Muskie Help

[Mike01]

I've lived on Lake Nipissing all my life and have never really done any serious muskie fishing. I'm thinking about getting into it a little more this year. I'm not looking for any secret spots or anything like that. Maybe just some lure ideas or tips that can halp improve my success rate. Will a 7' mh rod be okay for casting, or should I look at going with something a little bigger? Any help would be great.

 

Mike

[gone_fishin]

7' mh is fine, is it a baitcasting combo or spinning. i highly recommend a baitcasting combo for muskie fishing, this will help when throwing the bigger baits. a good start for lures would be oversized spinnerbaits and large inline bucktail spinners - black with the double treble hook is one of my favs. pick up a few different colours, black is usually good, red and yellow work too.

 

that'll get you started. good luck.

[Reef Runner]

Try your luck around the West Arm. Oversized Spinners, Suicks and Believers. For colours black and orange seem to do well for me.

 

10,000 casts and you should at least get a strike...lol. Good luck.

 

reefrunner

[johnnyb]

Caught my first muskie on a copper Johnson's Sprite (spoon) up near the mouth of the French....missed a MONSTER on a gold/orange minnow bait in the same neighbourhood. Neither baits were large at all, which was surprising. Not sure where on the lake you are...I think a lot of guys focus on the West Arm...not sure if you'll get more help by specifiying which part of the lake you typically fish...

[Mike01]

I have both baitcasting and spinning. As for the west arm, its a 2.5 hour boat ride for me to get there. I will be fishing mostly south bay area. I know there are some pretty big ones hiding in there. Should I concentrate more on weed beds or rock shoals?? Is there a good place online to order tackle, everywhere around here is super expensive and doesn't have a very good selection. I BPS has some pretty good stuff(I worked there when the store opened), but I would like to find it cheaper if I can.

 

Mike

[linweir]

If you prefer casting, go get a couple of very good rods and reels, like St.Croix 7'6" and Shimano CALCUTTA 400. It helps improve your success rate. You will have to cast ALOT over there, LOL.

[irishfield]

Follow Bernie to his "bait" (pickeral) spots and fish just outside of them.

[Mike01]

Are fishing around walleye schools a good idea?

[irishfield]

I'd be pretty certain that's a good part of their diet.

[Mike01]

I might have to give that a try then.

[Uncle Buck]

i can tell you which 50 lures not to buy....

[Weeds]

I'm pretty new to musky fishing too but I got into it pretty seriously last year. I had good luck with bucktails (Joe Bucher and Blue Fox Musky Bucks, which are relatively cheap as far as musky lures go) but I managed my first Musky on a spinnerbait (Slopmaster) and I'm happy I did because the single hook helped make for an easy release and really positive first experience. In my very limited experience black has been a good colour with a white accent or trailer. I'd also suggest loading up with some really heavy braid, 50 pound plus (I like 80, Stealth) and even heavier leaders. Alot of folks recommend Fluro, I've found I'm pretty happy with either 80 or 120 pound coated wire, thick enough to protect the fish and cheap too (3 for 2 bucks at LeBarons as opposed to 8 or 10 bucks a shot for Fluro) but Fluro is good too. The heavy line and leaders may seem like overkill but it makes it alot harder to lose those pricy lures so it's nice to have that peace of mind. Anyways, good luck, catch one and you'll be hooked!

[danbouck]

I'm sorry but I can't stop laughing everytime I see that banner!

[Rizzo]

Good luck to you! You're starting in a great spot too. I caught my first 2 muskies in Nipissing (about 25 minutes apart) and have been hooked ever since. I'll never forget that day. It was shortly after my dad died, and I beat my personal best 3 times in a half hour (34 inch musky followed by 39 inch pike followed by 47 inch musky)! Gotta love Nipissing. There are some huge fish there, get yourself prepared with the proper landing/releasing tools. To me, its a sickening feeling to catch such a beautiful fish and then have it die on you if you can't land, handle and release it in a timely fashion. I'll admit I dropped the big one in the boat, then dropped it again while posing for photo and it landed back in the lake, gone like a shot thankfully, probably would've made me cry if it turned belly up...then I did cry when my friend told me he hadn't taken the picture yet.

[Mike01]

Thanks for the great advice everyone. Anywhere up North I can find a decent net, what brand make big game nets that are fish friendly?

 

The banner is fantastic, apparently I am only one who thinks so though!!

[DANIMAL]

If I could give one tip to a new musky angler it would be use a spinnerbait. They can be used efficiently at almost any depth, speed and through almost any type of cover. And best of all muskies love em. Dont get me wrong they're not always the best bait, but they are always a decent bait. So when in dought throw a spinnerbait.

[muskymike]

Dont know much about the nip at all. if i did i would help. i remember seein' Pete Maina do an episode on it though so maybe he can help.

 

Its no different then any other body of water. you just have to find where they are on that particular day and what they are hittin'.

 

Either way, good luck out there and keep us posted with any reports

[HTHM]

i can tell you which 50 lures not to buy....

I feel your pain.....