Another muskie ?

Any tips for unlocking the jaws after an isolated storm rolls over a lake? The bite was back on within 12 hours, just not on my line! But working it all day was TOUGH! Any help should this happen again?

You know my muskie story. Deer Lake, full moon, night fishing. 8 hours of pitching bucktails, cranks, spinners, and prop baits = 1 follow. When they don’t want to eat, they don’t.

Catch any walleye on that Rizzotail? lol

Pete Maina says that big plastics and jigs may tempt them when times are tough. post frontal and cold conditions

Edited by SteveO on 08/09/01 04:33 PM.

1 pike on the Rizzotail – 28″ long. Spent the mid-day (2-3 hours to relax a bit) river drifting for bass and only found territorial smallies. But I’ve wondered if the muskie are like most other fish………………..they’re feeding somewhere and I wonder if anyone has tried switching to smaller lures, slower presentations, deeper water, you know…………..a variable. I’m seriously trying to steer clear of having anything to do with the Lone Rookie in the boat! :O)

With the water temperature so high, I doubt that slower would be good. Shallow areas with deep water access is always good. Saw Gillespie and Maina fishing Leech last week on Gillespie’s show and they only caught 1 (42″) in three days!

Gillespie also impaled himself with a hook that went all the way through his finger. Dangerous stuff. The barb went through so he was able to snip it with a wire cutter. Lone Rookie? Do I resemble that remark? ha!

To qualify for the Lone Rookie, you need to grow about12 more inches and obtain 40 extra pounds! LOL! I thought Leech and Big Winnie were only hot on muskies in September? A guide resource mentioned that to aquantance of mine. One the slower/better thought, I’ve seen the technique work on just about everything from time to time, even in warmer water. Try twitching a Rapala sometime!

Try a nightcrawler on a Lindy rig, and just let it drag slowly along with your drag open and finger on the line. My wife got a forty eight incher that way. She can be so lucky sometimes!!

Try extremes burning bucktails or slow twiching minnow baits in shallow or Or working Bulldawg and jigs in deeper water. But for the most part if a muskie wants to eat you just have to be in the right place at the right time and if they don’t want to eat it’s hard to convince them otherwise.

Ahh yes, the dreaded muskie fever. I`ve been chasing them for a long time and the only thing about them that is predictable is that they are unpredictable.

Consider this. Muskies , like other fish, are cold blooded and their metabolism is in direct proportion to their body temperature. In warmer water temps, they digest their food faster, and should eat more often or dine on larger meals. That`s what basic biology tells you, but people that study muskies will tell you different.

Muskies are opportunistic feeders and tend to dine on larger prey and then they will find a comfort zone to digest their food, taking as long as a week or more between meals.

Do the math. Take the number of fish in a certain body of water, then figure that the vast majority of those fish are not in a feeding mood…….like your chances? No, but I`ll go throw big baits all day hoping to have the chance to do battle with that 1% that might be feeding. All it takes is to see your first 4 footer, and you`ll be as stupid as the rest of us that are willing to try to beat the odds.

4,000 casts, 3 follows, 1 strike and 1 short fish. Hope it`s this good tomorrow.

Don`t give up. Beav

It’s been a tough summer for skies. I fished hard last Sunday pm, Monday, and Tuesday am with only a 34″ to show. My buddy had a low 20″s fish. After throwing surface baits and bucktails we finally trolled Depth Raiders off bid structural features and I lost a good fish and my buddy caught his small one in our last 1 1/2 hours of fishing. I guess I should have made the adjustments earlier, but we were getting just enough action to keep doing what we were doing. It’s a tough sport, but a very worthy challenge. Keep plugging away.

Hey guys, I have never really got into muskie fishing until this week. Just thought I would let you into this fairy tale since you guys may have some interest. A friend and I have been fishing a small river system in SE Minnesota for the past week and while fishing this river for sauger and smallies we stumbled upon a trout stream that flows into this river. Because of the cool water I suppose, the muskies have gathered literally by the hundreds at the mouth. While fishing last weekend with a very small rapala, I had two follows. So, the next night I brought out the very few Muskie lures I had which included two bucktales, a suick, a buzz bait, and a few 7″ rapalas. Well, between me and my buddy we had somewhere between 15 and 20 follows or strikes. Don’t laugh, but we only landed one fish. I don”t know why we could not land these fish. Dull hooks, and rods that are not heavy enough is what I suspect. The one I landed was 46″. Pretty good for my first muskie I thought. For the past week we have done this every night and are now landing more fish, ranging from 30″ to 48″, most being around 40″. All fish have been released and to my knowlege we have not injured a single fish. Kind of scary what could happen if the wrong people found this spot. Got lots of pictures and will post them once developed. Any advise on what to do to land more fish would be appreciated. lol

JJW

I think that the most important part of musky fishing is being on water that produces a lot of mucky. Cass, Leech, Mille Lacs, parts of the Miss, and Vermillion. Vermillion is an awesome lake for musky that few people know about. Cool water, lots of structure, lots of food. They were introduced in the early 90s and now the lake is producing tons of 50″+ fish. The beauty is that no one fishes for them. Or the smallmouth that are thick in the lake and easy to catch.

BTW-my uncle the greay musky hunter with a cabin on an island on LOW, has yet to catch a musky in 10 years! He only fishes a couple of times a year, but still, every time he mentions all the musky fishing he does I have to point out that I have caught more by accident that he has caught by design.

From all I’ve read and been told, a good strong rod, a good quality reel, and a hook sharpener are 3 essentials of successful musky hunting. If your spot is this good, invest the money and I think you’ll see your percentage increase. So far this year, when the musky doesn’t bite, the pike does, and my hookup percentage has been fantabulous! Also, like any other fish, be sure to feel it before setting the hook. If you’re working topwater, it’s hard to resist the hookset when the water erupts, but you do have to wait just a little, feel the fish, and then let that heavy rod bring it boatside! Works for pike anyway! Any chance of practicing my theories of technique in your secret spot? :O) Will begging help? LOL! I know of a river that has the same situation you describe, but I haven’t been up there to try it yet…………..I’m thinking I should try it soon!

DaveB, Yellow Lake has one of the best musky populations in WI……………..restocking operations have slowed to a crawl for fear of overpopulation and numerous 50+ fish are CPR’d annually. It’s notorious as being 1 of only 2 lakes in all WI rated with an “abundant” musky population. I agree with your point, and that’s why I’ve gone there twice in the last 3 weeks!

Wow Webstj! I had no idea there were ANY muskies in SE Minnesota. I’d be real careful with this spot. It takes pretty heavy tackle to drive hooks home and get a control of a good muskie. My muskie rods are really powerful compared to even the heaviest bass rods. Make sure your hooks are RAZOR sharp.

This is to Stillakid and fishstiks, thanks guys for the comments! I sharpened my hooks, and brought my night stalker catfish rod, and behold, three strikes, three fish. Actually, I figured it out before I logged on and read your comments but at least now I know we think alike. Hey Stillakid give me an email, maybe we can fish together. It must be soon, temps are dropping! [email protected]

JJW