Night fishing, 9-10-09

[FishnDave]

Tried it again last night...fished for 2.5 hours in the dark. Caught 44 crappies, 4 bluegills, 1 largemouth bass (15.5")...and hooked a muskrat!

Now, I admit I cast over near the muskrat on purpose...to scare it off. There was no moon visible last night so it was really dark. When I thought my line was well clear of the muskrat, I proceeded with my usual retrieve. Suddenly, the muskrat took off underwater, and my line was going with it! Yep, it was hooked. It was an ok battle, as far as that goes, but probably not as good as the bass. I always wondered what a muskrat would feel like on the end of the line. Now I know. I won't be casting anywhere near one again, though. I felt bad. I got it into shore a couple times, and it dove under the bank both times. The 2nd time, I couldn't get it back out...or maybe it freed the hook on a snag under there? Anyway, I got my hand as close to the end of the line as I felt comfortable with (visions of the tiny beast jumping out to bite me were taken into consideration), and slowly pulled. The line soon broke.
If I'd had a landing net with me, maybe I could have netted it and removed the hook? About a month ago, my son hooked a young duck. Not sure if it was on purpose (he said it wasn't, I was at the far side of the pond at the time), I know the ducks were hanging around right in front of him and the duck certainly went after the fly, it was hooked just inside the top of the bill. I was able to hold the duck and remove the hook. My son felt bad, too, so I know he won't fish again with ducks hanging out by him.