Jonathan and the Muskellunge

Jonathan and the Muskellunge

     by Douglas Reimer (the lingering lunger)

Jonathan would have been 18 or 19 years old when he had a memorable fishing experience at our holiday property on Blueberry Lake, Northwest Ontario. The country there teems with black spruce and white pine. Frightfully high granite cliffs border water the colour of the light blue skin of blueberries  He arrived that summer together with his friend Dietrich and the two of them set out one afternoon down the sluice which empties into Blue Creek. Jon’s desires had been influenced by stories he had heard of huge muskellunge in Blueberry told by our neighbour across the bay. This neighbour, Ben Peters, sometimes recounted a fishing instance when he latched onto one so large that, when in desperation he jammed his feet up against the boat transom and tried reeling in, the musky just kept taking out more and more line until finally there was none left on the reel and it tore itself loose. When he reeled in his now weightless line he saw to his astonishment the hook bent almost straight. This heavy muskelunge hook he hung on the wall for anyone to see who wouldn’t believe him. Jonathan will have been duly surprised and excited seeing it there. Definitely a believer! To get back to Dietrich and Jonathan and their fishing experience. Once they reached Blue Creek they began throwing in their lures. They walked along the riverbank and cast and then walked some more and cast some more until suddenly Jon had a huge hit. The way he  told it, Dietrich kept calling advice encouraging him to get his rod tip back up and to keep the fish from moving towards some overhanging and submerged tree branches. Once the fish got to the branches there would be no chance of getting it into the open again. Jon did his utmost to contain it, knowing for certain by now, considering how tenacious and feisty it was, that it was a muskellunge. Then, sure enough, to their huge disappointment, it got itself into the tangle of branches, and though Jon tried with all his skill to shake and pull and jimmy it out of there, nothing could free the fish. Finally, he had to tear the line. So it isn't true, Jon sometimes announces, that I have not caught one of them. I did catch one. I just didn't get it in. Jon also tells me almost every summer that he still has not brought a muskellunge into the boat. Maybe we will have to change that this coming summer. Maybe we’ll have to drift out towards Printing Lake where they say this elusive species are the biggest and the most plentiful! We’ll see what the future brings, eh Jon?