We were fishing an area near an island that formed a wide, weedy channel. Prime cabbage and coon tail created ideal fish cover. On days like this day, it is a safe haven from the high winds that were pounding the main lake. This area has been a family favorite for 4 generations. The family patriarch named it Musky Alley because of the number of muskies that it yields.

It was a beautiful evening. A slight wind and partly cloudy sky made for pleasant fishing conditions. My son, his son, and I were on our nightly after supper musky search. Fishing with family and friends is a tradition for the annual extended family fishing trip.

We had not been fishing for very long when I heard Ryan yell.

“I got one.” My 15-year-old grandson was obviously excited. He never got one before and I was not sure that he actually had one. His father looked at him skeptically.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I saw it!”

I chimed in as I put my rod down and reached for the net. “It’s a muskie. I saw it, too.” I had turned to see what Ryan was doing and saw that he had the fish to the surface, briefly. In that split second, I saw the flash of bronze and the width of a white under belly. Definitely a musky and not a baby.

Having established that it was, indeed, a muskie, we went about the business of landing it. I really wanted to land his first musky for him, but his father asked me to surrender the net. Reluctantly, I handed it to him. It should be his father that lands it, but doggone it, anyway.

In the meantime, Ryan did what most of us do when we hit that first one. He was yelling, “Get the net. Get the net! Don’t let it get away”, but we already had the net ready. He played the fish perfectly, right up to when it was time to net it. We had told him that a musky has to be netted headfirst. However, we forgot to tell him to try and get the fish swimming parallel to the boat, and near it! As his father dropped the net into the water, the fish veered away at a slight angle. Ryan put the brakes on the fish and tried to turn it back around to the net. The fish ended up perpendicular to the boat with Ryan leaning back on it. I have seen several muskies lost this way. But his father is no rookie on the net and he quickly scooped the fish. Ryan had his first musky! Then the high fives started. A high five is a tradition for us when a musky is netted.

Ryan continued to do what most of us did on our first musky. He started breathing a little quicker. His voice cracked a little. Ear to ear grin. Widened eyes. Shaking knees. And finally, he had to sit down.

“This is the best thing that ever happened to me!” He was truly excited.

His father quickly got the fish unpinned and gave the fish to his son. Then he quickly took a couple of pictures and got the fish back in the water. Ryan was asking questions about releasing the fish while working under his father’s watchful eye. He gently held the fish while it regrouped. Eventually, the mid to high thirties beast slowly swam out of his grip. I looked down at the two of them as they watched the historic fish swim away. My son coached his son through the entire experience. He showed him how to handle and protect the fish and respect it. He was grinning ear to ear, too. As I watched the two of them bonding over that fish I felt a warm contentment. I think I was grinning ear to ear, too. A Polaroid moment for me!

That was the only musky that we caught all week. It was a tough week of fishing for everybody in camp. Sustained high winds for the entire week forced us to fish in protected areas. The weather never gave us a fishing friendly day. I never saw another musky. But it does not matter. That fish was enough to make this a memorable trip.

I have an ear-to-ear grin when I think of Ryan catching his first. My knees still shake when I catch a musky. I still need to sit down and gain my composure. It is why I fish for these creatures. How about you? Do your knees still shake. Do you remember your first musky?