amateur or an expert muskie hunter I recommend tis small body of water north of Minaki highly. Until next time, this is The Ol' Man, Dan Gapen, Sr. hoping you RELAX-SAVOR-and ENJOY our Great Outdoors! |
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