Montreal Musky

Been quite busy with work lately, but took a few hours to make a quick trip to the downtown Montreal area to attempt catching some walleyes. The current in this particular spot is moderate, but heavy jigs are required to cast out to where they normally are.

Started off using a 1 OZ jig and grub combo, eventually went down to 1/2 OZ. The walleye weren't participating at all, my buddy and I didn't hook any, nor did the 5 or 6 other people fishing there.

As I was shore fishing an area along a rocky shoreline, I had to speed up my retrieve just before the shoreline break area to avoid getting snagged in the rocks. I did so after each cast. As I'm "burning" my jig back in, I feel a nice thump on the line, fish on!

The fish was pulling a lot harder than a walleye or occasional smallmouth bass caught at that spot, I originally thought I may have foul hooked a sturgeon, as they are quite numerous in that area. I was taking my time playing the fish, but as I eventually brought it in, I was shocked to see a mid size musky at the end of the line.

The fish wasn't interested in being landed, and started acrobatics by jumping out of the water, then darting side to side. I was lucky to have it hooked in the corner of the mouth, as I had no leader. I made an effort to keep my 6 lb diameter line away from it's teeth, and eventually landed it by hand, as I don't bother bringing a net when shore fishing for walleye. The musky was released after a couple quick pics, though it wasn't in the best shape, as it jumped into the rocks with a big hook in it's face. It swam of real quick, I hope it survived.


That surprise musky made my month, as I haven't had much time to fish over the past few weeks, and the fish I've been catching have been small to mid size. I wouldn't have played it that long had I suspected it was a musky all along, but the fact that I did made it a lot more enjoyable.