In-Depth Outdoors asks the question… What makes a great figure 8? Is it lure depth? Speed? Willingness to keep churning long after an angler has lost sight of that hot fish after the first couple turns at boat side?
We know there is no right answer as each fish and encounter is unique but we want to hear what has worked for you in hopes that we can come to a better understanding of how best to present the perfect figure 8!
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Hey Bob, maybe you should get us started. What are some of the things you do that turn lookers into biters on the 8?
It starts with cast number one of the day for me. Focus and attention to what the fish are telling you when they show up at boatside. I focus on making sure that I am doing at least a half “J” when I bring each and every cast in. This for me is the start of the “8” and if there is a fish following, I am ready to drive hooks home if she eats. Looking for “where” the fish would be following is also a key element. If you’re looking at your bait when you’re bringing it back to the boat, you’re not going to see these fish in time to react. The Muskie God’s know I have blown my fair share of fish at boat side. The things I try to take away from the missed or blown chances are, what could I have done different to change the outcome? Honestly, 90% of the fish I have missed at boat side are do to lack of focus. Long days with little action are the days when focus becomes even more important, but is even harder to maintain. On days like this, you’re not going to get 8-10 chances at different fish, you may only get one and you had better be ready. Learning from each encounter will help you walk away with a little more knowledge and confidence in your approach. I have a tendency to look a foot or three behind the bait, that is where the fish is going to show up. This gives me enough time to react and read what the fish is telling me, while keeping my composure as I “stir the pot”. Reading what the fish is telling me comes from time on the water. The more follows I get a crack at, the more I learn. Some fish come in low and slow and are very hard to see, heck sometimes I see them on the graph after the fact, but never got a look at the fish at all in the water. When I get these kinds of follows, I normally end up on my knees with the rod as deep in the water as I can get it. The fish came in, not hot, but interested, the key here is to keep the bait moving and don’t give up on the “8” to fast. I seem to find that I will go around on the “8” 12-15 times, maybe more on fish like this, even if I can’t see the fish anymore. When I am working through the “8” I will adjust my speed and depth. I normally pick up the speed and bring the bait up high in the water column on the outside turns, and then work back down deep through the middle, then back up high and fast on the outside turn again. The change in depth and speed seem to trigger those fish that are going to eat. I process a lot of things though my mind as I fish through those hard day, but those are the ones that I think I learn the most from.
There is no right or wrong when it comes to “stirring the pot”, mix it up, find what works best for you, and most of all have confidence in your approach. Those boat side blow-up’s are heart stoppers, and that is what it all about 
Rootski- When I am working big plastics I have my drag locked down as tight as I can get it. When I set the hook, I want to be sure I am driving those hooks home. When I get hit, I normally do one of two things. The first would be to free spool and use my thumb to maintain control. This gets harder later in the year when I am wearing gloves. I just don’t feel comfortable with the gloves on and thumbing the spool. The other approach is when the fish hits, I back off on the drag and trust that the drag will do its job, and it does not always work that way in cold weather. I have a lot more confidence in thumbing the spool simply because it puts me in control
Lets here some other ideas on what you guys do when you get that Lunge to the side of the boat 
2 days to fill my tag. I will post the whole story when I get done with work. I am honored to harvest such beautiful animal!
AWESOME!!! cant wait for the whole story
Congrats!!
Lots of hard work behind this catch I imagine!! Congrats man!!!! 
This is beyond awesome!! Congrats!!!! 
Sweet!
Is that photo the actual wolf you took?
Nice! Wolf tacos!! 
Awesome!!
Very cool!! Congrats ..lifesize???
Awesome! That is a great looking animal What do you intend to do? Pelt, Barrel tan, Mount 
Look forward to hearing the story 
Looks nice size too.
Congrats!
That is sweet! Congrats!
While heading out to my Colorado elk hunt last month (another hunt I need to write about) my buddy Jeremy is telling me about the wolf problem he has on his cranberry marsh. It’s been known for years to be ground zero for our resident wolf population. I told him I was lucky enough to draw a tag this year and was more than happy to help him out and fill my tag.
When we finished our elk hunt and got back into cell reception we were going through the endless voice mails. One of Jeremy’s messages was his father who was telling him about his wolf encounters as he was having while we were gone. For those of you who don’t know, cranberries cannot freeze before they are harvested. Despite what most people think, low lying areas can and do freeze in early September and sometimes in August. Cranberry growers run sprinklers to keep the frost off of the vines. To ensure all sprinklers, pumps, and water lines are working properly growers run “frost watch” all night. While Jeremy was elk hunting, his father was covering his frost watch. One of the nights he was surprised to find a freshly killed doe laying in the middle of the dike only a few hundred yards from the house. Another night he stopped to talk with a bear guide who was baiting on the back side of the property and found out a client shot a bear with a bow. The client had heard the distinct death moan and just waited in the tree for the outfitter. Not long after, he could hear rustling and thought the bear may still be alive. He called the outfitter to help with the recovery before it was dark. When the outfitter showed up they found the bear dead 40 yards from the bait and 2 wolves were working on the hind quarters. Jeremy’s wife was nervous enough she wouldn’t let their son walk 60 yards from their door step to fish in the pond.
I had most of my trapping stuff ready by the opener on October 15th but there were still some odds and ends to do. Jeremy wanted me out there right away so I threw everything in the back of my truck and decided I would finish trap prep as I set. With only a few hours of daylight left by the time I am done with work, I ended up finishing well short of my goal of 8 sets. I ended up with 4. It was very easy to choose set locations. There were wolf tracks everywhere and the dikes are about the easiest places to set as I have ever seen.
I made a dirt hole set at an intersection adjacent to two wooded parcels. I used Caven’s Hiawatha Valley on some sheep’s wool. The ground is pure sand so I was a bit nervous about the disposable stake holding. I dug the trap bed a little deeper than usual and took every inch out of the cable I could. Much to my surprise that thing was SOLID.
Set number two was the one I told Jeremy I would have one on the second night. Well I had the second night down but wrong trap. Next to the marsh’s sand pile was a perfect bank for another dirt hole. There was literally a wolf trail in the 30’ stretch between the bank and the sand pile. Caven’s Hiawatha Valley was the attractant at this one as well.
Set three was another intersection on the dike system. It was the most direct route from one side of the marsh to the other. I picked up a piece of wood off the edge of the pond and just made a flat set. Nothing fancy, just a 3’ branch about the size of my forearm shaped like a boomerang. The dikes are mowed but the grass was about 8” on the edge so I tried to keep that as my backer. I faced the stick so the bait was under the inside of the “V” and blended the sand in front. I was a good set but nothing fancy. The wood would be a good visual aid against its surroundings though. I baited this one with Leo Hoeft’s Coyote Special and a few drops of fox pee.
The fourth set was a pee post. I cut an oak limb and stripped the branches on one side. I leaned the away from the bare side to deter them from peeing on the wrong side. I offset the trap 14” from the post and just off to the side. I used fox pee and Caven’s violator 7 as attractant.
Day one was filled with anticipation but as the lights of the truck passed over the sets, all were empty. On day two, I was up a little earlier and was on the road buy 5:30am. It was so foggy I could hardly see two lengths of my truck. I was still 15 miles from the marsh when I got a call from Jeremy. I didn’t even get to say hello before he blurted out, “You got one! I was checking the back pump and he’s in your third set!” I told him I was on my way and would be there soon. He was all kinds of nerved up. He apologized for telling me I had one, but he was nervous about it getting out. He brought his son out to show him and he was off to work on his other marsh. I pulled in just after he pulled out. I couldn’t see a dang thing and was having a hard time figuring out where I was on the maze of dikes. When I made it to where I could see the wolf, he was laying there just watching. He acted like most coyotes and just sat back as I walked up to him. I took a few pictures and walked back to the truck. That’s when I noticed there were four sets of wolf tracks. I walked back and let him stretch himself out as he layed down. One perfectly placed 22 shell and 10 seconds later I had myself a wolf! He was 69lbs 11oz. #2 registered in the state this year. After I loaded him up. I drove down the dike to my fourth set to make sure I didn’t have one in that one as well. There were still three sets of wolf tracks heading in that direction. All three trotted right to my pee post and one stopped to mark it. He hit the trap but it must have been a toe catch. There was no catch circle but pulled the trap to the end of the chain. SURE GLAD I DIDN’T HAVE TO TRY AND RELEASE THAT ONE! Coyote starts tomorrow! Good luck!
Perfect pad catch
Looks to me like he ran into a turkey hunter or water fowl hunter at some point. I pulled over a dozen shot from his face, chest, and legs. Not counting the two right between his eyes and the one stuck in his cheek.
This is so awesome!! What do you plan to do with him?
He will be tanned and hung in the man cave. The skull will be on display as soon as I get it back from the DNR. I will tan it with the feet off because I would rather use the claws for another project I’m putting together.
Fantastic! Thanks for sharing!
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