A really big muskie from the Fox River: Big enough to earn Fish of the Week honors

Russell Johnson with his biggest muskie from the Fox River. | Provided

As Russell Johnson put it in an email last, “Lower Fox River giant I got today, 49-incher.”

A 49-inch muskie anywhere is a giant. And it’s not Johnson’s first from the Fox.

“I use suspending Rapalas,” he messaged. “I was targeting the musky, but wasn’t expecting one that big out of the Fox. But I have caught 44s, 42s, 47s, and all others. Winter is my favorite time to target them. I usually average around 30 a year from the Fox, though this year has been slower with the low water [on the Fox], in at seven.”

Muskie in the Fox are likely escapees that arrive via various tributaries.

Another view of Russell Johnson with his biggest muskie from the Fox River.

FOTW, the celebration of big fish and their stories (the stories matter, as this one shows) around Chicago fishing, runs Wednesdays in the paper Sun-Times. The online posting here at https://chicago.suntimes.com/outdoors goes up at varied days of the week, depending on what is going on the wide world of the outdoors.

To make submissions, email (BowmanOutside@gmail.com) or contact me on Facebook (Dale Bowman), Twitter (@BowmanOutside) or Instagram (@BowmanOutside).