Fish the Abyss: an Angling Up North Blog

One Man's Trash Fish is Another's Prized Quarry: By: Logan E 12 Minute Read I rolled into 2024 with what most anglers would consider to be strange fishing aspirations; no I was not looking to land a new PB bass, walleye, or salmon (although that would still excite me), I was transfixed on some very strange goals. My usual goal of catching a lot of muskies still persisted but I wanted to add some spice and variety to the year; I aspired to catch five new species, mainly the freshwater drum, longnose gar, lake sturgeon, bowfin, and channel catfish, a bonus common carp would also not upset me! Enter the 2024 season's successes and missed opportunities. Bowfin: I initiated my bowfin angling in late April and in hindsight pursuing a warm water fish in early spring probably wasn't the most tactical of plans. I had some frozen suckers from ice fishing for pike so I opted to use a Carolina rig with sucker as cut bait. I positioned my bait just outside of a current s...

 The (Catch and Release) Tools of the Trade: Muskies 101 By: Logan E 15 Minute Read To anyone who knows me it is no secret that I love to target muskies! Muskies are a unique angling target for a lot of reasons, be it their propensity to follow a bait right to the boat or shore, their complete disregard for people and watercraft that would cause other species to flee, their unique appearance and patterns, or their capacity to get gargantuan in a freshwater environment.  One of their most defining characteristics is their absolute vulnerability. For a fish that can get to 60"/lbs, that has hundreds of teeth and a ferocity unrivaled they are incredibly delicate. Muskie are not well adapted to high concentrations of lactic acid (glucose is broken down into this acid during exercise or exertion). A prolonged fight with a muskie can leave them vulnerable to post-release mortality and this is the reason why proper tools and practices are so important. Muskies are also poor spawners,...