FROM STRIKE TO GAFF 189 



HATS OFF, MUSKY ON FLY ROD 



To land a musky on fly tackle, the most delicate 

 of fishing equipment, is a job that probably only the 

 most seasoned veteran would attempt. One slip in 

 judging the moves of the musky or shooting on the 

 thumb pressure at the wrong moment would mean 

 a smashed rod. For an all-round thriller, V. 

 Deane Reese of Columbus, Ohio, certainly staged a 

 five-reeler when he hooked a fourteen-pound musky 

 and played him for fifty minutes before he could 

 bring him to gaff. Here is the story of this battle 

 of light tackle vs. musky wile as told by the winner : 



" I always had a hankering to land a big fish, par- 

 ticularly a musky, on a fly rod, but never anticipated 

 one quite so large as the chap I'm writing you about. 

 I was camping on No Man's Lake with my fishing 

 partner, Dr. Okey, who handled the paddle during 

 the fight. I had raised one musky, which probably 

 weighed eight pounds, but evidently had not set the 

 hook deep enough in his mouth, as he threw it the 

 first jump out of the water. This gave me the tip 

 to set it deeper next time, as the hook was very small 

 and the musky has a tough mouth. 



' We paddled over to a shallow bar in the middle 

 of the lake, and I started casting with a No. 2-O 

 Buck-tail fly, fastened on a No. i Hildebrandt spin- 

 ner, which was as large a lure as I was able to cast 

 with the light fly rod. This big fish came out of the 



