I stole away with fellow Stone’s Throw Adventures trout guide Rickey Bryant and friends, Lee and Brandon [my 3 leaf musky clover for the week] at the break of dawn this morning to continue our muskellunge streak.  The lake did not disappoint…my abilities on the other hand were most certainly not shooting par today. Within 10 minutes of setting up on the spot, I had a 40″ musky way-lay my bait just a few feet from the boat, but a lazy hit and precarious hookset left me with little confidence in the hookup and despite my efforts, the fish popped off in a matter of seconds…but for Rickey and Lee [Brandon was joining us in about an hour at this point, and I was in my boat alone] the site of seeing one of these beasts in battle is what they came for.

I sent them up a bit to a spot where Brandon got a 43″ a few days ago, while I continued to work a particular area. I opted to troll now, in an effort to keep the bait in a deeper strike zone for an extended period, targeting a depth of 8-10 feet with a large jerkbait keeping it just off a breakline that broke at 12 ft directly related to one of the most productive shorelines in this area. On the first pass, folks…the lure stops dead, and I begin to fight a healthy high-30″ musky to the boat, but upon reaching the surface ,it uses the change in gravitational forces to its advantage and shakes the bait…but no heartbreak fish.

Only 2 passes later, through the EXACT same area [not close, made the exact same pass] my shoulder gets jarred by a vengeful strike, and the assuring weight of more than a scrappy fighter…this was a truly big fish. Rickey and Lee becoming aware of my dilemma, they begin to trolling motor my way to see if I need assistance, and the fight goes very well, until it comes to the side of the boat. Muskies are notorious for wrapping line in an undulating death roll, which can be very effective [and why swivels attached to your line are often a smart idea] at freeing themselves, and this time was no exception. I reached for the net to scoop the tuckered out musky just as he made one last spin which wrapped the line around the hook in his mouth, after which all it took was a painless and almost surgical tug to remove the hook and free my quarry. This fish…while not my largest and most certainly not the largest present, was a heart-breaker…45-46″ and fat.

We gave the area a break and went to other grounds, doing more chilling and shooting the breeze than fishing, but enough to know we should return to more fruitful grounds…when just 3 minutes into fishing, I hook and land this…

A nice fat healthy low 40″ musky, which struck violently right at the boat, and stripped enough drag to make for an interesting fight. While the “camera crew” [not officially, but Rickey was kind enough to video tape what fish action we had, as I would oblige the same if he received it] could not make it in time to see the fight, a great video of the landing, unhooking, photograping, and release of this fish will be viewable ala youtube or directly linked through our website inthe “websiodes” section, which in the future will contain more edited, refined, and extensive TRUE episodes of the outdoors adventures available through our site and with our guides. I hope you enjoy these offerings, not just in an arm-chair sense, but in that it inspires you to get up and go experience all the outdoors has to offer, even in this cold weather.

This just in: I just got off the phone with Stone’s Throw Adventures musky guide Dwayne Hickey, and after having a rather slow day on the river, I suggested he move to the lake and onto some hot active muskies, judging by our morning action. He put clients onto 2 low 40″ fish in a matter of minutes, saving what could’ve been a bad trip due to less than ideal conditions on the river. Also, congrats to Chris Brooke, a fellow tech student and musky fisherman, who got a 43″ musky today. I’ll have pics of these fish up as soon as I can…

…Dwayne is taking clients out tomorrow as well. Time will only tell, but I have a good feeling they’re going to be pleased tomorrow with the bite we’re on.

In other news, same river [Caney Fork], but miles downstream, longtime fishing partner Yee got a beautiful 27″ brown on a suspending rogue jerkbait, along with a few other brown trout over 20″. Not a bad fishing day all in all.

Stone’s Throw Adventures has just recently started to add videos of its trips to youtube. While many of these will begin to be incorporated into full length 20 minute episodes, clips used in these programs can be viewed raw and unedited here at Stone’s Throw Adventures or by subscribing to our videos on youtube. Just search StonesThrowAdventure user name on youtube and subscribe to our video logs. Also, feel free to subscribe to our RSS feed by clicking on the blue ball in the upper right hand corner of the page to receive updates when new reports are added, so you can come check them out yourself. Despite the cold, there’s alot of adventure to be had, so get out there, and experience it…

Went out today, again with a couple of neophyte hardcore musky guys…Greg from Cookeville and Brandon, the guy who got his first yesterday. Somebody pull the horseshoe out of this kids butt!!! We pull up and in 4 casts, he has a mid 40″ slam his bait, but nerves made him jump and pull it off after just a second…a few casts later Greg got ghosted by a nice fish, in the high 30′s. Good juju for the first 15 minutes. We start to motor around our area and out of the blue Brandon gets slammed with a nice 43″ on the same jerkbait he got one on yesterday. Unfortunately, Outdoor Junction no longer has them in stock, haha…I ordered some through them and they put a few on the racks, but I think Greg bought the last of them out. After getting some great fight and release video of Brandon’s beautiful 43″, which will be posted soon as I can figure out how to do that on this new flip camera…not moments later, Brandon slams into a fish approaching the 50″ mark on the troll through the same area. Unfortunately, as I was figgeting to get the camera out for fight video, and poor Greg grappling for the net, it shook off, but nevertheless…I know where she lives haha, and I doubt she’s alone.

Remember, these fish are not only a fragile resource, but fragile themselves…the fight takes alot out of them, which is part of the reason their fight is so epic. Even in this cold water, it took a good 3 minutes to get the girl kickin’ and going on her own, and the warmer the water gets, the harder it is. Please…PLEASE…if you land a musky, limit the time out of water, unhook it IN the water, and if you plan on going AFTER these fish, or even fish in water regularly where they are present in good numbers, get appropriate tackle, for your own good and the fish’s. A big deep Frabill or Beckman hookproof net, boga grip [not a cheap knockoff...they don't spin and it can damage the fish, or you, as muskies notoriously do death rolls like a gator] and heavy line with a steel or my pref, a heavy fluoro leader will put you in the ball park for an enjoyable musky fishing trip, and a safe one for your quarry. These fish are too cool and rare to just be enjoyed once, especially when they can reach the mid 50″ mark or larger in our Tennessee waters.

Rock Island muskies are on fire, both in the lake and on the river. Fish approaching, or surpassing, the 50″ mark have been seen recently and multiple fish in the 40″ bracket [up to 46" weighing 32 pounds] have been taken, some from shore. It’s only a matter of time before one of the brutes makes a mistake and ends up on the end of our of our lines, and quite possibly into the record books…42 pounds is the mark to beat. Congrats to Brandon Clayton on his first musky, a 40″ male, caught on an 8 inch suspending Thunderstick olive [2nd pic down]
Remember muskies in this area are a valuable, somewhat rare, and native, commodity, relying almost entirely on natural reproduction, with little regulation in effect to manage for trophy fish…yet we are lucky enough that it still produces them. Please, regard the TWRA signs posted at launch sites around Rock Island waters that demonstrate how to safely handle and release muskies, to ensure our investment of our own future enjoyment and our progeny. Besides, they don’t taste good, and considering we have all the crappie and walleye a man can handle, there is no need to keep a musky unless it is an absolute trophy…that being a fish over 50″.

Congratulations to Stone’s Throw Adventures musky guide Dwayne Hickey on a great day of taping for Keyes outdoors, on the Collins River…14 hookups, and 6 in the boat. Nothing huge, but we definitely saw enough nice fish for them to know that they live in there. I won’t give away too much, but check out the episode for yourself online or on Fox Sports in a couple weeks…that’s a pretty fast turn over rate there boys!