Bass & Bonus Muskie

I fished with Jack today on a local lake for smallies and had quite an interesting day. The weather was a spectacular sunny day with air temps reaching into the 70’s and no wind. Water temps were around the 63 degree range in most areas and the bass were deep. The bulk of the fish came from between 20 & 30 feet of water on tubes & spider grubs. He did manage to get a few fish out of the shallower water on senko’s and jigs as well, but it was really slow there. Being from the southern states, he hadn’t really experienced smallmouth fishing much before and left with sore arms from all the smallies he battled through the day. Fish over 5 pounds were landed and most of the 40 bass were over 3 pounds. There was also a bonus fish that he battled for several minutes on light line and a spider jig that amazed both of us. With a little luck and great difficulty, we actually boated a Muskie that must have weighed at least 30 pounds or more. This fish was really old looking and had several healed over scars on her back. It wasn’t the prettiest thing to look at, but it was impressive! This was Jack’s first ever sighting of a big Muskie and battle as well. After about a 10 minute reviving, she finally went on her way back to the depths where she belonged. Overall, I would have to rank this day on the water as one of the most entertaining ones this season. The bass were great as usual, but the Muskie was a real treat, for both!