I present for your consideration the following observations; Musky fishing back in the late 1940’s has little or no relationship to the Musky fishing that we do today. Back then Musky fishing pressure was non-existent when compared to the fishing pressure of today. Back then boats were powered by motors with limited horse power…today we see everything from 50 to 220 horse power. Back then guiding meant that someone would be on the oars quietly working a spot until someone caught a fish and then the person who caught the fish would assume the oars while his boat mates tried their hand at raising and catching a Musky…Today we use comparatively noisy electric trolling motors. Back then, due to the lack of pressure and a quieter fishing approach, Musky patterns were less likely to be disturbed…Not so today. Back then natural strains of Musky inhabited Musky waters…Today, thanks to short sighted fishery policy in Wisconsin, fish with the potential for world record size have been bred out of the population. Add to these factors, the fact that most every fish caught was kept until around 1969 when catch and release began to take hold. Given all of this, it should not be a surprise that Muskies of world class size are not prominent among today’s Musky catches.
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