Syracuse.com - Audio: Former P-S outdoors writer talks about catching a 44-inch tiger muskie on Nine Mile Creek

[HuntingNY-News]

Kelly landed the huge fish using two night crawlers on a big hook underneath a lit bobber just before dawn.

John Corbett photoMike Kelly is persistent. He caught Mr. Big earlier this summer on Nine Mile Creek. Tuesday, he landed Mr. Bigger on the same stream.

I wrote on this blog last month about how Kelly, the retired Post-Standard outdoors writer who lives in Marcellus, landed an impressive 42 3/4-inch tiger muskie on Nine Mile. Kelly got a lot of attention and accolades for the fish, but he told me privately that there was even a bigger one in there and that he was intent on catching it.

For the past month, he's been fishing the stream, trying a variety of techniques, lures and bait. Tuesday, he finally succeeded.

He landed this 44-inch tiger using two night crawlers on a big hook underneath a lit bobber just before dawn. It had a 17 1/2 inch girth and weighed about 20 pounds.

"I was using an 18-inch wire leader ... and caught it on my fifth or sixth cast," he said.

And by the way, Kelly wanted me to tell readers that he kept the fish. He said this fish and other tigers like it feed on the trout in his beloved Nine Mile. He said it's currently in his freezer and he had some of its sweet-tasting meat for lunch the day he caught it.

Hear Mike talk about about his catch.

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John Corbett photo

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog