A friend of ours has been trolling Merwin Lake in late October for tiger muskies and reports no catches. He thinks he saw a few on sonar, laying near the bottom in 80 to 90 feet of water. That's consistent with WDFW radio tracking studies at Mayfield Lake that found tiger muskies laying on the bottom in deep water in the winter months.

I'll now say a word about the state tiger musky record. Maybe you saw a photo at Jack's Restaurant or in Woodland of a purported 48-inch, 37 lb. tiger musky caught in Merwin Lake last spring. WDFW told me this week no applications were received this year for a new tiger musky record. If a fish isn't officially recognized by WDFW, it doesn't count. End of story.

The official record is a 31.25 lb. tiger musky from Mayfield Lake. In September 2005, Mike Nielsen of Ariel caught a fat 48-inch fall fish that unofficially weighed 31.15 lbs. The weighing was done by Speelyai hatchery employees on an uncertified scale. Mike decided to release the fish instead of killing it and taking it into Woodland for an official weighing. Good for him! We fish for fun, not notoriety. If someone can get people to believe a skinny 48-inch spring fish weighs 37 lbs., more power to 'em.

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