Muskies have been active in the metro lakes lately and have been eating before, after, and during some of the many storms that have been rolling through. It’s mainly been a bucktail bite but we’ve also got a couple on a Myer’s Musky Lures 6″ Gill Crank. Fish have been on weedlines mainly but have also been found spread out on some flats with sparce weed growth.
There hasn’t been a clear cut time of day that has been better than others. A lot of the timing has been directly effected by the storms that we’ve had to endure. A lot of fish have been eating under clouds but it seems like when the sky breaks the sun can be good trigger for the first half hour or so. Keep that in mind when you’re working from spot to spot out there, the first look at the sun has been as good as a moon rise/set.
Bucktails are still the best bet right now with the double blades coming on strong. There are still a fair amount of small panfish hanging around the surface of the water. As the water temps rise into the low and mid 70’s however, a lot of the muskies food will move a little lower in the water column. This will give way to a good rubber bite. This is also when slow rolling big double bladed bucktails like cowgirls and windowmakers at night can be deadly. We have taken a few fish on the 6″ Gill Crank as mentioned before, this is a fairly shallow running lipped bait that mimicks panfish wonderfuly.
I had the classic story today where clients had to cancel a morning guide trip at the last minute, so naturally I still went fishing. I was able to fish through spots slowly and methodically and dial in the perfect speed and presentation. They happened to like the double bladed windowmaker this morning and and I was able to put a couple fish in the boat even after the severe weather rolled through early this morning.
….of course you still went fishing! Bummer about the cancelled trip, but it seems like you’re dialed in. More importantly, it seems like you have a good idea of what’s to come; bites that are on the doorstep so to speak. Does this come from experience on certain bodies of water, things you’re seeing out there, etc.? Thanks for the report!
Joel
It’s mainly a water temperature thing as we get deeper into summer. It’s inevitable that the surface water will get too warm for most bait and muskies to hang out in. You’ve got to get down to them with big rubber, cranks, or blades. Knowing this is from experience but it’s never as simple as it sounds. You never just transition from one hot bite to the next (atleast almost never). I’m just going to enjoy this bite while it’s going!
Tried mixing it up on a different lake for a couple hours this morning and that was a mistake… back to the honey hole tomorrow! I have the next 2 days open if anybody is looking to hook some muskies…
Nice report, great analysis of fishing certain zones of the water column. I am wondering in my head right now how this perhaps relates to fishing walleyes at certain time of year. I know in South Dakota when certain bug hatches are coming along I will fish leadcore or else bouncers to get right down where the bugs are. Nice report again and continued success. – Quintin
Thanks Quintin. Staying high in the water seems to be the ticket, although I did hear of a nice fish that somebody trolled up on a depthraider.
The other thing that is really crucial right now is speed. It is a must that you match the speed to the fishes activity level. This makes the difference between getting a bunch of follows and getting bit!
…Here is a pic of the sky right after I caught one of my “first sun” muskies
Great report ryan! It sure seems you are parked on the fish all day. I am heading to the lake now to try and get some kind of pattern going with all this rain we have been getting up here. Thanks for the good read and as always keep having fun doing what you do!
Good luck with all that water up there AJ. That might be a tough bite for a while… Atleast you don’t have to be looking over your shoulder for Polar Bears any more…
Here is today’s catch… Dave with a nice 40″.. High pressure moved in and it slowed the bite down a tad but I had another high 30″ hooked for a while and missed a nice nice mid 40″ fish. Everything was boatside today…
Great Report Ryan
Nice to see some fish