A trip to Tiger country

Northern

Northern

Seeking SMB
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Since the Basin temperatures appeared uninhabitable by humans this week, I shifted my plans to a 3 day trip to a couple of Rainier-area lakes with campgrounds. The first lake was a gorgeous place, and gave up a few bass of both varieties, though nothing of great size
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Then I moved on to Tiger country:

First day was very grey and alternated between dead calm and quite breezy - tough to spot tigers for a beginner - only saw a few, and pretty much as I went right over them. Just one follow, right up to the boat, but somehow when I looked up to get out of the increasing W, I'd spent 5 hours out there (?!)
Hard to cast with this guy staring me down, too
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Partly cloudy and a very slight breeze this morning put just enough ripple on the new water to make spotting fish a little difficult, especially from the low vantage point of a kayak. Lucky for me, there were plenty around in the spot I picked, because I mostly didn't see them until they were 20 feet away or so. The funny part was that several fish were orienting to these small mats of chartreuse algae, and if they spotted me, they actually followed my drifting chartreuse yak around as long as I wasn't actively pedaling or making noise. It happened several times, but just the quiet "tink" of picking up my phone off the deck made them take off like sasquatch.
Anyway...

I fished one of @clarkman 's flies for a while (the way those swim is mesmerizing!) but these pikeminnow-stuffed brats ignored the light-colored ones I had requested from him for the ciscoe-eating Ontario pike that lent me my forum name.
Switched to this one gifted to me by @Dr. Magill last year
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After a few follows, I spotted one about 20 ft out in open water, backed away quietly and made a cast just past and in front of him. Saw him turn and follow it as my sinking line pulled it down out of my sight. As my retrieve neared the boat and the fly became visible again, I paused the retrieve and Dr. Magill's black musky fly made a lovely nose-up kick and slow pirouette, which was instantly followed by the appearance of a wide open mouth and flared gills, not 12 feet from the yak. The fly disappeared, and I spent about 3 min being towed around in circles before getting him up to the surface for a drive-by cameo. Dang - this guy fought way harder than a northern! Not having a muskie-appropriate net (and, TBH, not wanting to get esox stink/slime all over my boat and legs, lol), I just got him boatside and long-nose pliered out the barbless fly, so no hero selfie. I got a tail-flick of lakewater in the face for my efforts.
Not huge - probably 26"ish? - but pretty darn fun!
(LMK if the video doesn't work)

A couple captures from the vid
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Pretty sure my beginner's luck was spawned by a Mom's Day gift from my animation artist daughter. A cartoon sticker of a stylized Esox for my yak 😊
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Congrats, young Lady! My top bucket-list fish & one I'll likely never cross off.
 
Oh hell yes!!!

Nice work!

Even though I fish a lot of different colors for those things, I usually spend at least the second half of my day with something black....or mostly black.
 
Well done!
SF
 
Great way to start my day. Good for you. 👍
 
@Jim F. And @clarkman
You laugh! Most of my experience with muskie is from Ontario lakes with the non-hybrid Esox masquinongy, some of which are HUGE.
Many times as we've been bringing walleye to the boat, one of those monsters will come rocketing up from the deep, maw open as they try to snatch it. I have personally yelped more than once!
Not sure I want to see the beast that grabbed this 22" 'eye as it was being reeled in. It was dripping blood, and you can see the teeth marks where it grabbed him. Almost yanked the rod out of my sister's hands.
We swim in those lakes!
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Northern said:
@Jim F. And @clarkman
You laugh! Most of my experience with muskie is from Ontario lakes with the non-hybrid Esox masquinongy, some of which are HUGE.
Many times as we've been bringing walleye to the boat, one of those monsters will come rocketing up from the deep, maw open as they try to snatch it. I have personally yelped more than once!
Not sure I want to see the beast that grabbed this 22" 'eye as it was being reeled in. It was dripping blood, and you can see the teeth marks where it grabbed him. Almost yanked the rod out of my sister's hands.
We swim in those lakes!
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I'm laughing at the perfect pairing with that Jaws shirt.
 
Great report @Northern. I don't fish for these and probably won't but have a question. Are they native to WA state?
I see the online WDFW site where they have listed the lakes where tigers might be found but am curious if they arrived to those waters as natives or were introduced. The pictures are terrific and it looks like you were in gorgeous places.
 
I have pics somewhere of sharks nailing tunas & GT’s while reeling them in…I’m sure it’s a similar feeling…mostly in awe. I’ve also seen a large Pacific blue marlin spearing a blue shark that was attacking an aku that was bridled for bait at a fad bouy…
 
O clarkii lewisi said:
Great report @Northern. I don't fish for these and probably won't but have a question. Are they native to WA state?
I see the online WDFW site where they have listed the lakes where tigers might be found but am curious if they arrived to those waters as natives or were introduced. The pictures are terrific and it looks like you were in gorgeous places.
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Thank you!
Tigers are a sterile hybrid of true muskie and northern pike, usually planted to control overpopulalations of non-sport fish like pikeminnow, and for sport fishing.
They do occur occasionally in nature, but pike & muskie have different breeding habits/timing, so pretty rare.
Like many hybrids, tho - super cool looking!

*edit: that's why they're protected by strict trophy retention limits, unlike northern pike, which are invasive here
 
@Northern, so those Ontario Muskies view big Walleye as "baitfish?" Yikes. Dangllng your feet in the water off a dock on a hot day sounds like a not-so-good idea.
 
Jim F. said:
@Northern, so those Ontario Muskies view big Walleye as "baitfish?" Yikes. Dangllng your feet in the water off a dock on a hot day sounds like a not-so-good idea.
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Intentional attacks on people are extremely rare, but you for sure don't revive walleyes by waving them in the water next to the boat! Muskies are relatively rare, but there are jillions of northerns, and they're more aggressive.
We've landed northerns that wouldn't let go of a hooked fish.
I was playing a big northern to the boat once when my sister went "oh! I have one, too!"
The same fish had BOTH lures in its mouth
 
Jim F. said:
@Northern, so those Ontario Muskies view big Walleye as "baitfish?" Yikes. Dangllng your feet in the water off a dock on a hot day sounds like a not-so-good idea.
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A fairly common technique for Wisconsin conventional musky fishermen in the late fall is using live suckers as bait on special rigs. The suckers aren't minnows, they're adult fish, in the 15-20+ inch range. I've seen them in bait shops and it's crazy to see adult fish where there would normally be 2" Chubs or Shiners! It definitely made me stop thinking that any of the flies I was using were anywhere near too large.
 
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