9th Annual Fort Kent Muskie Derby

August 10, 11, and 12 was the 9th Annual Fort Kent Muskie Derby.  This much anticipated event started with a day of pouring rain.  Not sure how the fish would behave during this change in pressure system, Heather and I headed out in far from desirable weather.  (She is a really good sport considering she is six months pregnant!)  After navigating through some very shallow parts of water, we got up into some good holes.  Heather momentarily hooked the smallest muskie I have ever seen!  That provided a little bit of much needed entertainment.  As the hours passed, and the rain came down, we remained without a fish.

At around 4:00 we did a changing of the guards.  Brent Stoliker, who has been fishing with me throughout the summer, met us on the river bank and he switched places with Heather.  We pushed off shore and went to some other holes.  About an hour and a half later, Brent shouted that he had something on the line!  The adrenaline immediately started pumping through our bodies.  It did not put up much of a fight at first, so we weren't sure what he had on the line, then it surfaced near the boat and it was a hog of a fish!!!  Our excitement was further fueled.  Then, the fight began.  Eventually we got the fish netted, and it was so heavy that it bent the frame of the net in half!  At that point, we knew Brent had a derby contender.  We called Heather and Amelia to come pick us up so that we could get it to the weigh station before it started to shrink.  The muskie was 43 and 1/4 inches and weighed in at 24 lbs. 14 oz.!!!!  That put Brent in first place! 

The "Hog" filling the canoe!

Officially 43 1/4" - 24lbs.  14oz.

A True Trophy

After tagging the fish, we set back out for the last hour of daylight.  We had just pushed off shore, when I hooked into a good one!  I fought it and got it to the boat and saw that it was in the 40 inch range.  As we hustled to get the net, the muskie dove down quickly and shook free.  Shaking off this disappointment, we continued to more holes.  Next, I found myself hooked onto a 32 inch fish.  It was exciting to reel him in, but the derby minimum is 36 inches, so this fish was set free to grow another season.  Pumped up on all this excitement, we continued our conquest.  On the way back to shore for the night, I heard the familiar hum of the drag going out again!  This time it was a 37 1/8 inch muskie!  Unfortunately, the weigh station was closed for the night, so we headed home and decided to head to the weigh station as soon as it opened in the morning.

32" Caught and Released

37 1/8"  at time of catch - measured in at 36 1/4" - 12lbs.

Since the weigh station only opened at 9:00, Brent and I decided to go put some hours in before the weigh in.  We set out nice and early and found some promising spots.  Not sure if the massive downpour last night would change their behavior, we decided to first try the spots and tactics that had worked on Friday.  To our delight, I got a nice strike and reeled in another derby worthy fish.  This was the most aggressive fighting fish of the entire weekend and we came close to losing it as well.  If it weren't for some fancy net work by Brent, this fish may have escaped.  We headed to shore, so I could go tag my two fish.
 

36 3/8" - 13lbs. 10oz.

A Better Look at the girth!

The fish from the night before did end up shrinking almost an inch despite my efforts to preserve its length.  My two fish tagged in at 36 3/8 inches 13 lbs. 10 oz. and 36 1/4 inches 12 lbs.  Two respectable fish that made their way onto the derby board.

Both Fish Made the Board at First!

After that visit to the tag station, we spent the rest of the day out on the water until dark.  Unfortunately, we did not land any other muskie for the rest of the day on Saturday.  I had other commitments on Sunday, so that was the end of our time out on the water, and thus began the waiting game.  It made for a long day Sunday as other fish made their way to the station and my fish kept getting bumped down on the leader board.  My original goal was to place, so I was really hoping that at least one of my fish would remain in the top 15.  Brent was also nervous all day anxious to see if he could maintain his first place position.  As the day wound down, and the weigh station closed, it became official that Brent remained in first place and I finished in 15th, which meant I had met my goal of placing!

Ah, that is why we use leaders!

The award ceremony was exciting and the muskie derby committee and sponsors deserve a huge pat on the back for pulling off such a great event.  The guys at muskie central really put in some big hours and helped make the whole weekend a huge success!  A thank you goes out to all of them!

Videos still on the way!

The final leader board.

Brent with his Winnings!