Lure: Mepps Giant Killer Bucktail
Time and Date: 8:15 amSept 12th 2009
Water Temp79 degress
Location: Lake Pomme De Terre, Mo
Conditions: Mostly Sunny

Guide: "Coach" Jim Wilson,

www.coachesguideservice.com

(417) 399-3111

spinnerbait@mailcity.com

One Cast Away

Expensive lures and tackle; hours upon hours on the water searching for an elusive fish few may get the chance to even lay hands on, let alone get a glimpse of; cast after exhausting cast of heavy lures into hope filled waters that may only end the day with getting your lure wet and your arms sore. This may not sound like a good time to many fisherman, but there are those dedicated anglers who will put in their time and agony in pursuit of a fish that can cause an angler to endure so much, but in the end, earn such an awesome reward. That fish of course is the legendary muskie.

Brett and I began chasing these elusive fish a little over a year ago when we discovered a local conservation area started stocking muskie in a near by lake. We soon caught the muskie bug and quickly took to the waters in quick pursuit. We had fished the nearby lake over the last year without even a muskie to be spotted. There were always story’s at the bait shop of anglers inadvertently catching muskie while bass fishing on the fairly new muskie lake, and this only fueled are obsession of tracking down the elusive fish.

We decided to become proactive and seek out some experts. Missouri is home to a handful of muskie lakes. One of its original and best known is Lake Pomme De Terre. After we did some research on the Internet, we came across Coaches Guide Service. We liked what we saw and booked out first guided muskie trip for mid September.

Jim Wilson, better known as Coach, was our guide who picked us up in his 18ft Sea Ark at first light. As anxious as we were to get fishing, Coach was as anxious to trade fishing stories. He had explained to us that the prior two weeks of fishing was fantastic, as an unseasonable cool front invaded late August and early September that cooled the water and heated up the muskie action. Unfortunately, the muskie fishing had slowed dramatically the current week; and with sunny skies, calm winds and warm weather, it would take some hard work and a little luck to hook up with our first muskie.

We started off fishing in a secluded cove that was littered with standing timber, stumps, and more schools of shad that I ever thought possible. I thought to myself, if were going to catch a muskie, this has to be the place. As the day broke, we tied on lures that were as big as the crappie I catch back home and throw in the fryer. With a small heave, our lures would sail out into the stump fields and land in the lake with a splash reminiscent of a bass breaking the water chasing its morning breakfast. “They're only one cast away” Coach would explain to us. “Just when you least expect it, that’s when they can get you.”

Shortly into the morning, I was excited when a muskie surfaced within casting distance. But as there reputations preceded them, he was nowhere to be found after several casts. As the day heated up, the action slowed. We went from cove to cove, but nothing to show for. He changed out lures trying to find the one that would change our luck. At 11:15, we painted a shallow water shoreline with our casts. With a quick jerk to my left, I looked over to see Coach set the hook. 15 feet from the boat, a large muskie surfaced at spit Coaches Bucktail lure out and ended the excitement as quickly as it came. Just the site of the monster fish breaking the surface and casually swimming back into the depths got our hearts pounding and or nerves rattled. Coached amusingly cursed the fish and smiled at us, “one cast away.”

After another hour of casting, we broke for lunch and a needed break. My hand was already cramping from what felt like a thousand cast with a heavy gear. We stopped at a local marina, for lunch and I asked the owner what he recommended for a hungry muskie angler. He swore by the fried pork tenderloin sandwich. Now, I’ve seen some big sandwiches, but to say this sandwich was a monster would be a huge understatement. The meat on this sandwich was over an inch thick, and the bun was dwarfed by a fried tenderloin that was as large as the plate. As intimidating as it was, it tasted incredible and I took on the challenge of eating it and won. I figured, if I can eat a sandwich that was bigger than my head and my stomach, I know I can catch a muskie now.

After doing some trolling for an afternoon with no success, we switched back to casting later in the afternoon. The day ended with me catching a 10 inch bass hitting a 10 inch top-water muskie plug. Go figure. After nearly 13 hours of fishing, it was muskie 1, anglers 0.

The next morning we started again at first light, and headed over to the cove we fished in the morning and evening the prior day. The stump filled cove was begging for a muskie to take one of our lures. For almost two hours, we threw everything we had at them with no luck. Around 8:00, Coach got a call from a friend. He had just hooked up with a 38” muskie across the lake.

Naturally, he asked what he caught him on. Turned out to be a bucktail in perch color with a colored blade. Coach confirmed he had several in his wide arsenal of muskie lures. I selected my weapon of choice and began casting back across the stump lines awaiting a change in fate with my new lure.

It was now about 8:15 and as the morning grew longer, each cast seemed more and more like a practice cast as Coach has put it earlier. I targeted a solitary stump that lay just inches below the water and cast about 10 feet past. Just as my bucktail cleared the stump, the water erupted as a muskie engulfed my lure with the force of a freight train smashing into another head on.

“That’s a fish!” I quickly shouted. My rod tip bent and shook as the fish thrashed his head and only got more agitated with the situation as the fight began. As quickly as he trashed, he then turned and took a run towards the boat. The tension on the line lightened quickly, and the fight seemed to be over. I was wrong however; it was only the beginning. I stepped back and did all I could to crank fast and keep tension on the line. The muskie was now just a few feet of line between him and I.

At this point, all I could do was hold on and play him out. Speed, power, and attitude: that is what I had at the end of my line now. A muscle car with teeth, and it wanted no part of me (or maybe it did, literally). As the fight went on, it was clear my lure was hooked as good as it could be, and the only way this muskie was going to win, is if I made a mistake.

Cool and calm, Coach talked me through to the end and advised, the next pass I was able to get the muskie to the boat, he would net him. And that he did. I now had landed a fish of a lifetime. Unnerved, my heart pounded and my hands shook, as I let out a whoop or two of excitement and relief. There’s not a bass on this earth that could have unnerved me like a muskie can. The anticipation: the speed and force of it smashing my lure; the power of him bending my rod over, and teeth and attitude to match, made for an experience that I won’t ever forget.

Muskie fishing is like no other. It’s a different breed of fishing. In fact, I would say it’s more like hunting. The preparation: the time, the anticipation as you search and hunt down that one elusive fish. If you’ve felt the rush of taking a trophy whitetail or any other big game animal, that’s the rush you can get when you have the opportunity to close the deal on a giant muskie.

And I can’t say enough about muskie fisherman in general. They all will teach you what you want to know. Show you there favorite fishing holes, tell you what they are biting on, encourage you to fish a cove with them to increase the odds of someone landing a muskie. It’s a whole different, and welcomed breed of fishing and anglers. If you have the patience and mind set to pursue these amazing fish, you will be rewarded with an experience few will get to experience.

I’ll never give up chasing largemouths any time soon, but I can tell you this; muskie fishing has opened up a whole new world, and I don’t know if catching a 6 lb. large mouth will ever be the same. Once you hook that first muskie, your world will change and a new addiction will grab hold.

I’d also like to give a special thanks to Coach, who was a pleasure and a whole lot of fun to fish with. He taught us more about muskie fishing in two days than what we could have learned in two years. One cast away. . .