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Catching The Fever
by Melody Swenson

The temperature was in the high 30's. The skies were dark and heavy as rain became sleet and then rain again. This was early autumn in Minnesota, and although warmer days were to come again before the snow fell, this day was not unusual.

However, what was unusual was the fact that I was out on a lake in a boat rather than curled up in the warmth of my living room reading a book or cross-stitching.

As I was sitting in the boat wearing multiple layers of clothing, socks, boots and raingear, I realized that something had gotten to me. I was beginning to understand the disease which had infected my husband Dave.

Everytime we were on the lake, it seemed to get worse--I realized that I too had been infected with this ailment, this fever. Fever is defined by the Webster's Dictionary as "a restless excitement." On this day I came to the realization that I was in fact suffering from a case of MUSKIE FEVER.

While it's true that I am still a relative newcomer to this "affliction" shared by many, having been fishing for muskies for three years, the power of this "fever" can draw you in and take hold very quickly. On this cold, wet and otherwise miserable day, I would have the best day of my muskie fishing life.

The summer had been enjoyable and eventful as I saw many muskies and even had the pleasure of netting Dave's first 50 inch muskie in July. But, after a couple of missed opportunities and the frustration of all the hours of "seeing" fish but not catching anything, I began to reconsider this thing called muskie fishing.

"It's insane!" I told Dave, "Fishing for hours and being happy to 'see' or 'raise' a fish. Fishing should mean catching something too!" But Dave, the optimistic yet realistic muskie fisherman, convinced me that it was "just muskie fishing" and that eventually things would turn around.

So, we continued to spend time on the lake with our collection of ever expanding lures, enjoying if not a muskie in the boat, the beauty of nature and each other's company.

So, as autumn was approaching, Dave and I began leaving our jobs at noon to go fishing for the "big kahuna" during "prime time."

In the beginning of September, something happened to me which changed everything. I was casting my favorite lure, an old Suick, when a fish which we had seen during the summer and had been lost by Dave, hit my lure. She struck about 25 feet from the boat. She took the Suick and swam directly behind the boat.

Then suddenly as she was about 30 feet behind the boat, the water erupted and this upper 40 inch fish came straight up out of the water! Her head was shaking violently, trying to get the the Suick out of her mouth. I thought I'd lost her after she jumped, but amazingly she was still on my line. I got her to the side of the boat and she began to go under the boat. And then it happened.

As Dave stood by with the net in hand, my line got slack and she was gone. Dave tried putting the net on her as she swam back down to her home.

"That was so cool!" said Dave. I looked at him in disbelief. "What was so cool about that? I lost her." I said in a very dejected tone. "Did you see how she jumped out of the water? That's what makes muskies such an awesome fish!" However, at that moment I didn't think anything was too "cool" or "awesome." That would have been my biggest muskie! After all the hours of casting and not catching, that was my chance!

That night I went home and couldn't get the vision out of my mind of that fishing jumping out of the water or her swimming away under the net! All I had wanted to do was to catch her, take her picture, and put her back.

That fish was the last thing I thought of as I went to sleep that night and the first thing I thought of the next morning when I got up! And then, as I was brushing my teeth, I looked in the mirror and saw that something looked different--I had a strange look in my eyes.

I recognized that look. I had seen this "sick" look in Dave's eyes as well as those of his friend Randy, but never before in my eyes.

I realized that the "fever" had found me and things would not be the same again! So, back to the story from the beginning (among the symptoms of having "the fever" is babbling on endlessly about past triumphs and tragedies).

On this miserable September afternoon, I realized I was on my way to having "the fever" permanently. How else could I explain to "normal" people why I was on the lake on a day like that, other than to say what my Step-Dad's always said, "The fish don't care if it's raining--they're already wet!"

After trying to cast, we realized it was just too cold and windy for that and so unlike "normal" people who would go home, we decided to troll. We'd been trolling for about twenty minutes and I was nearly falling asleep with all my layers of clothing holding me in place when Dave yelled "FISH ON!"

As I turned to my left, I saw my rod bending. Just then a major sleet/rain squall came up as I jumped up and picked up my rod from the holder. I went to the back of the boat and began trying to reel line, but nothing happened. Line just continued to go out and I couldn't do much else other than hold on to the pole.

Remembering the tragedy described to you earlier, I also did my best to make sure that no slack got in my line! Finally I was able to begin reeling, not knowing exactly what I was going to find on the other end of the line since the fish just stayed down.

As I got the fish closer to the boat, I still couldn't see her, but all I heard was Dave saying "BIG FISH!" As she came to the side of the boat, I couldn't believe what I had caught! We got her in the boat and did our measuring--she was a big beautiful 49.5 inch muskie with a 24" girth!

When the time came to have my picture taken with her, I didn't know how else to hold her, so I just hugged her! Dave then took her back from me and put her back in the water as I took a few more pictures before she swam away.

Hours of "seeing," "raising," and "watching" had turned into the moment that really gives you the fever for life. That muskie wasn't the only thing that got hooked that day--I also accepted the fact that I too was now hooked on muskie fishing!

For me muskie fishing means a lot of things. It means being able to spend time on the water and enjoying some of nature's most beautiful gifts.

It means seeing more spectacular sunsets with my husband in the 3 1/2 years we've been married than many couples see together their entire lives. And I also now know the adreneline rush which comes from catching, photographing and releasing the greatest and fierciest freshwater fish and know that maybe by releasing her, someone else will also get to experience that as well and become infected with "the fever."

p.s. Later that same day (in fact three hours later) I also caught and released a 45" muskie. So, what had been a great day of fishing turned into a fishingperson's day to remember!

Red Pine Resort
Ice Fishing on Kabetogama.