I once had a musky jump and spin while I was holding him, breaking my finger and landing on the bottom of my boat — not good for him. For this reason I sometimes use a jaw gripper to maintain control of the fish while lifting him for a picture. It’s a good idea to compress the gripper before grabbing him rather than just jamming it into his mouth. I know some people disagree with handling them this way but I think it’s better than having the fish lose it’s slime coat all over the carpeting.
Lake Kindaid is near Murphysboro, IL . It’s southeast of St. Louis in the Shawnee National Forest and the Ozark Mountains of Illinois. I was suprised to find that IL actually shares part of the Ozarks! Cool.
The fishing is great for Musky, Bass and Walleye, especially in the late fall. There are several inexpensive motels in the area with electric hookups and parking for your boat. A smallmouth stocking program was initiated a couple of years ago and promises to add yet another great sport-fishing opportunity. There were 10 people (5 boats) in the group that I fished with on this trip and in 2 days we landed 23 Musky, 30+ Bass 5 Walleye and several Crappie. I’ll be back for sure.
