Well I was able to blow the dust off my musky gear this week and do some real fishing. The cooler nights and recent cloud cover have really done a number on the water temps. The water is consistently staying below 79 degrees now with surface temps at 76 and 77 in the mornings. It is still warm and muskies should be handled quickly. This means cut hooks on deeply hooked fish, take quick pictures, and maybe even skip a measurement. With that said, fishing has been great the past few days.
Fish have been hitting big rubber like Bulldawgs and Medussa’s in deep water. They have been located out over deep structure or open water. Finding bait fish with your graph can be a big help and a good starting point. Fish have been going crazy for big rips and pulls with these baits.
Fish have been active around the moonset as well. A couple of days ago we boated 9 fish from 6:00 am to 2:00 in the afternoon. 4 of these fish came within 45 minutes of moonset. If you have fish located, you will want to be around them when the moon is near the tree line!
With the high pressure/post frontal weather we are experiencing today and this weekend I expect the pattern to slow down a bit. Today we only caught 1 fish and it was in shallow water. We totaled something like 17 fish this week. It was very fishy!! If anybody is looking to book a guide trip, let me know… Most of my days in the next couple of weeks are cleared because I didn’t know when the water would cool down…
Couldn’t agree with what you’re saying more Ryan! Put a 46.5” and a 48.25” the boat just the other day doing exactly what you’re talking about (moon phase). Thanks again for putting me on fish and figuring out the pattern so quickly. Can’t speak highly enough about our time on the water and how much you taught me in just one trip.
It was great having you out the other day Caleb. It was a really fun trip. Nice Job on the fish man!! You are finding some really quality muskies… Very Well done.
Now THAT’S what it’s all about. Everybody hires a guide for different reasons, but I think that generally speaking, everyone likes to catch fish and more importantly, learn about their quarry. Seems like you guys did both and had a great time doing it.
Joel
…and THAT smile is advertising that can’t be bought!
Congrats!!
17 fish in a week….sweet! Paying attention to small details appears to pay big dividends on some big fish. I suppose you are giddy as well with these cooler temps the past couple days.
Yes, These cool nights have definitely brought water temps down. It’s got a few fish going shallow for us too on occasion. We had another 3 fish morning last week on Thursday, I think. Smaller fish but they were all in the skinny.
I got worked this weekend in the Indianhead tourney on Bone and Deer lake. We drew Deer the first day when we had fish located on Bone (of course). Then lost a big fish on Bone the second day… Frusterating. I’m glad to get back home to some Minnesota fish!
I still have some dates open if anybody is looking to whack some big muskies…
Ryan:
Is fall your best time for big fish? Numbers? All around?
Joel
All around Joel, the easy answer is yes! But of course you get on different bites and sometimes the big fish show up and sometimes they don’t. Sometimes the numbers are there and sometimes they are not.
Historically speaking, September produces the greatest number of fish for my boat and there are usually a couple different stretches in Sept where the big girls get going. I remember a couple years ago, though it was this time of August when we couldn’t find a fish under 48″. Only got 1 a day but that’s okay when the quality is there.
Last year, the steadiest numbers stretch was from the last week of October until about November 20th. However, we weren’t catching any monsters, which is usually what you’re looking for that time of year.
Can’t wait to see what this fall brings!
In the fall before the turn the fish move up shallow for me and are eager to bite… I have had way less pressure and seem to attack more than just follow.. Fall is an awesome time to catch the big girls!
Oh to add to this week 46″ hit the net for me.
last year on a metro lake in the first week of december i chugged through a inch of ice in a bay and found what seemed to be every single musky over 45″ in the lake in a spot the size of a football field. the water looked like a golden disco ball all over from all the muskys attacking pods everywhere. we lost count of how many we caught that day. then the next day the ice was formed thicker on the lake and was locked up. good way to end a musky season.
Season closes december 1st so I wouldn’t post about fishing for muskies during the closed season… Follow the rules buddy.
Couldn’t agree more! The musky I’ve seen this year on my TopRaiders, and rapalas, but not a single fish on a buck tail. The river is getting colder, and they are starting to get more agressive!