BIRCH ISLAND—A Tennessee man had one of his bucket list dreams fulfilled, having caught a massive muskie in waters in McGregor Bay, and praised the efforts of a local charter company for helping capture this huge fish.
“Oh yeah, catching a muskie this big has been on my bucket list my whole life. And I give Brian Still (of Stillwater Fishing and Tours in Birch Island) all the credit for it,” stated Steve Slack of Chattanooga, Tennessee.
The massive muskie was 56 inches long. “It is the largest freshwater fish I’ve ever caught,” said Mr. Slack, who was fishing with his wife Amie and Mr. Still on Tuesday of last week.
Mr. Still told The Expositor the fish was a 56-inch muskie, but that he never weighs fish caught. Instead, he takes a photograph of his customer with the fish they caught so the fish can then be released back in the water.
“The fish of a lifetime. Steve from Tennessee has had Muskie on his bucket list,” wrote Mr. Still in a post on Facebook. “We checked that off in a big way. This fish gave me goosebumps, even after a lifetime of chasing these type fish on the bay. Fish chewed a North Shore Muskie Baits swim bait.”
“I’ve seen bigger fish, but this was the biggest I’ve seen in the last few years,” said Mr. Still, who has been a fish guide for the past 12 years based out of Birch Island, servicing the area from Manitoulin Island to Killarney.
“Steve said he always wanted to catch a muskie, a big fish, and this was the first time he has ever been on the Island,” said Mr. Still.
Mr. Slack, who is 73, explained, “when I was a youngster I used to go with my family to lower Upper Michigan to see relatives. I have been a fisherman since as far back as I can remember.”
“This summer Amie, my wife, and I decided we were going to visit her nephew and brother in Toronto,” said Mr. Slack. “I had always heard Georgian Bay was the best place in the world for muskie fishing. And we had always heard that Manitoulin Island was beautiful, and it certainly is. Amie found a real nice place for us to stay at Rock Garden Terrace and I looked for fishing guides. I found a gentleman, Luke (Wassegijig), who is a guide for salmon and lake trout, and he referred us to Brian at Stillwater for muskie fishing.”
“I landed the big fish on Tuesday morning,” said Mr. Slack. “We didn’t weigh it, Brian made sure we got a good photo of me with the fish and then we got the fish back in the water. We didn’t want to kill it.”
“I called out ‘fishy, fishy,’ but nothing happened so I started calling out ‘muskie, muskie,’ and Steve landed this large muskie. I summoned it and I should get the credit,” quipped Ms. Slack.
“Bringing the fish in didn’t take all that long, we had a 40- to 50-foot trolling line and brought him in, followed by several joyous expletives,” quipped Mr. Slack. “Brian did a great netting job.”
Ms. Slack, who filmed the scene, laughed, “there were about six to eight f-bombs and couple of SOB’s after the fish was brought in. Brian did a great netting job.”
The big fish was caught near the end of the four and a half hour fishing trip. “I was so happy for Brian, he did an unbelievable job. He was whooping and hollering as much as we were. I give Brian all the credit.”
Ms. Slack said there is no doubt she and her husband will be returning next year.
