problem with muskies dying

[french_lake_kid]

Yesterday morning I fished just for a few hours off of a resort dock on French lake. Didn't have time to take the boat out. So I was bobber fishing with a 8" sucker. To make a long story short... I caught a 45", it was out of the water maybe 20 seconds max. Got me wet when she took off after maybe 5 seconds of reviving. Then floated back up. 1 big flap of her tail and she was gone again. Then came back up. Struggling but still not dead. I watched the fish continue until she was out of sight and I'm not sure of her fait. But I dont understand why they are having such a hard time even after a short fight and a quick release. Water temp? I'm a bass fisherman but it still frustrates me to see a fish die. I had this same thing happen a couple of weeks ago with a smaller fish I caught fishing bass on a chatterbait. It was also tagged. I called the DNR and they came and got it. I've probly caught 40 or 50 skies since i was little and those are the only 2 I've had die on me. Both this year.

[crazyice]

I would venture to guess that water temps are playing a huge factor right now, hopefully it was just a temporary shock thing and not a fatal one.

[hanson]

We had 83 degrees on the Minnesota River the other night. Thats hot water wherever you go!

[bigbritt]

how do you have those suckers rigged? doesnt sound like a quick strike rig (bobber), if you are using anything else chances are they are swallowing the hook. that will for sure do it.

[TurnUpTheFishing]

I dont like targeting muskies this time of year for that reason. Those fish use up a lot of energy even on the shorter battles and dont recover welll in the warm water. I was bass fishing last night and saw two floaters one being a low to mid 40" fish.

If you are going to fish them this time of year be prepared, dont fight them till exauhstion and keep them in the water as much as possible.

[RK]

Hiya -

It's hard to say exactly what happened. I've had fish just flat-out croak for no apparent reason. One that sticks out was a fish the 1st week of the Ontario season probably 15 years ago. A 40" fish hit a bucktail about half way to the boat, head shook a few times, then just rolled over. It was dead as a doornail by the time I got it to the boat. It was hooked mid-way up the jaw, one hook in it, no real damage at all. It just croaked. A heart attack I guess... It happens...

That having been said though, TUTF and others are right about the water temps right now. I had 80 degree water over the weekend. Too hot for me to fish for them and feel good about it. I'll wait till things cool down. When water temps rise, the ability of water to carry oxygen is reduced. That's bad news for thermally stressed and exhausted fish... I'm bass fishing till things cool off. Frankly as slow as muskie fishing's been, I'm not all that broken up about it

Cheers,

Rob Kimm