Muskies, those long, toothy, tigers of the area’s lakes and rivers, adhere almost without exception to one rule. What rule is that? It’s this; never give a sucker (you) an even break.

By this, I mean that if you don’t do absolutely everything in your power to eliminate every chance of equipment failure, the muskellunge escapes and you’re left crying in frustration. It’s always been that way.

The Allegheny River and Chautauqua Lake harbor many muskellunge and I’ve had some dandies. In the early days, I lost many fine fish for four simple reasons: my hooks were not strong enough, my line was too light, a rod without enough backbone and lack of an adequate wire leader.

One big, evil-eyed monster I remember particularly well had leisurely cruised out from underneath a log, followed my lure almost to the canoe, put on a spurt of missile-like speed and inhaled my lure. I saw the whole thing happening as if in slow motion and when he hit I set the hook as hard as possible and then held on as the water exploded in white foam. The big fish shot across the river, my drag screaming, jumped and thrashed wildly, then rushed the canoe while I reeled frantically. When he was within 6 feet or so of the canoe he cruised insolently beside us as if plotting mischief. He tore off again, rolled in the line several times, tangled it in his teeth and gills, shook his head in a flurry of white water and was gone.

Sick, I reeled in my line and felt the frayed end belatedly realizing a six-inch wire leader was not long enough. I was sick to my stomach, thought I’d done everything perfectly, but ultimately the leader was too short. I now use 18-inch leaders.

A fisherman needs to be disciplined as well. An alligator-sized lunge grabbed my lure while trolling, almost tore the pole from my hands, shot off in a burst of blinding speed you had to experience to believe possible.

Everything was strained to the absolute maximum, when suddenly the line went slack. Oh, no! I reeled in with trembling hands. The knot had broken. I’d neglected to cut off three feet of line and re-tie my knot that morning. I knew you should re-tie your line every four to eight hours of casting, but that day, disastrously, I didn’t. It didn’t seem fair, but muskies are never, ever fair.

Another painful lesson took place just as a blood-red sun touched the shining waters of Chautauqua Lake at Ashville Bay. I was enjoying the beautiful sunset and glanced down as my Suick popped to the surface beside the boat. A head about a foot long appeared beside it, snapped to the side and crunched down on the lure. I set the hook and was drenched by the explosion of water as the angry fish trashed wildly.

My rod bent double and I knew I had this one. Suddenly, he was gone. My stomach felt as if I was dropping down a mine shaft, my knees shook and my hands trembled from surprise and shock. Dumbly I stared at the broken front hook. I had caught several muskies on that lure and the hooks had been badly bent. I’d straightened them out and made a mental note to replace them. Well, I had forgotten to do so and paid a horrible price.

When things like this happen to me, I sometimes sit down and wonder what I ever did to deserve such rotten luck. Then a little voice whispers that I knew better, I hadn’t taken every precaution I could have, hadn’t learned from previous heartbreaking experiences.

When you fish for a week, 10 hours a day in every type of weather from broiling sun to rain, wind or icy cold you can’t make mistakes you shouldn’t have. If and when you finally hook a muskie Murphy is on the fish’s side, anything can go wrong, you must take every preventative measure.

With such an investment in time and energy, muskie fishing becomes personal, very personal and losing one hurts badly. To lose one because of an error on your part makes that pain even worse.

If you must chase muskellunge I would recommend the following equipment. First, a stout rod rated for at least a one ounce lure for spinners and lighter baits. A second heavier rod for 2-3 ounce baits and a non-stretch super-braid line of 50 to 80 pound test. This may seem heavy to you, but braids develop weak points and a big lunge can snap even these heavy lines. A casting reel with high speed retrieve, 5.1, 6.3 or higher and a wire leader of solid wire or braided wire at least 12 to 18 inches long.

As far as hooks go, replace factory hooks if they are not extra strong and sharpen them to needle points if necessary. Also, take a good look at the split rings and replace them if they look suspect. You’ll need a very large net or cradle for big fish. Strong cutters and long needle-nose pliers are necessary for removing hooks. Be careful handling muskies, an enraged muskellunge going berserk in your boat with a mouth full of razor hooks creates a dangerous situation.

Oh, by the way, good luck… You’ll probably need it.