Triggering the strike…….. help???

Okay fellow enthusiasts, I need some help here. I’ve focused almost all of my time to one lake this year because I want to get “good” at this muskie game. Learning some patterns so I can increase the number of follows, increasing the number of strikes, and then increasing the number of captures.

So far, so good………. except the strikes part. I’m getting on fish and getting them to follow up but I’m having a real hard time getting fish to committ and strike the lure. They’re not giving me lazy follows but they seem to be very boat shy. One of my follows today actually turned and ran like a small pike often does! And that was after blowing up the lure once!

Anyway, I can read articles and watch DVD’s but I need some hands-on experienced advice here. What can I do to keep the fish concentrated on the lure, not the boat? I really want to graduate to this next level of better consistency! Help? Anyone?

There was a great article in Musky Hunter about figure 8 success and how to trigger the strike last issue. If you are getting the fish boatside.

I believe triggering the strike begins long before the boatside excitement. Speed changes direction changes pauses (long and short) all can improve your success. Also lure selection. I have some baits that will almost always produce a follow, yet have never hooked a fish.

The most successful modification to my hunting efforts has been simply fishing more productive times. I find that I will have fewer follows and more hook-ups during those productive times (night fishing, moon set/rise/ low light periods/ weather fronts, etc.)

I also find that is lake specific. How much pressure a body of water gets. The lake I fish, it is a night bite or early am on normal no weather issue days. I can get follows all day with no takers, lights go out and its game on.

Good Luck

Fish the same spots at night.

Or if you have to fish during the day try to do it during dark/cloudy conditions. Another great trigger is speed, burning hair will force those fish to [censored] or get off the pot. Smaller baits, faster speeds.

Sometimes you can’t get them to bite. Go back to the same spots or neighboring spots to find them when they’re hungry. If you aren’t finding those same fish when you go back, look to nearby spots where they might be actively feeding (maybe they’re in more of a “resting” mode where you’re finding them). Don’t forget to check nearby open water at prime times. My $0.02.

the hardest part of fishing muskies for me has been to do nothing but the same. i say this in a commical way. i have lost more fish trying to get the strike than if i do nothing but what i did to get there attention. i do not skip the figuer 8 at the boat though.
i have had plenty of luck just realling in and not trying to concentrate on the follow.
fish are obviously interested in what you did before they showed them selves or you would not see them.

muskies are like women at the bar…. dont let them know you are interested until you set the hook.

No matter what when they do strike make sure that they didn’t get off when you think they did….right Agent?

hahaha!

A few things you can try on every cast… Change speed and direction of your lure. Do it every cast if you can. Small burst of speeds or even a slight direction change can trigger a fish. After the follow don’t give up. You might have just made her “horny” (hahhaha hi PK) enough to eat. If you are throwing a bucktail throw it back cept this time burn it as fast as you can. Then try a topwater and vice versa. So often I think people have been preached to leave a fish alone after it follows. I disagree most of the time I will pester it to eat! With the amount of pressure on most lakes these days that fish is gonna see more lures anyways. Figure out what to do to make her eat now.

Muskies are river fish. Current can play a huge factor. Lakes have current. Where is the wind? If no wind where WAS the wind? If the wind is blowing into a spot so is current. That Musky may be waiting for food to be blown into it. So you may want to try different angles. Casting along a weedline versus to a weedline can be a huge trigger. If you know the weedline well enough try casting from on top of it to the outside.

And lastly they are stupid stupid fish and not smart one darn bit no matter what anyone says. Keep casting they will eat. It’s about all they do.

S-

Muskie are just like women in a bar……….sometimes they take the bait, sometimes they don’t. There is NO reason for their behavior. It has baffeled scientist for years and will continue to do so.

Thanks for the tips guys! I’ll be reading over these suggestions again before I make my next trip. However, let me take a risk and explain what’s been up the last two weeks.

The bucktail bite seemed to disappear and my hotspots shifted to smaller fish. Rapala mag series cranks were getting some looks for my fishin’ buddy but I didn’t like my absence of action from trying to copy. He seemed to have it all over me so I continued to look for the alternative. Besides, he too was not getting hooked up. He did have missed strikes, but no hookups.

We moved to another part of the lake where the wind was blowing in even harder. This area is typically shallower and more weedy. I tried tossing to the cover with a Renosky Turbo Frog, weedless, making sweeping movements (sweep, stop……sweep, stop….. sweep, sweep, pause) like you would a Bull Dawg. No avail but when I switched back to come with the wind/water current direction, I was coming along the weed cover and when it swept past an eddy, BAM! I had a fish! I had it hooked! The fight was on! But when it went for the air, I failed to counter the action by putting the rod tip back down. Spat out just before the net was about to come for it.

Yesterday, same wind/water situation. Focus on same area. Use the Frog again. Within 5 minutes, my first one comes in! As I see it approaching, I speed up slightly and prepare for a quick 90, anticipating a large oval to begin my figure 8. All went according to plan until……… the large oval. Under the boat it goes. Both PlungePool and I went into figure 8’s trying to bring this fish in again. Cast around, return, change baits, cast some more………. sigh……and move on.

Later in our available fishing window, we were back in the same area I hooked up last week. I see a swirl just behind the lure as the lure itself feels momentarily abnormal, and immediately spot a fish ALL OVER this thing. Pull faster, it speeds in. Pause, it stops and stares. Resume “fleeing” and the fish turns off and in a moment’s burst, it’s long gone and back in the thick cover. Again, I’m wondering what just happened and as I try to rekindle the musky’s desire to consume a frog legs dinner, I find myself weary, wondering what the missing ingredient is. Again, casting along a weedline was key to getting a fish involved and it must’ve miscalculated it’s attempt to scarf up my frog because of my sweep. I couldn’t see the fish at that particular moment so I don’t know for sure but my retrieve had really just begun.

Also, I pulled one up from about 10′ water off of a current break with an 8 1/2″ Polish Pike and it was coming right in but didn’t take the large oval to begin the 8 either. It slunk away quickly, never to show itself again.

So, there’s my most recent situations and I may be back up there VERY soon. The weather and conditions are certain to be a little different but I’m confident I can find them again. If by chance I get to retry my luck with this presentation again (plastic lure, swept), what would you be inclined to do or change? Also, what would you choose for a “go to” throwback?

Thanks again for your time and input guys! I really apprecaite the help!

Kid,

O.K. I will bite… In reading what happened with you I’m not so sure that you could do more more except maybe set the hook when “the lure itself feels momentarily abnormal” ahhahahaha!

Seriously it looks like all is right in what you are doing in my opinion. Something to try would be extreme speed/erratic retrieves. Baby depth raiders/Bulldawgs/even a bucktail really really worked hard and fast can be the ticket. Seems I remember some top water bait a few years back that did really well as a slow throwback lure did real well…. Think it was called a Beagle? try a slow topwater after all that is done and nothing else has worked. Take any walk the dog style lure and work as slow as you can. The above mentioned Weagle/ A Super huge Zara spook or a Doc work well. Pop it slowly with a second or two pause in between. This should work in even windy conditions. You will have one of the most violent strikes of your life. And the last key I can think of is yell “You spotted piece of %$^&! Your mama is a carp and your sister is doing a bullhead!” That ALWAYS makes them bite.

Good luck!

Quote:

---

And the last key I can think of is yell “You spotted piece of %$^&! Your mama is a carp and your sister is doing a bullhead!” That ALWAYS makes them bite.

---

nnNOOOWW I know what I’m missing!!! I haven’t got the lingo down!!

Thanks! I let ya know how it goes!