Muskies eleven

(Disclaimer: This post contains no actual musky photos. I haven’t caught any.)

I’m not a gear guy. Most people know this about me. I see a world of outdoors people who put gear first all the time, making our outdoor world as marketing-driven as the rest of our human world. I generally try to make the case here that building oneself and learning should really come first if we’re going to get the most out of our time outside.

That being said, I’m now gearing up for new adventures in the angling realm. A few days ago I bought a specialized fly rod for more than perhaps my existing collection of rods is worth (still a pittance to serious collectors). This one’s not meant for delicately setting #20 midges in the surface film though.

Fish populations of almost all kinds have been on the rebound here in western Pennsylvania over the last fifty years and particularly over the last twenty years. In our rivers these fish have included walleye, smallmouth bass and skipjack herring. It would seem to follow that perhaps also fish that eat walleye, smallmouth bass and skipjack herring might be following this same trend, if such a fish could be found.

Muskellunge (musky) were never really gone from western Pennsylvania but they’re surely experiencing a renaissance, if we can associate the word “renaissance” with a brutal, outsized predator of almost all else that swims. The muskellunge resembles the more common pike (no minnow itself) but greatly outclasses it in size and sometimes simply eats pike for breakfast. They’re surely abundant in the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio Rivers and can now also be found in the major creeks and small rivers that feed the navigable rivers. Every so often on an evening’s fishing, I see the creek waters explode in a plume of froth and I wonder…

I’ve slowly come to think that I may never be so well positioned to get in on a musky bonanza as I am currently, living on the divide between the Allegheny and Monongahela drainages. To my north runs the Allegheny with a number of long tributary arms worth investigating. To my east is the Kiskimenetas River, comprised of the discharge of the Conemaugh and Loyalhanna Rivers. South of me I find the Youghiogheny River, burgeoning with muskellunge presently. And if I feel like traveling west, the Pennsylvania miles of the Ohio River await. And if all else fails, I look to the south – I’ve got a West Virginia license as well.

If I’m going to take musky though, I savor the idea of taking them on a fly, for no particular good reason. This seems very sporting – one of those pinnacle quests for the angling sportsman. I don’t want to reach the age of eighty only to think that I could have taken one of these monsters on the fly rod but chose not to. I want to look off into the distance with steely gaze at that age and say to some young whipper-snapper, “Yeah, I took a musky once. On a fly rod,” pointing to a hideous scar associated with the fight.

So, my (second-hand) eleven weight Sage rod is on the way – the start of the new musky kit. And yes, my method for choosing correct rod weight was derived entirely from the film “This is Spinal Tap.” A few heavy metal fan/fly fishers will get this. I need a reel that will also go to eleven (no amps required) and I hope to add this in the months ahead. Surprisingly enough, an eleven weight line will also be required before I can wade out onto the musky flats. The leader will be comparable to something you might tie to an overhanging branch to limb-line for catfish.

Then there are the flies. When the muskrat hatch is on, I must be prepared to match it. I need a new vise, one capable of dealing with hooks in the /0 realm. I may just visit the hardware store for this rather than the fly shop. Tandems and triple tandems and articulated teasers starting at ten inches will soon hang from my drying rack. I’ve often looked at a raccoon tail and imagined simply wrapping it to a 6/0, adding eyes and calling it a fly.

But, yes, along with all this gearing up, there’s some less tangible preparation to be done. I need to give serious thought to just where to start and how to attack once I’m there. I must continue the physical training program I’ve been on for the last six months, one that will render my shoulders, lats, triceps, etc. ready to haul for hours at a time (perhaps taking these muscles also to “eleven”). I should also dig in and simply do some more musky reading, especially on seasonal movements.

I have some acquisition to do, some study, tying and training. I won’t be posting musky pics next week. But next spring, when the duckling hatch brings on the first yellow fluffy “emergers,” I’ll be wading somewhere nearby launching something I’ve just selected from my ammo crate fly wallet and hoping for something explosive.

In the months ahead, I plan to take it to “eleven.”