Fisherpete

There's a picture you need to see, from the first time I fished with Roaring Dan Seavey (formerly known as fishgreg). One second... This 43.5" with a big ol' head on her inhaled his small bucktail, and would not open it's mouth... for some reason I didn't have jaw spreaders in the boat. So I put on the gloves, and pried open the mouth with my hands. They work very well LOL. The only real negative - as mentioned by James - they can get smelly and look a bit dorky in pictures. But from a safety perspective, awesome.

We heard that Stormy has some good fishing, but didn't have enough time to explore it. Maybe next time. Hope you find the big one we were after!

4 of us muskie hunters headed up to fish Restoule Lake for a few days last weekend. After getting a few general location tips from OFC members (thanks guys), we set out and explored the lake, which is not mapped on Navionics. Very nice scenery, dark stained water at an ideal temperature and... no weeds yet. This made for a very tough bite as the muskies were certainly not in their typical summer locations in any numbers. We gave it our all, but three of the four members of this esoxy cast left Restoule with a white stripe up their backs. Luckily yours truly was not one of the three, I managed four muskies (33",35",36.5" and 39"). We had some follows also, but really nothing that looked over 40". The fish have a very different look up there - extremely dark coloration to the point where you can hardly see their backs in the stained water. Pretty cool. The fishing was really tough on the last day we were there, so we headed home a touch early and hit Kawartha lakes for the evening - the boys really needed a tug at the end of their line. Andy and I launched the boat, drove to a trolling pass, and in less than 10 seconds he was fighting a muskie. No joke. Makes you wonder why we ever leave the Kawarthas! He proceeded to land three, including a very nice 40.25" chunker. The other two boys had a couple big follows but still went home smelling like Pepe le Pieu. Anyways, here's some pics. Pete

Lmao this post is awesome. Thanks for the laugh.

Just for comparison my 16' Legend with 30 Honda gets 27.5mph when I am solo, 24.5 with a 200lb passenger. Boat weighs around 1000lbs with motor batteries etc. included.

The dots are minnows Lol kidding Same with my HDS7 gen 1. Get depth reading but not much on the screen

Nice write-up B! Brian - you did great especially since it was your first real day with a baitcaster! Keep on practicing and those birds nests will soon be a thing of the past. With the glass-calm conditions and bluebird skies - not ideal muskie weather - they certainly weren't jumping into the boat. My usual hotspots on lake #1 were absolutely dead. Not a follow to be had. After we made that long run to a totally different area it paid off, going 3/4 trolling that long weedline. Heading to lake #2 was also a good idea - I was really hoping to get you one casting, but they decided to smash my lures instead lol! Next time out I'm sure it will happen. Now that you have formally been slimed, welcome to the obsession Cheers Pete

Scott and James - I'll try take some pics of my hook sharpening method later - I use the same Luhr Jensen file that Andrew mentioned, it's the best we have found (and we have tried a lot of different files). I basically sharpen each point on 3 sides, front (outside) and 2 sides. I don't sharpen all the way down to the barb, my focus is on making a super sharp cutting point area. One more hook sharpening tip - don't think that hooks are sharp on a lure because it is new - often they are dull as heck or even have bent points right out of the package! Patrick - muskies do 'bump' lures all the time with mouth closed - like you said, to stun or if they are a smart fish maybe test the waters lol... had a day on Pigeon last year when that happened a half dozen times in the morning... I went back to those same fish in the evening and caught 4 of them! Pete

Sorry about that Patrick, I absolutely remember meeting you that day but a I have met up with so many OFC members over the past few months that my brain fails from time to time! Nothing wrong with those setups, a super shad rap on that MH rod is fine as far as hooksetting goes. I prefer a minimum of 80lb test myself. Like others have said, we all lose muskies - it's just a part of the game. On my LOTW trip last year on day 2, I hooked and lost two 50+ fish in 15 minutes and was heartbroken. The next morning at our first spot I nailed a 48.5" and at the second spot a 51". Don't read too much into lost fish - and the fact that you are contacting fish is half the battle! Keep those hooks sharp, and remember that hooksets (and second hooksets) are free Cheers Pete

This! And some Polysporin...

To the OP (sorry forgot your name, my bad) What rod, reel and line are you using? Sharp hooks are indeed a key - but so is the right setup to drive them home - just curious what equipment you are using. Especially if throwing big baits with hooks that are 7/0 or bigger. Pete

June 11th Leaderboard update! The warm weather has led to some hot fishing, and plenty of entries! With muskies now open, Lake O salmon starting to heat up and bass opener in a few weeks – it’s showtime! We still need a few more members on all teams except team 4 – recruit your fishing buddies to join OFC and your team! Team One – Nothing to report. Team Two – catfish upgrade (12.5”), added a carp (21.7”) and a category leading salmon (33.4”) Team Three – added a beauty 25” walleye! Team Four – added a nice 25” carp and 10.25” brown bullhead catfish! Team Five – opens the bass category (Northern Ontario – they are open there) with a solid 19” smallie, upgrades their pike with a nice 37.5”, upgrades their walleye with a beautiful 28.5” and opens the muskie category with a 35”! Team Six – upgrades their carp with a good 34” fish! Standings 1st – Team Five @ 287.50” 2nd – Team Six @ 222.50” 3rd – Team Two @ 202.35” 4th – Team One @ 201.50” 5th – Team Three @ 139.00” 6th – Team Four @ 129.25”

Oh yeah, forgot about no lefty Tranx. Guess you can slum it with your Conquest. In the fall it's actually better to throw pre-schoolers as the muskies prefer a bigger meal.

That 49 is a beauty Mike!

I also find that some days they just don't want the boilies... like Gallie mentioned, just try some corn. I put 4 to 5 kernels on the hook (or hair rig). And as Mike mentioned, less chumming or light chumming can help too. If you are seeing bubbles, cast near there - that is usually a sign of active feeding.

Nicely done! A couple really nice ones there, and the colour on that bowfin is awesome! Pete

Greg, I would go with the Big Nasty, a Tranx and 100 lb powerpro to do this. You get maximum baby tossing distance that way.

I finally cracked 50 in 2014... Twice! I'll give you my top 5 53.5 St. Lawrence 51 Lake of the Woods 49.5 Kawarthas 48 Lake of the Woods 48 Kawarthas

My email is [email protected] - if you send a pic and don't mind I will post it here

There are muskies with very distict striped patterns in Scugog, which may confuse some anglers, but I seriously doubt there are any tigers in there yet. I've caught 15 tigers myself and am quite familiar with the differences. Between Andrew (Lunkerhunter) myself and a few other hardcore muskie guys we know we have caught a ton of muskies from there, and have never caught or even heard of a tiger in there. Old Ironmaker - do you have any pictures we could see? Here's a few Scugog fish... And a true tiger:

That was my plan Paul

Wow Cliff, that is awesome... I may have to pay you a visit in a few weeks if that offer is still on the table! My mower needs a tune up also. Starts fine, then starts to sputter and die around 30 seconds later... You can keep it running by pumping the primer bulb a few times every 30-45 seconds as you cut the grass, but you can imagine how annoying that is!!! Pete

Uh yeah, you should be all over that deal!

First muskie I ever caught was a 36" Kawartha fish that inhaled my lure and didn't make it. We ate it and I have to say it was just like pike... a bit firmer though. But I'll bet a big old fifty would not be all that tasty lol.

Wow - looks like a big project. Can't wait to see how it turns out! Dave - where did you get the switch panel for your lights, bilge etc? I want to add one in to my boat and like that one better than the ones I have seen at Bass Pro. Thanks Pete