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Reunited, and it feels so good

6K views 22 replies 16 participants last post by  polishfly 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
No I'm not talking about that sappy 70s song. I was playing my 'small ball' game on my little rivers and lakes again this season for musky and I think I go reunited with this hottie from September 2015. Same dam and I think the same turbine gate, parked right in the corner of the arch.

Here's a link to that September 2015 post: https://www.windycityfishing.com/forums ... ly#p539370

Here's a picture of her from 3 years ago, she could be a male for all I know about esox. Notice the messed up lower jaw and dark mark on the edge of her gill plate.
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8/23/18 - I think she's the same ski and like me she's put on a few pounds as well but it looks better on her. Messed up lower jaw and similar markings on the gill plate?
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I don't know if she reminds me of Edna Bukowski, no relation to Charles but they both liked to drink, when we had romantic getaways at the Apache on Lincoln Avenue... No this could be a glamour shot of Rosie O'donnell and me as we shopped at Moo & Oink.
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Anyway skis still get the blood pumping and this 4" swimbait did the trick twice this week. It was a pure reaction bite, she slammed the lure in less than a second.
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I love my small little waters up north, this is the 3rd time I've caught the same fish twice, once it was 30 minutes later for a smallie, 1 year later for a pike and this time almost 3 years later for a ski. I don't catch monster fish hence the name 'small ball' but action is decent and 95% of time I'm the only angler present.
 

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#4 ·
Good thing you didnt post her on instagram! :roll:
 
#7 ·
Good looking esox, good looking esox.

30+ years ago, I lost a red/white dardevle to a pike in Canada. 3 days later, my friend hauled it in using a blk/white dardevle and my lure hanging in the corner of it's mouth. I got my spoon back. :thumbup:

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#13 ·
grems said:
you think it is an injury or genetic?
I honestly don't know, everytime I've been in a hurry to get her back in the water. Skin is fully healed on to jaw and she has teeth. This dam is a very popular and accessible place to fish I have no doubt she's been caught many times and her body is petty scarred up as well. Idk if she got handled roughly by an overzealous angler when she was little who wanted to get his lure back and broke her snout? Just as well she has this dam, I'm guessing it crunches up fish and crayfish to small partswhich are easy hold and eat. Idk how she could catch and HOLD larger prey missing top part of jaw.
 
#20 · (Edited by Moderator)
Another angler in my area posted recently in 2019 he caught this fish two years in a row. I landed her twice since 2015. Maybe she never roams far but she has miles of musky river to choose from. She's been caught by 3 different anglers from the same spot over at least 4 years. I guess c&r is working.

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#22 ·
^^^Joe, I think it would be very cool if we could get a fishery biologist to address questions about fish behavior and especially migration behavior and distances they roam. You said you caught the same smallie a twice, I certainly can believe that. On one river my smallies migrate alot (or don't want what I'm presenting later in the year) another river (hour away) I can catch them all year long on tubes during the spring/summer.

My fear is if we got some fishery biologist to chime in some folks might scare them away with more political questions about why is the state doing this and not that, etc... And that'll be the last time they participate.
 
#23 ·
This is really cool Mike! Keith (rigmewacky) caught the same exact pike in a 100 yard stretch of the DPR a few years back, it was easy to tell with a specific pattern around one of its fins. It would be so cool to see where these fish roam throughout their lives like they track great whites.
 
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