This weeks story has to do with Captain Steve Jones and his musky charters on Lake St. Clair. Jones is known and respected far and wide by fellow charter operators and anglers who have booked a charter with him.
If you go fishing with Jones bring sunglasses, sunscreen, jacket, rain gear, something to drink, and if you are prone to getting hungry, a lunch.
Jones has the important stuff; boat, rods, tackle, and the most important bit, the ability to put you on fish.
With the catches he's been experiencing lately it would seem this would be a good time to book him for a trip.
The abundance of musky has to do with several things, one of which is the practice of catch and release.
"We revive the fish and get them back in the water as soon as we can," Jones said. "On this boat, we don't keep any musky," he added.
Catch and release does pay off. We're seeing it right here on Lake St. Clair with every musky trip Jones takes out.
The same could be said with the nice population of small mouth bass. Most are returned to the very water they were caught in. It no doubt is part of the reason Michigan, and Lake St. Clair have become destinations for small mouth and musky fishing.
I have caught a couple Tiger Musky in Pontiac Lake a few years ago and they really striped the line off the reel. It was an exciting fight and live release too. At the time I thought a pear colored large Flatfish was the best lure and modified a few to make them easier to cast. I haven't heard of any Musky's being caught there in years maybe due to speed boats cutting them up as they lounge near the surface.
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