A note from Myles Barrett:
“A lot of the best days fly fishing are the ones that come together last minute with no real plan or expectations, this was no different.
Myself, and a few buddies set out after class to chase the elusive Esox Masquinongy, better known as the Muskie or “the fish of ten thousand casts.” Muskies may not be for the dry fly purist, but they should be. They truly live up to their nickname, and often make you put in well over 10,000 casts to even be rewarded with a sighting or a follow. This fish however was extremely eager to attack my fly.
Moments before I remarked to my buddy Evan that by using a top water fly I was making a difficult task even more challenging. Only a few casts later this fish exploded from the bank to absolutely inhaled my 9” top water fly.
With fall quickly approaching, I capitalized on one of the first cooler days of the summer after a heavy rain event which was the catalyst to the success on the water.
I usually use a 10wt rod for these fish, in this case it was a TFO BC Big Fly, paired with a Rio Predator Elite floating line, 4 feet of 80lb fluorocarbon attached to a multi shanked orange and black fly with a foam block on the head.
My buddy Evan knocked it out of the park for his first time netting a musky which is the most essential part of the whole operation, as well as having a jumbo net to safely handle these fish. Even though the Musky was average for this particular area, seeing this fish jump, and going through the process of getting it into the net keeps me chasing these fish. Something completely different than fly fishing for trout.”
Words from Myles Barrett and Flylords Intern Nelson Oxley. Big Help from Evan Holm with the net job. Follow his stories and his Musky endeavors @myles_barrett.
