Ray Thompson had asked if Bryan Melant had filled out a creel survey card. Thompson chairs the Illini Muskies Alliance
Melant caught and released a 27-pound muskie opening morning at Heidecke on April 1. It is one of the biggest caught by a fishermen since the 1980s. It justly earned Fish of the Week honors yesterday.
So I sent Melant a note asking him about the creel survey. And he sent back this photo of his Heidecke muskie No. 2 for 2009 and a brief story.
(BTW, it is generally recommended to hold all big fish, not just muskies, in photos by supporting the body in more of a horizontal shot.)
Yesterday, he was back fishing the south side of the center dike again. But this time he had muskie gear: baitcaster, medium-heavy rod, wire leader and a bucktail. He caught another muskie. It inhaled the bucktail.
It was one the size most of us would consider the typical Heidecke muskie, estimated at 34-36 inches. He didn't get a weight on it before it took off, but he said it was ``fairly thin.''
And he finished with
``Furthermore, I called the IDNR report a musky caught phone number, that is posted in the parking; lot and spoke with a IDNR rep and filled out the creel survey for the two fish.''
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