Sorry never was any good at algebraHereMyGo wrote:I like how you mention only common sense applies here and not science, and you then back it up by introducing probability by throwing out the term "millions" implying there is x/y probability...much like winning the lottery.Relic wrote: Well, I come to that conclusion based on the fact that 1000's of muskies anglers have been looking for that fish for decades, and have yet to find her. So the odds that she would caught twice while at record proportions are almost nil.
Don't need any science to back this up just some common sense...think about it...Literally millions of hours in pursuit of the "Queen" yet no one has found her.
In any case, I don't mean to bring up semantics, I just found it kind of funny...back on point..you say millions of hours in pursuit of her, when this actually isn't the case. Anglers who go out in pursuit of ANY musky. Not one in particular. They only HOPE that the one on their line is a record breaker.
My speculation, is that she hasn't been found because people are keeping ones smaller than her. For example, we suppose the Queen is 70 inches...you catch a 68-69 incher...you are going to put it back? My point is, she DOES exist...people just don't let her get to that size. Because as she nears that size, people that catch her might have the "man she'd look good on my wall" thought race through their minds...some rid themselves of that thought and put her back, others though think that this will be their PB ever, and jump at the opportunity to mount the trophy.
It is common sense to your point of some one else catching her after you release her. C'mon that WOULD be like winning the lottery..........twice??? The majority of muskie anglers I know (and I know a few) ARE specifically targeting big fish. Doesn't mean that's always what ya get, but once you have caught a few dozen sub 40"-45" fish your thoughts and your focus turn to bigger specimens. Willing to sacrifice #'s for more size.
Oh, she exists...somewhere out there, I have NO doubt about that. In all honesty I dont know if I could kill her if I caught her, so I truly hope somebody else catches her, thumps her, and we can burry the hatchet on all the "what is the record" nonsense. I know what the record is.........BIG
As for people keeping them....catch and release has grown leaps and bounds. In factual statistics the release rate for muskies is near 98% To be accurate you could take a few off that number. Still very high. And for the most part the people catching these larger fish are dedicated muskie angler's who release 100% of their fish except maybe "THE ONE" we are speaking of. Sure some BIG fish are caught incedentally and kept but not enough to have that kind of an impact.
The facts are that there maybe a few GIANTS out there, but the vast majority of the population of muskies in the entire continent just do not have the genes to grow to record size.
The bigger they get the larger their home range, the more keyed they are to a certain forage, the harder they are to find and fool. They most likely eat LESS often, prefering to gorge during prime feeding conditions. A fish of record size would have a "playbook" much different than your average forty incher, almost as if they are a different species all together.
Cheers
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