Getting annoyed with this hardwater and it’s about time to talk Muskies!!! My best, although not great for size was three 38-40 inch topwater fish in 15 minutes in September of 2007. Happened to be in the right place at the right time and each fish on one topwater lure was my most exciting muskie fishing experience. What’s yours? Hookups and whiffs? The fish of a lifetime following? The knee shaker? Let’s hear some stories! 
I caught a 40″ on a rapala magnum right next to the boat not 10 minutes into opening morning and my father caught a 43″ and the very next cast. His finally caught that big ol’ firetiger grandma lure on about the 7th turn of the figure eight. By far the coolest most aggressive display I have ever seen. 
Not the biggest… but plenty of action right off the bat!
COOL! 
Best 1 1/2 days of muskie fishing was last year, during the middle of july. My best friend and i had 19 follows 7 hookups, and 4 fish landed in the boat, with a 39″ 48″ for Tony and a 49″ and 51″ for myself.
We had the pattern dialed in and it was excellent Cowgirls were the name of the game, with black blades and black skirts. The three fish we lost were very nice to. One low 40″s, one that was 47-50″ and one more that was really big, but it was pretty dark out and i saw only part of it, and i’m thinking it was over the magic 50″. Lets just say that it was an unbelievable day of fishing, and it will probably be a few years until we have that day again. But that is why we keep chasing and throwing baits, because you never know when it will happen.
I posted in the gear forum asking about what kind of musky reel to buy, some of you musky guys should chime in on that.
For some reason one of the most fun/most agonizing days i ever had musky fishing we didnt ever even land a fish. We had around a Dozen follows, two or three fish actually hooked. One I had on didnt fight at all and came in like a log, then barely tweeked his head and popped the buchertail out of his mouth, would of been my biggest fish ever…
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Well this isn’t my best day for sure, but let me tell you. I take Bob Bowman to some upper stretches on the river. I take the wrong alley down an island chute and suck up a bunch weeds in my intake. Being the nice guy he is Bob lets me submerge myself into the water and clear out the pump while he holds my boat in place with the trolling motor and consumes some miller lites in the process. We gave on muskies early and fished smallies, lol
That was a great day on the water 
August of 1996(maybe 1997….it was a lotta beers ago)….
A friend and I fished in some horrid weather – I landed 13, he landed 6 in 6.5 hours of fishing. It was unbelievable. I would estimate we were about 50% in the hooked-to-landed ratio. Biggest was an extremely fat 48″ that was followed by a lean 45″ about 2 casts later. Most fish we caught were crapping all over the boat when landed – they were absolutely stuffed with baitfish.
I have never, and never expect to again, seen anything like that day.
Tim
Leave it to Jeremy to get the hearts pumpin early 
Have two….
Years ago, A buddy of mine and I stayed up late in a remote cabin, melting homemade black creatures together with bic lighters while sipping the Windsor and knocking down the suds. The next day, in a snow storm, we landed 13 fish on those Carolina rigged baits. Nothing huge but a day to remember 
Last fall, having a chance to land two of Bowmans skis, 44 and 52, and having the biggest fish I have ever seen nipping at my bait three times at boat side. We did get this fish to reappear only to have it follow an 8 over a dozen times. 
Never hooked up but that trip is permanately fused into the memory bank
Bring on the open water 
Weird, my best day ever was with Bob B also. We fished a local metro lake for a few hours before a very nasty storm ran us off the water. I think we over 7-8 follows if I remember correctly. However, getting off in a downpour was probably the most memorable part. Besides, the dude in a little fishawk running around asking what the size minimum was on the lake.
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Getting annoyed with this hardwater and it’s about time to talk Muskies!!! My best, although not great for size was three 38-40 inch topwater fish in 15 minutes in September of 2007. Happened to be in the right place at the right time and each fish on one topwater lure was my most exciting muskie fishing experience. What’s yours? Hookups and whiffs? The fish of a lifetime following? The knee shaker? Let’s hear some stories!
Come on Bro, what about the late nighter we pulled last summer, heck almost an all nighter
Started off with Jeremy boating a fish while I was parking the truck
No fish boated that night. We’ll have to get out again and not repeat that clusterflunk of an evening.
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No fish boated that night. We’ll have to get out again and not repeat that clusterflunk of an evening.
Anytime on the water, is a great time. We will do it again this summer. I will bring the sleeping bag
Don’t know if I’d call it my best day, but definetly most interesting.
After 10 minutes on the water, boated a nice fat fish. Spent the rest of the day as an observer. Meaning an observer of fish. Raised over 20 different fish, some were raised 2-3 times. The only fish boated was the first fish. Talk about brutal punishment of raising so many fish over the course of 14 hours. Wouldn’t leave the water. The fish would follow but not committ.
Everything from little snakes to a mid-50″ tanker.
Craziest day on the water yet to this day!
Not to make this post into an ode’ to Bob, but what the hell he is an OK guy so here it goes.
We were a year or two out high school and Bob had bought himself a boat, the ‘Loomacraft’. He had been putzin around on Forest with his uncle for skis, had one rod, about 6 baits, and the bug for muskies like you wouldn’t believe.
Me being a bass guy at the time, I decided to take him up on an offer of a hot humid Saturday morning in August on Forest Lake tossing for skis. Well I show up with the heaviest gear I own, a 7 foot medium heavy Lightning Rod, that up to this point had only been used to pull greenies through the pads. So me, a 25LB Courtland Blackspot spooled toad tugger, a borrowed pair of Babe Winkleman polarized old fart goggles, and Bowman set out. My bait of choice, not to ruin the motif, was a white Bass Pro Shops buzzbait, and of course… no leader.
Bob hucked, I tossed, Bob hucked, I tossed, over and over again. At one point I believe I commented on how if we were actually bass fishing, we probably would have caught something by now. Despite my jest we continued, and wound up in the middle of the giant reed bed on the north end of First, and when I say middle, I mean we were IN the weed bed. Made me feel kind of at home, so I engaged ninja mode and started winging my non-trebled bass bubbler deep into the pockets of the reed forest, then… it happened. A huge swirl on my bait, it was like it fell into a black hole as my line started sing as it traversed the small opening we had gotten the boat nosed into. Bobby asked, “WHAT DO YOU GOT?”. Between grunts all I could get out was “DUNNO, BUT IT IS BIG!”. The battle, what would prove to be the first taste of muskie addiction, lasted perhaps 45 seconds, as I horsed the fish like a toddler rippin chips with a snoopy pole. Then I saw her, 38″ of barred beauty, the token of my new desire. Bobby came in like a falcon and made a brilliant gill plate grab and hoisted her in. As I calmed my shakey legs for the photo, and stared up at the fish in my hands, it was then that I knew that no other fish would compare.
In true underage style we celebrated the catch with an ice cold Busch Light returnable, basking in the hot mid morning swelter I swore that “it just doesn’t get any better than this”. Bobby gave me the picture from that morning in a frame, which still hangs today among the many fish that came to follow, MY FIRST>}}}}}}})”>
Quite Frankly I sure hope my best day Muskie fishing is still to come 
…As far as the past goes it would have to be my first, which was a 41 incher on LOTW 10 years ago…Only took like 6 years to finally get the first one in the boat! I was at the Twin Cities Chapter Muskies Inc. banquet this past Saturday which was a great time and after winning a new Lakewoods tackle box with 8 new lures I am thinking muskies all the time!!!
Mine was a best weekend. 
Bret Clark and I participate in a small, 12 or so boat (2 man) get together for employees and retirees every fall. At the fall 2007 event we boated 9 muskies and lost numerous other ones. No trophies but one of our best weekends as far as action. Nothing beats latching onto one of those mean eatin’ machines and spending a weekend in the boat and fishing with my buddy Bret.
Here is mine
Got this big gal on the 2nd turn of the “8”
Not the biggest or most, but the first.
July 4th weekend in 2004, first season with a boat. My mother and father came from my hometown in IN for a visit and it was the first time for Dad in the boat that he has a stake in also.
We were on Waconia and it was really foggy out that morning, actually had a windbreaker and jeans on, very cool in comparison to most 4th of Julys. I had yet to land a muskie but had a few follows down this weed line for the first month of rookie muskie fishing.
I had very few lures and a small inexpensive jerkbait rod and was working a weighted burt and dad was using his newly purchased spinning combo, actually the night before and was casting a new rapala tail dancer. I did a retrieve and had nothing behind the bait so I stopped to look at dad to see what he was up to. Well seconds passed and as I’m looking at pops a fish blows up on my motionless burt laying in the water against the boat. It missed though! Well dad is retrieving his tail dancer from the opposite direction I was working the burt. As we are joking about the “one that got away”, suddenly his rod doubles and the drag starts singing! Hold on to her dad! The fish runs towards me and towards deep water, dad hands the rod off to me and I proceed to start adjusting drag while running to the other end of the boat. After the initial run I had the rod back to dad. A few minutes later she is the net and we are both in awe! This was the longest fish we had ever seen, all 38″ monsterous inches of her. A few pics and a quick release and dad had a muskie under his belt, but wait! I am the muskie rookie without the fish I keep talking about. Dad you’re a S.O.B.!
Well the next day, same spot, same lure and I got my first, a 35″. Best part about mine was that mom and dad were both in the boat with me and my buddy was in his boat right next to us, who was also a muskie virgin. We all got to watch the fish revive, release and swim away. What a way to get initiated to both of our first muskies.
I would say my best day happened twice, that being when both my partner and I both caught a 40 inch plus the same day…
Mine was in October 07. Went out late morning less than ten casts later landed a 50lber. Sat at the bar and drank beer the rest of the day.
My best day was last July on waconia. I was throwing a DCG on a hump in 19ft. So I pull up to the hump bomb it out there my rod slams over set the hook and the thing goes nuts out of the water a few times it shot at the boat I saw it was barley hooked. Oh forgot to say this would have been my first musky. Panic sets in I had know idea what to do and with no plan I lost that fish. Shaken and mad I made another cast . At the end I do a big 8 and a giant is on it This fish pushed 50 it crushes the DCG set the hooks fish on for about 1.5 seconds. Now Iam real mad yelling and screaming at the fish. I collect myself after about 15 min make another cast at about the middle of it my third fish doubles over my rod. Set the hook fish comes out of the water DCG goes flying. I lose it threw my brand new legend tournament aganst the side of the boat. I picked up my rod wound up for another cast and BOOM the rod snaps in two. I know it’s dumb to think of this as my best day but I learned that you need to have a plan and stay calm. I got my rod back a week later and went out that night calmer and with a plan caught my first musky 46in on that same DCG .
My best day is any day I can be on the water chasing them, boating a few is a bonus.
Tim, I need to know that DCG color and blade color combo! Or how you were able to wedge that horse shoe in your 
. Great story!
By the way welcome to IDO!
All that I can can say is it’s a thorne bros custom and the horse shoe still hurts.
My best day personally is two 5 fish days.
BEST- 52″, 47″, 45″, 43″, 42″
SECOND- 48″, 47″, 44″, 43″, 41″
Two best days in the boat with another partner is two 7 fish days
I will top that this year though.
I was (am) the classic dummy who thought he could read a few books, buy some lures and cheap, underqualified type equipment and thought I could piece together some muskie success, just as I had with all the other gamefish species. Realize, I didn’t catch the fishing bug until 1997. I started flirting with the muskie idea in 2001.
You all know the obvious result……I never even lifted a fish!
Enter 2006, I finally hooked up with a true muskie fisherman and I told him to just fish, I’ll observe and duplicate. You’re not here to show me how to fish, you’re here so you can fish and I’ll just learn! By that September afternoon, I had my first follow! Addiction begins to set in…
3 days later, it’s Oct. 1st and I returned solo to work on what I had learned. About 4 hrs later, not only had I learned even more, but I boated my first, a 42″ momma that followed a spinnerbait in but went after my dragging eel instead. Spool was locked so it was spit out and I thought it was over. Tossed the spinnerbait back to the same area as before and all of a sudden it comes up from the darkened deep and slams that eel again! This time I was properly prepared and success was finally experienced.
Best, most fun day, came a month later, 11-06-06. Still lacking in premium set ups, I lost a lot of opportunity that day. First half of the day I had a buddy along and we saw 5 fish, 4 strikes, no hookups. Buddy had to leave but I opted to go back out. By sunset (a spectacularly colorful one at that!), I had seen 12 fish, 7 strikes, 4 hookups, but only one netted/released 40″ fish. I learned a lot about rod construction/design that day and how selection really makes a difference! But tasting success after 5 years and having a couple good outings makes ’06 the most memorable for me.
Still having issues on getting followers to become biters but I’ve at least learned to find them fairly consistantly.
Great stories guys! Thanks for sharing!
Sand Lake (Hayward area) full moon period late August 2003. fished from 2PM til 7:30PM. 6 fish between 41″ and 47″. got my first fish on a figure 8. Fished with Eric Genson. RIP bro. that was the greatest muskie fishing day of my life.
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My best day was last July on waconia. I was throwing a DCG on a hump in 19ft. So I pull up to the hump bomb it out there my rod slams over set the hook and the thing goes nuts out of the water a few times it shot at the boat I saw it was barley hooked. Oh forgot to say this would have been my first musky. Panic sets in I had know idea what to do and with no plan I lost that fish. Shaken and mad I made another cast . At the end I do a big 8 and a giant is on it This fish pushed 50 it crushes the DCG set the hooks fish on for about 1.5 seconds. Now Iam real mad yelling and screaming at the fish. I collect myself after about 15 min make another cast at about the middle of it my third fish doubles over my rod. Set the hook fish comes out of the water DCG goes flying. I lose it threw my brand new legend tournament aganst the side of the boat. I picked up my rod wound up for another cast and BOOM the rod snaps in two. I know it’s dumb to think of this as my best day but I learned that you need to have a plan and stay calm. I got my rod back a week later and went out that night calmer and with a plan caught my first musky 46in on that same DCG .
You are killing me man, that was one of the funniest ski stories I’ve ever heard Perfect visuals I actually have friends that sound just like you
My best Day ever was last year. Sure, I have fished Eagle, LOTW, Mille Lacs, etc. But…….my best day ever was on Lake Harriet. Low Ceiling day in September…foggy and warm…Just two days outside the full moon period.
Put the City Boat in the water park the truck and let the lab take a dump in front of some liberal jogger.
Start casting in front of the landing and hook up with a nice 40 inch fish within 10 minutes.
An hour later, fish two is on and landed. 39″ beat up dummy. Clearly caught many times and not sore mouthed.
Over the next 6 hours I catch 3 more fish between 40 and 44 inches. Everyone on swimbaits pulled over the foil.
They were just “on the munch”. Made up for all the days that I have zeroed out there.
Amazing day and makes me want to be out there everyday. I can’t wait.
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let the lab take a dump in front of some liberal jogger.
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