Posted on by theoutdoorsguy

Munro family meet Rideau River lunker!!

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(Photo of Don Munro Sr & Jr with their big Rideau River trophy)

Thanks to Don Munro for sending in the big fish story and photos.

By the way, if you look closely at the photos, upon first glance they appear to be that of a muskie, however, I am 99% sure this fish is a Tiger Muskie – a pretty darn rare hybrid of the Northern Pike and Muskie!

You usually don’t see them this big either!!

Without having the fish in my hands and being able to count the number of ‘sub-mandibular’ pores under its jaw, we may never know for sure, but the distinct bar markings and shape of the fins are typical of a Tiger Muskie.

Any way you look at it, though, it’s still a magnificent fish!

Here is the story of how this beast came to be, as told by Don Munro Jr:

 

My 89yr dad has been waiting all his life to actually hook into one of these……..He use to tell me stories of his dad and uncles hooking into Muskies on the Rideau around James Island in Manotick “So big they wouldn’t fit in the wheelbarrow”

Anyhow, last Friday the 28th of Sept we decided to give it a shot – My Son Adam, Dad and myself – And we finally hooked into one….I figure he was 30+ lbs and 4ft long…I am only guestimating as I didn’t want to injure him weighing him etc….

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We got him into the boat and took a few flicks then got him back into the water for another day…So he’s back out there waiting for you…

The guys at work are now at me to “Let’s go fishing”

13 Replies to “Munro family meet Rideau River lunker!!”

  1. Nice fish!

    With the advent of replica fish mounts you can now have your trophy for posterity, a lasting momento of a great day with your father and let it live for future enjoyment.

    1. Hey Rick, you’re a knowledgeable guy..would you agree that this fish does not look like a pure muskie, but more likely a hybrid Tiger muskie?

      Don just emailed me to say they caught another smaller fish in the same part of the river awhile back, and it had similar markings.

      I don’t have as much experience with Rideau River fish, but I can tell you this doesn’t look anything like a pure Ottawa river muskie!

      Outdoorsguy

  2. Wow, amazing fish and I’m sure a great story that will live on for a long time! That fish reminds me of a couple missed opportuinties I’ve had with Pike. Two of the biggest fish I’ve ever seen, and they never made it in the boat! The big ones always get away, but not this time, congrats! (ps: it takes a big man to catch a big fish, and an even bigger man to put it back in the water)

    1. GPG said; “It takes a big man to catch a big fish, and an even bigger man to put it back in the water”

      Awesome!!

      Outdoorsguy

  3. No boubt in my mind it is a Tiger Musky! I have not seen many with as bold a pattern.

  5. Nice fish
    I don’t know why anyone would keep a fish like that, best just to get pictures and weight him and gently throw it back. I don’t think weighing it is a problem, the biggest problem is keeping it out of the water too long and also not resuscitating it properly

    1. Hunting mom, a replica mount is basically just that…an exact replica of the fish you would like to have preserved forever. The taxidermist/artist reproduces a synthetic copy of your big catch, after you have safely revived the animal and released-it back into the water.

      Rick is the expert on this, but I believe you need as many photos as possible along with, at least, length and girth measurements. The more measurements and photos (from diff angles) you can provide the better the result.

      It’s a great way to preserve the memory while allowing the fish to live and continue to reproduce. I don’t believe they are any less expensive to have done, but are a good move from a conservation standpoint.

      I sometimes wish we could do replica mounts of big-game..but of course that is impossible…well, you could have a replica mount made from shed antlers I suppose.

      Outdoorsguy

  7. Antler replicas are available but you still need a real cape for big game mounts.

    Hunting mom a replica fish mount is a plastic/fibreglass copy of a real fish. In many ways replicas are better than skin mounts as replicas do not deteriorate over time.

    Many people still prefer the real thing however.

  8. To do a replica fish mount the taxidermist needs the length and girth measurements or a weight.

    A least one good photo to show colours and patterns is an advantage to reproduce your fish with the best fidelity

  9. Rick Poulin

    Thank you for the information. That is great that you can still have a trophy and release the fish.

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