What does a hooked muskie actually do — run, jump or dig in?
All three, briefly and violently. The typical fight is a series of short, savage surges and gill-flaring head shakes, not a long distance run; many fish come to the surface and thrash, and some clear the water completely, shaking the bait as they go. Fish hooked along weed edges often bore straight into the cabbage and try to bury there. None of it lasts long, and for the sake of the fish it should not. That is what the heavy rod, 80 lb braid and tight drag are for: keep the rod low and loaded so the fish stays under, never allow slack during a head shake, turn its head away from the weeds, and steer it into a big net that then serves as a pen in the water. In warm water, shorter still.
The full story
This answer is one piece of a longer lesson — setups, diagrams and the reasoning behind it.
More questions about How it strikes
Same topic, other species
- If a crappie misses my jig, will it come back — and do they ever hit at the surface or under the hole? — Crappie
- Do largemouth jump, and why do they throw crankbaits and lipless baits so often? — Largemouth Bass
- Will perch follow a jig up off bottom — even to the ice hole? — Yellow Perch
- What is the S-strike, and why should it change how I retrieve? — Northern Pike
- Why do smallmouth slash at my moving bait and miss? — Smallmouth Bass
- What is the difference between a sipping rise and a slashing rise? — Trout (Rainbow · Brook · Lake)
- Do walleye follow a lure and hit at the boat or right under the ice hole? — Walleye