bigcreekdad

If the volcano above your favorite spot is erupting fishing will be poor.

If a crocodile attacks your surface plug, you will lose your interest in fishing for a week.

If an old man with a harpoon suddenly appears in the bow of your boat and is pointing at a white whale....get the hell out there!!

Believe it or not, I cut the boots off an old set of waders. Amazingly warm, dry, and they don't slip in the boat. I go thru a set of waders every couple years, so I get "new" rain boots.

I will be using it on spinning reels

What is the thinnest and strongest 8-20 pound mono you have used?

Black flies were there, but not as bad as I've experienced. Never even thought about breaking out the headnet.

Never tried the crawler harness, as I just couldn't locate any weed growth......very high water and late spring has weed growth way behind.

Fishlogic....That's It!! Thanks.

Rich....good idea....if I can't find any that is what I will do.

My other trips ( I've fished this area of the FRench 2-3 times a year over last 8-9 years) I wouldn't call hit or miss. This was likely the toughest, and I had to rethink how I fished. I've had fair, good, and great trips.....never really poor if I think about it. I fish a lot for musky, and, thus, don't have large number trips ( hell....some trips I'm lucky to see a musky), but even when musky fishing, I break up the time bass fishing, which is always good.

Just returned from 4 days on the French, staying at Lochaven Lodge. First bad sign.....water levels as high as I have ever seen...I'd say a good 5-6 feet above normal for this time of year. Second .....water temps when I arrived....52 degrees.....a good 10 degrees below what I normally experience this early in the season. My first day, fishing my usual ways and spots, produced one lonely 15" smallmouth. Day 2 , I switched tactics......1) fishing fast water with heavy weights and live bait, 2) focusing on areas I knew from experience had weeds almost too thick to fish by mid summer.

THe Fast water produced bass, walleye, and pike......largest 18", 23", and 31", respectively. Not a ton of fish, but I was satisfied. While searching normally heavy weedy areas, i was successful in only about 1 in 5 spots, but productive areas usually produced more than one hit. All fish caught in these areas were pike, with the exception of one smallmouth. Largest pike was 35.5".

All, and I mean all, fish caught casting the ( historically) weedy areas were caught on a silver rattle trap type lipless crankbait, that had a only one treble, and a small spinner instead of the tail treble. I did try other lures, but this one was the only one that worked. I was going to pick of a few more, but can't seem to find one like it on line. I see none with the spinner. I don't know whether it's a Rattle Trap brand or Cotton Cordell.

Anyone help me zone in on what I'm looking for?

I will mostly be smoking fish. As this will be my first attempt I don't want to spend a ton.

Any suggestions from the group?

For any who are interested in CO's and their job, check out a series of novels written by Joseph Heywood. The series is called the Woods Cop Series, and features a conservation officer in Michigan's upper peninsula. Great story lines, unique characters, and very good reads. Joe has spent up to 3 months a year accompanying CO's on their daily duties, so he uses these actual experiences for ideas in his novels. For those thinking these novels are limited to writing tickets for not having a license, you'll be very surprised. Give one a try....my first was "Running Dark", and it hooked me.

As an aside Joe also wrote the best novel I've ever read that has fly fishing as the theme, but it's not what you might expect. I've read it twice.

Indoor bathroom with hot and cold running water and shower, beds with mattresses, big comfortable boats with floor inserts and 4 stroke motors, and possibly hookers.

If you need someone to even out the trip let me know.....only if there's hookers though.

Sounds like you had a "normal" muskie fishing trip. If I catch one decent (>36") fish a trip I consider the trip a great success. This year, in three trips, I caught two such fish. I almost count follows and missed fish in defining a good trip. That's the way it is with this madness.

It does sound like your weather conditions limited your time on the water.

Not sure where you were, but I think, for the chance at a true giant, the French is a good place to be.

Find some streams feeding into, or emptying from, those lakes. Try a fly rod with a bright streamer....a bit of orange will work. However....watch for spawning reads.....don't wade into them, and don't cast to them. I usually release most of my trout, but always when they are spawning.

I'm heading up to Michigan's Au Sable River today for a long weekend. I'll be flinging streamers quite a bit, and usually do pretty well.

As someone else mentioned....anything by Sig Olson. In particular, The Lonely Land. True wilderness canoe trips.

I've read this one twice....it's that good.

OH.....MY....GOD!!

Nuff said.

OK...here's mine.

I love muskie fishing, but also enjoy bass fishing, on the French River. I get up that way 3-4 times a year. I also have a cabin on a trout stream in northern Michigan that empties into the Au Sable river. I fly fish there from early April thru November.

I like dogs better than most people, and get really honked off when I see someone on this, or other sites, criticize another's fighting, netting, handling, and reviving of fish (unless blatantly malicious). We don't exactly go after them with kid gloves to begin with....especially muskie.

My favorite boat companions are:

My two Sons

My Dog

Anyone who seldom speaks and fishes smart and hard

Anyone who doesn't constantly cast across my line when I'm operating the trolling motor from the front....if you don't like it...spend $15k+ on your own boat.

AS you can guess, when my sons aren't around, I often fish alone.....and it doesn't bother me in the least.

Joey

Wonderful report, and even better pics!! I'm jealous....I had hoped to hit the French this week , but even my part time work screws things up occasionally. Hard to believe, it will be at least 6 months before I get up that way again.

Just curious....how were the cabins at Memquist?

Take Care

Nice fish!!

I used to catch the odd one up there years ago using a good old classic Mepps Musky Killer in a Blue or Orange blade.

I have found orange to work well on the French. The only lure I troll (when I do, and it's not that often), is a large orange spinner bait....two muskies (largest 43") and a mid 30's pike on it.

I've also had success with a bucker tail....orange blade and black bucktail.

Nice fish BigCreekDad...I will be up there in a couple of weekends..

I might try to make it up around the 8th. I'll watch the weather....might stay at Bryer Lodge...hope to see you.

I can't bring myself to read it. Life without bacon has no meaning. Leave me alone!!

I sent you a pm trying to gently pursuad you to not lay musky on carpet... And it was more about your safety then anything else... That big musky decides to go crazy and a lot of bad things can happen...

 

I was in no way aggressive about my suggestion nor did I push it on you... Just tried to educate you so more fish survive... And less angler get injured... That's what most of us want...

 

It's called constructive criticism..... For the greater good of our fisheries... If you ignore this critisism that's your choice...

 

I also sent a pm so a musky handling battle wouldn't break out... Again...

 

Critisism isn't always a bad thing... I've learnt a few things from members here SLAMMING me.... And some gently pursuaded me... And these lessons have helped me in day to day life....

 

Try to take advice from those willing to give it in a calm cool manner... You may learn a thing or two

Let me worry about my safety....I've been doing just fine fishing over the last 40 years.

Holy Smokes!! Awesome bass.....and those lunge don't look so bad either.

Wonderful fish. Congrats!!

What a shame that people are leery of posting pics and videos here. I am close to not posting future pics myself.

How you land, handle, and release fish, unless outright and intentionally malicious, should not be criticized.

Think about how we go after these fish:

1) Huge lures, usually with three large, razor sharp, hooks.

2) Hooks are seldom debarbed.

3) Line is typically braided (no stretch), and nearly capable of pulling a truck out of a ditch.

4) Rods that resemble pool cues.

5) A typical hook set that would turn smaller fish inside out.

All of the above could easily result in ripped lips, damaged gills, torn eyes, and torn flesh.

Yet, once they are in the boat, we are supposed to don surgical masks, sterile gloves, and have oxygen tanks handy??

I got criticized for taking a pic of a fish on the deck of my boat as slime may come off. How about the slime coming off on the net? How about the slime coming off from the gloves that make it easier to hold? How about the slime all over your shirt, sleeves, pants etc while you got the fish ready for a good pic?

I release the vast majority of my fish. I try to get a quick pic (doesn't have to be perfect) and get it back in the water. I revive it if necessary, and always stick around to make sure it has stayed down.

God forbid someone confess to eating one.

There....got it off my chest, but I needed to say it.

Skip Thunder Bay....I stayed over there a night last year on way to Fireside Lodge. I will sleep in my car if I have to instead if no other options. Went thru several nice towns. Use Mapquest andTravelocity for some ideas.

That's because a hungry musky is an apex predator that will eat anything it wants to. Sometimes when a ski is looking skyward it will eat a topwater even though other appetizing lures may have passed right in front of it. Sometimes a large musky will eat a topwater in the middle of the day not because it's hungry, but because it can. It's kinda like a Chuck Norris thing.

Dan

Ahh....you have given me hope. Have you tried smoked muskie recently?

I would not hesitate to throw a topwater lure at any time of day, out of any position in the boat, but that is just me.

 

Really nice and fat fish.

Dan...that's because you are the eternal optimist....I'm a half empty guy myself.

Yes, that and laying a muskie on your carpet is pretty bad for the fish. Pulls their slim right off.

 

Nice fish though. Looks like they are eating up there.

 

 

 

I use a special carpet.