A couple questions –
1) I may have missed it but how fast were you trolling and did you change up speeds?
2) If you were having good luck trolling the shores why would you switch and try a reef?
3) Out of curiosity – why don’t/can’t you catch Musky thru the ice?
PS NICE FISH!
A couple questions –
1) I may have missed it but how fast were you trolling and did you change up speeds?
2) If you were having good luck trolling the shores why would you switch and try a reef?
3) Out of curiosity – why don’t/can’t you catch Musky thru the ice?PS NICE FISH!
Low 3 mph range. 3.1 to 3.4 was the range that produced for us. We tried a variety of speeds. Faster and slower didn’t produce for us.
Why would we try a reef when shorelines were producing? The reef we fished had produced a couple giants in previous weeks leading up to our shoot and the reef in question was less than half a mile from the shoreline stretch we were working. I guess that decision falls under “worth a shot.” 
You can catch muskie through the ice but in some areas, MN is one of them, the muskie season closes about the time we see ice. In MN the season closes on Dec 1. Don’t quote me on this but I believe the muskie season in Ontario closes December 31.
For those that missed it on TV this morning, here’s today’s episode on Youtube.
I fished Lake of the Woods quite a bit from the 70’s to late 90’s a lot in the Angle when most Muskie fisher-person’s didn’t know it existed. I never had a day like you guys had, WOW.
My largest fish did come from the Angle in early 80’s a 52″ 40 lb. fish that was considered Hugh back then. No question when they bumped the size limits into the 50’s they developed a premier fisherie for everyone to enjoy. Sure wish I was younger and could chase Muskie’s again. Great show, my 52 hangs above the TV where it reminds me of wonderful trips and great friends.
Outstanding show guys, you just keep getting better every year!! I was on Whitefish this fall but I was to early, you guys hit it perfect!
James you rely on your graph and so do we-have the camera dude show the screen-viewers get speed depth and temp.
I will remember that trip for a long time I’m sure. All the stars aligned for that bite to happen the way it did. James and I will be chasing that musky show for years to come! We ended up boating 18 fish in 3.5 days!
A few things that attributed to our success that didn’t make the show.
Fluorocarbon trolling leaders – I switched over to very long leaders. 48″ leaders in at least 130lb fluoro. Two reasons – visibility in the clear water and the main reason being durability. The structure is very jagged. So jagged that your line takes just as much if not more abuse than the bait does. With the line at a steep angle to the bait it will actually contact a rock structure before the bait does and the fluorocarbon holds up to this better than 80lb braid.
Speed. Like James said, we trolled from 3-3.5 mph. I always shoot for that 3.2 number once the water cools down to the low 40s. If you go too slow the baits don’t quite get down deep enough IMO.
Amount of line out. I have a method of how much line I put out that I have done for years that has worked well for me. I tested it with a line counter and I’m sitting right at 140-150 feet of line out. I know that my baits are getting to that 19-22 FOW that I want and they are far enough behind the boat to avoid scaring fish in the clear water. Having a big bait that gets down 20 feet is most important here.
Depth of water varies a lot. Some rock walls the boat will be in 40-80 FOW and those spots will hold fish. My favorite is when the shoreline drops straight down to 25-35 feet and then slowly drops from there. This allows me to run my baits close to shore and near the bottom. The fish really like these benches.
Hope this helps!
James you rely on your graph and so do we-have the camera dude show the screen-viewers get speed depth and temp.
The water temperature varied from 43-44 degrees the day that we filmed.
WOW great post Pat.
Great show.
Awesome decision to turn around and go back up!
Those magic windows of bites as you guys mentioned are so rare, and to get this one on film and share it with us is cool beans guys. 
One other thing I forgot to mention is hooks. Trolling a lot you will find yourself replacing hooks fairly often. I have come to really like the VMC O’shaughnessy hooks. 7/0 is the size I use on the 13″ grandmas and 14″ jakes. I like them so much now that I replace the hooks with these right off the bat. Once I made the switch I found myself not replacing hooks as much and an Improved hookup percentage. These hooks are tough!!!
Great show.
Awesome decision to turn around and go back up!
Those magic windows of bites as you guys mentioned are so rare, and to get this one on film and share it with us is cool beans guys.
We were questioning our sanity on the drive back up but it was well worth it!!! Glad you enjoyed it!
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