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Stamina…Musky vs. Bass Fishing
By Craig Sandell © 2010

 On 3/14/10 an article ran in Parade Magazine extolling the stamina of a bass tournament winner. The article was authored by someone named Harlan Coben. After reading the article, I was struck by what was clearly a lack of perspective relative to what constitutes a rigorous fishing regiment for a tournament.

Mr. Coben sings the praise of the Bass angler for his nine hours of non-stop casting with no sign of wearing out. Now, I do appreciate that tournament fishing is no easy task and I do not wish to be perceived as demeaning the effort and dedication of the Bass tournament anglers.

However, Mr. Coben has no idea what real tournament stamina is if he has not observed and/or participated in a Musky tournament.

The Bass angler is using light weight rods and tackle and lures that are about ˝ an ounce and range from flipping jigged worm rigs to casting crank bait variations. There is no comparison to Musky angling where we are tossing lures that range from 1 ounce to, in some instances, 4 ounces or higher. Also, Musky tackle is substantially more beefy.

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In reality, casting time is different than time on the water. Whether you are Bass or Musky angling, there is an amount of time when you are traveling from spot to spot. Once on the spot, there is an amount of time that is taken up readying the boat before a line gets wet.

If you compare the amount of preparation, the weight of the tackle and the additional weight of the lures, not to mention equipment, Musky angling requires quite a bit of additional physical prowess in order to be productive for the 12 hours of single day Musky tournaments and the 36 hours of multiple day Musky tournaments.

I should also make note of the fact that Musky anglers, whether fishing in a tournament or just fishing, attack the fishing process with the same intensity. We spend long hours each day repetitively cast large lures in search of our Musky target.

If Mr. Coben wants to see what real tournament stamina is, I invite him to spend a day or two with me during the Lake Chippewa Flowage Musky Hunt in September. If he just wants some perspective, I fish for 3 weeks in June and 3 weeks in September...He has an open invitation.

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