Muskellunge, also known as the fish of 10,000 casts, may be the most ferocious freshwater fish available to anglers in the United States. Growing longer than 5 feet in length, with the potential to weigh well over 50 pounds, these historic denizens of northern lakes and rivers have vicious teeth along their jaws as well as rows of smaller “raker” teeth within their mouths that make them formidable predators.
For freshwater anglers, they can present the ultimate challenge with conventional gear or with a fly rod. Musky, although they are extremely opportunistic and aggressive feeders, do not eat very often. They prefer one large meal, say a 20-inch sucker fish, to smaller more regular feedings. This is why they are known as the fish of 10,000 casts. Anglers often fish all day long or even days at a time without a single take or even a follow.
For those who catch musky, the challenge as well as the thrill of the take and fight make it all worthwhile. Some prefer to call it “the fish of the right cast at the right time.”
Brad Bohen, who ties giant musky flies and owns Musky Country Outfitters in Hayward, Wisc., offered a tip to anglers new to the sport. Whether you’re fishing for southern musky in Tennessee, tiger musky out west or in the traditional musky fisheries of the north woods, it’s important to keep your offering in the water by playing out your retrieve as long as possible. Bohen said to make your lure or fly look like a fish being played to the boat, because musky are notorious for stealing fish off anglers’ lines.
