Super lucky catch (vid) – Ciscos don't create monsters? – Underwater Musky
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Cisco = Bigger Muskies (kinda)
It's common knowledge that the presence of ciscos in a fishery = bigger muskies.
It certainly passes the "sniff test" and it would seem that biologists agree. One of the key factors the Minnesota DNR considers when stocking muskies is potential food sources, and ciscos are a BIG part of their equation. #science
We just stumbled on a recent study from northern Wisco lookin' at the impact of cisco on musky size. The results were kinda what you'd expect....with a couple wrinkles. Here's a quick quote:
"Cisco presence had a positive influence on size structure and mean length of individual muskellunge within populations. In contrast, cisco presence had no influence on the mean maximum length of muskellunge."
In other words, lakes with cisco have muskies that are bigger on average, but don't necessarily have the absolute longest muskies. So, 'skies don't need ciscos to get long, but guessing it probably doesn't hurt....🤷♂️
Another good tidbit from the study:
"In cisco lakes, mean muskellunge length was negatively correlated with mean cisco length suggesting that gape limitation may be a factor influencing population size structure and individual growth rates. Therefore, cisco populations with primarily large individuals may be unavailable to muskellunge as forage."
So, big ciscos might actually be too big for muskies to eat with regularity.
Keep in mind: Every system is different (forage mix, habitat, strains, etc.), so what's true in northern Wisconsin might not be true in Minnesota, Michigan, Kentucky, Pennsylvania etc.
Regardless, it's some super interesting info!
Whoa crazy crazy!
This has got to be one of the luckiest musky catches we've seen caught on camera – it's from a Rio Outdoors video, moments after hookin' up with a slimy little pike:
You might remember these guys from the Musky Mullet pic from last week's newsletter. Based on this video, I'd have to say mullets are good luck....😂
It always blows my mind seeing clips like this. Guys grind for weeks at a time without a bite, then something like this happens. That's fishin' man!
Underwater 'Skie
Gotta give a shoutout to the OutdoorFIRST crew for capturing some crazy cool Aqua-Vu footage of a big ole Wisconsin submarine stalkin' a tiny morsel:
Imagine being the minnow....
Golden Perch Done Right!
Love, love, LOVE us a high-quality musky bait repaint.
Some guys and gals are just born with the artistic gene, and unfortunately the rest of us commonfolk are stuck payin' the big bucks ($$$) for their fancy artwork. 😂
Exhibit A: No idea if these beauties are for sale, but we're lovin' the custom spray tan on these Super Shads:
Props to Armatus Baits on the wicked "golden perch" repaint.
Guessing there's plenty of guys out there that would pay a pretty penny for those baits. The real question: would they the get 'em wet or hang 'em on the wall?
Crazy to think these baits were released 26 years ago – feels like yesterday.
Time flies, man....
QUICK HITTERS:
– RIP Forrest L. Wood, founder of Ranger Boats (link)
– Southern river musky fishin' (video)
– The three C’s with Joe Bucher (video)
– Keyes catchin’ some Wisconsin muskies (video)
– Shimano releases new musky rods (link)
– Vexan/TI releases new musky rods (link)
– Chaos Tackle releases new musky rods (link)
– Lake X releases a new topwater (link)
THIS WEEK'S LUNAR TIMES:
(Times based on Minneapolis)
THIS WEEK'S MONSTER MUSKIES:
Startin' things off strong, feast your eyes on this hefty southern river monster from Blue Ridge Musky.
Imagine hand-lining this beast through an ice hole....
Congrats to Andrew Walker on poppin' his first 50" hardwater musky!
If you follow Nicholas Colangelo, you know he'd rather be on the ice, but it's hard to complain about pokin' big ole Pennsylvania sumos like this one.
Not a mammoth tiger, but wanted to congratulate Trevor on his first ever musky, fishin' way out in Connecticut. Don't hear a lot from CT!
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