Whitemikeca

I will probably be out on Buckhorn - my go to big largie lake.

Thanks for the info guys. I received a few PMs as well. Seems the consensus is that musky are not worth it on Lake Joe. I will try and focus most my efforts on laker fishing (which I suck at) and if I get bored with that I will probably throw a few musky baits to get some exercise.

Hey guys, the old lady scored us a weekend at one of her coworkers cottages on lake Joe this weekend. I have never fished the lake and I have heard mixed opinions on the quality of fishing in the lake. I have heard some people tell me there is musky in lake Joe. Is this true? I have had other people tell me there is no musky in the lake but that there is pike. I want to know if its worthwhile bringing my musky gear or not. Also is the pike fishing any good? Just looking online I dont see much re pike in the lake, just bass and lake trout info. Thanks in advance guys! Mike

One of my favorate lakes to fish. My Grandmother has a place up on the island so as a kid I would go up there every summer and fish kagawong for smallies and hammerhandle pike. I havent been up there in 6 or 7 years but I would suggest using simple tackle such as jigs w/ minnows, jigs /grubs and tubes. Some areas you might want to try are Mud bay and Kakaway island. Be very careful boating on Kawawong. For the most part its a deep bowl lake but there are also some big boulders and shoals that need to be respected. Also, get off the lake the first sign of bad weather. Kagawong gets real nasty in during storms. When I was in my teens I got stuck on Kagawong during a storm with my Uncles boat. The engine decided to die on me so I so was stuck out on the middle of the lake with giant waves crashing into the boat. I kept bailing out the boat as quick as I could and drifted to shore until I jumped out of the boat moments before it crashed into the rocky shoreline. Not a fun experence. Take caution.

^^^This^^^ JBs is the largest retailer of St. Croix in Southern Ontario. They will have what you are looking for.

Yeah I guess it is a junker Steve. Oh well, I just need to get one more year out of her and then I will upgrade to something nice. I did get the Trinidad. Can't wait to give it a try on Monday. June is pretty hard for me as its one of the busiest times of the year for me at work. I will let you know if I get a free day for sure. Looking forward to chasing those muskys on your Lake X. In July I will literally have nothing to do at work so I plan on "working from home" (fishing ) a lot! We can definetly meet up then.

Mike, I can't wait to put those lures of yours to the test. My boat better smell like musky slime by the end of the day!!!

Unfortunately we won't be able to go up on saturday as its the old lady's birthday We will be up Monday instead. Hopefully you guys save some muskys for us to catch then.

Hey I take offence to you calling my boat a junker boat!! That junker boat has treated me well the last 5 years. You are no longer welcome aboard!!!!!

^^^^ X2. I agree with addy79 which is rare because he is stupid looking and sucks at fishing. The dunes sites are great and the beaches are fantasic. I have been there three times with big groups of drinkers and we have never been harrassed by the park officals but maybe we have just been lucky thus far. The fishing in the park its self is a mixed bag. We fished the river one year and only ended up with a few small bass and rock bass. Apparently there is pike in there or so I am told.

Again, along with my other post, you are missing a huge variable. The whole point of the rod is to load up and play the fish/load at the end of it. Your example assumes no flex in the rod which is not the case at all. As for pulling out of thick cover, if my rod is 6ft and I give it a jerk I will pull the lure on a flatter angle against the weeds/cover then if I were to give the same jerk from a 9ft rod. Because the rod is longer, the angle of force against the lure will be higher, thus jiging the lure up and through the weeds instead of just through the weeds. Also because the longer rod is longer and will load more a jerk of the longer rod will move your lure a greater distance, thus it acted with greater force/leverage on the lure.

I would agree with you if we were talking about a rod and line that both had absolutly no flex rotating around a fixed point (i.e. a tire iron/grade 9 physics). However that is not the case with fishing rods. The longer rod will give you more leverage because it is going to impart the force of the fish through out the curve of the rod. A shorter rod has less of arch to impart the force coming from the line. Because there is less arch on the shorter rod it will result in the force moving down to the bottom of the rod and will act against your wrists at an angle. Of course the action of the rod is also a major part of this equation but again the longer the rod you have the faster the action you can acheive while still maintaining enough elasticity in the rod to load up while playing a fish. The longer rod will indeed give you more leverage. If you want to test this our yourself then try playing a musky or a carp on a 6 footrod and then play the same size fish with a 9 foot rod and then tell me which one gave you more leverage. Trust me there is a huge difference between the two rod lengths.

Personally the only techniques I would recommend a <7' rod for would be fishing topwaters and jerkbaits. A short rod makes it easier for most people to impart the proper action for these techs. For all other techs I would recommend 7' and greater. With a longer rod you can cast further, more easily Control your bait in heavy cover and have more Control over the fish.

I was there yesterday. I enjoyed the Pyzer, Mania, Izumi and JP seminars. Bought up a bunch of Japanese lures from Pro J and fishing world. I was happy to see that Dobyns rods had a presence at Pro J and Fishing world. For those of you that don't know about Dobyns, they are sweet bass rods. IMO more sensitive and more attractive and better balanced than G Loomis. I have the Champion extreme 744 rod and its the best rod I have ever used for pitching jigs and platics. Unfortunately they didnt have the model I was looking for in stock. JBs had some good deals on muskie lures and rods. I will be back Monday morning to see the master muskie seminar

I strongly agree with this. When buying a TE, spend the extra $10 and get the 400 size. I have both the 400 and the 300 and I feel that the 400 is a smoother reel for some reason. Also it has more line capacity which is crutial for musky, especially when trolling. If you look on ebay you can often find the TEs for $300 new in box which is a considerable savings from buying at BPS which sells them for $450. If you buy on Ebay, ask the seller to mark the package as a warranty return and you wont get dinged customs fees. Works everytime.

I personally like briad with mono leader for top water. I find that "lighter" braid (less than 30 lbs) doesnt retain as much water as heavier braid so it is servicable for top water. The mono leader will prevent the hooks from fouling while walking the dog and working a popper and will also give you some stretch so you dont rip the hooks out of the fishes mouth. Also if you want to fish jerkbaits then you could just snip off of the mono leader.

Other mid range reels you should consider are the Revo Winch, Daiwa Luna, St.Croix Avid. Pair any of those with a Compre and you have a good combo.

Low range - Abu 6500c3 + 7'6" or 8' Shimano Compre musky rod. This setup will run you about $300 after tax. Mid range - Curado 300 + Shimano Compre musky rod. This should run you about $400 High range - Calcutta 400 TE + St. Croix Legend Big Nasty = Big time $$$, approx $800 If you are just planning on fishing musky a couple of days a year then I would recommend the Abu/Compre combo. This combo is cheap and servicable. However, I was once a in your position and made a similar post on the old OFC forum and I ended up purchasing the Abu/Compre combo. Now 5 or 6 years later I have 3 "high range" combos. Musky fishing is very addicitive and if you are anything like me then I would suggest you just save yourself the time and buy the high end combo and enjoy it.

Like most other people, I tend to enjoy the shows that focus on technical aspects and teach rather than shows that just show fish being caught(often with the help of a guide) but offer no redeeming knowledge. My favs are: Linders et al - IMO the best, most informative fishing shows ever made. I am not a religious man so the last segment doesn't interest me much, but the rest of it is the most polished, informative fishing show currently on the air. Lost Lake - I enjoy seeing the pros breakdown a new body of water. The Next Bite - The walleye shows are really good but the Musky episodes are amazing. Musky Hunter - Great tips and info. I am hoping to attend Musky University one of these years Real Fishing w/ Bob Izumi - Not as informative as the shows on my list but I have been watching Bob since I was a kid and he really is the greatest ambassador for fishing in Canada. Classic Patterns - Good technique specific knowledge. I am not going to post the shows I dislike because last time I did that I had the hosts of the shows come into the thread to defend their shows which is......

Crap, I was really looking forward to seeing a James Linder seminar but it looks like he is not making the event anymore. I am really excited to see Mania and Saric though. Italo should not get stage time IMO. Does anyone actually like this guy? Aside from his past adventures in poaching, he is just plain boring and it always seems like he is talking down to his audience as if they were children. I would much rather see Jeff Gustafson get some time with the tank stage.

Adam, what happened to discussing your new reel options with ME!? Lol, the curado is probably the best value for a mid-range baitcaster. The Bass pro and quantium reels in the same price range will have more bearings and might be smoother for a couple months but their durability is questionable. The Curado also has a much smoother drag than these reels. I would suggest the curado 50e for your needs. Same size as the Core 50 but with an aluminum frame instead of magnesium.

Mike, I sent you a PM. Thanks

Wow, those look sweet! Do they have one treble hook or two?

Hmmm, I like this show and tell post! I need to take new insurance photos so I will try and get my tackle and gear photos up over the next couple of days.

Read this. Loomis drops its suit against Gary Loomis Looks like templefork agreed to drop his signiture because they didnt have the money to fight the case. Loomis then dropped the suit. His signiture, the fish logo and the name G Loomis are all trademarks owned by Shimano. The name "Gary Loomis" is not a trademark of Shimano.