mike rousseau Posted October 12, 2011 Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 went out for musky for a couple hours tonight... got a 43 incher and had 2 follows... 1 of the follows was over 50 inches... all the action was after dark... biggest question i have for any nightime musky hunters... headlight on or off? ive fished walleye with my headlight on and watched them take my lure a few feet away... if my headlight was off... i would have never seen them... but i think it may have spooked them... any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rizzo Posted October 12, 2011 Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 I haven't fished musky after dark but I have 2 thoughts - without the light on you'd never know about those 2 follows so if you only figure 8 when you see a fish keep the light on. If you figure 8 after every cast I say shut the light off. Could you imagine a figure 8 fish in the dark didn't even know it was there? Would be awesome (and a bit scary) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike rousseau Posted October 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 I haven't fished musky after dark but I have 2 thoughts - without the light on you'd never know about those 2 follows so if you only figure 8 when you see a fish keep the light on. If you figure 8 after every cast I say shut the light off. Could you imagine a figure 8 fish in the dark didn't even know it was there? Would be awesome (and a bit scary) Good points The fish we did get was lights out on the "L" turn... My friend had no clue it was there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henricus Posted October 12, 2011 Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 Interesting timing. I was fishing Sat evening and I hadn't turned on the light yet but could no longer see anything in the water. I carelessly pulled up midway through my figure 8 and all a sudden a huge tail splash and there she was, gone! It scared the living you-know-what out of me. The light went on right after that. If musky will follow in the propwash for miles at a time I can't see a light bothering them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lew Posted October 12, 2011 Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 (edited) I've been fishing nightime muskies for many years Mike and for my boat, it's always lights out until the fish hits. Your eyes will adjust to the blackness and the fish are very good at finding your bait in the dark. Only turn your headlamp on AFTER you set the hook. In many areas we fish the muskies will often move into very shallow waters to feed at night and we get them in as little as 12" of water. You can actually hear them thrashing around like carp. Pencil reeds and sand in shallow waters are a favorite spot for them at night. BIG spinnerbaits are excellent to work thru the reeds and jointed 10" Believers hooked through the shallow eye are great to walk along the surface on the outside edge. Work the baits slow and steady and at least in my own experience, most of the hits will happen right at the boat as you go into an "L" turn. Alot of times too when you raise a fish in the daytime and can't get her to commit, you can mark the spot and come back after dark and often get her. A favorite story of mine was raising 3 fish one day without a hit, but I went back out that night, followed my waypoints and got all 3 of them. Always good when a plan comes together This is an old picture I've posted before, but it shows the kinda fish you can get late at night in 1-2 feet of water. Edited October 12, 2011 by lew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike rousseau Posted October 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 thanks lew... the one we caught we had our lights off... but it was just getting dark... ill have to try again with lights out... i just didnt think a dull light would spook em... but at least i know where a 50 is sitting... hopefully she stays till saturday for Dontcryformejanhrdina... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lew Posted October 12, 2011 Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 i just didnt think a dull light would spook em... Same idea as a following fish in daylight Mike, if guys in the boat start waving their arms and jumping around your gonna spook the fish away. If she's following a bait in darkness and then there's a light shining in her eyes, it's un-natural to her and could chase her away too. I also turn off my stern nav light too as that casts a pretty strong beacon that could spook a following fish...and yes, I know it's against the law At least that's my experience, for what it's worth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike rousseau Posted October 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 Lew... I'll take advice from you any day... I'll let you know how I make out next night fish I do... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lew Posted October 12, 2011 Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 Thanks Mike, and good luck on your next night-time trip. Big muskies in the dark are a true blast !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike rousseau Posted October 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 Thanks Mike, and good luck on your next night-time trip. Big muskies in the dark are a true blast !! nightime musky is a bit of a new thing for me... the latest i normally stay out is 30 min to an hour after dark but last night was fun... i wanna try it more often in the high pressure areas... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lew Posted October 12, 2011 Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 It's hard to put a timeline on it Mike, you just have to trust your instincts as to whether the fish are on or not or when the bite has stopped. We'll sometimes get 3 or 4 fish in the 1st couple hours of darkness then they'll just shut right down, or the bite may continue right into the night. Same basics as daytime fishing, but use big baits that make lots of noise, rather than flash, and work them just slow enough to maintain the depth you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillM Posted October 12, 2011 Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 Lew, what about lures like TopRaiders at night? A bit to fast for the nighttime bite? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lew Posted October 12, 2011 Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 As long as you can get the prop spinning enough to make some noise they'll work well Bill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercman Posted October 12, 2011 Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 Excellent thread Mike, and great advice Lew. I have been glued to all these great Musky topics lately. I have learned tons of great tips that hopefully i can use in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roy Posted October 12, 2011 Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 A word of caution here and Mike is probably aware of this and Lew is certainly aware of all of this. For folks who are reading this thread and are inspired to get out for after dark muskie fishing remember, it is not for everyone. If you're a newcomer to muskie fishing, NEVER go out at night alone after muskies. Make absolutely sure that your boat is clean and that everything you need is always kept in its proper place. Ensure that you have all that is required to safely release a fish. Wearing a PFD is NOT optional, it's necessary. Especially at night, it's a good idea to leave your itinerary with someone so that they know your expected time of arrival. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike rousseau Posted October 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 I was gunna go to the surface... All the fish were rising in the water column... We even spotted one cruising 2-3 feet under the surface in 15-20 FOW... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercman Posted October 12, 2011 Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 A word of caution here and Mike is probably aware of this and Lew is certainly aware of all of this. For folks who are reading this thread and are inspired to get out for after dark muskie fishing remember, it is not for everyone. If you're a newcomer to muskie fishing, NEVER go out at night alone after muskies. Make absolutely sure that your boat is clean and that everything you need is always kept in its proper place. Ensure that you have all that is required to safely release a fish. Wearing a PFD is NOT optional, it's necessary. Especially at night, it's a good idea to leave your itinerary with someone so that they know your expected time of arrival. Excellent advice Roy.Safety for both fisher and fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike rousseau Posted October 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 Yes Roy You need to be very very prepared... Never alone Lots of lights including headlights Keep you boat clean and tidy Keep you lures put away Keep your rods out of the way Have release tools redaly available Have a first aid kit in the boat PFDs on Musky fishing is challenging and dangerous enough in daylight Nightime is worse Removing/cutting hooks without good lighting is incredably scary... After getting a good size musky fishing walleye I realized the challenges of nightime musky angling... I had no cutters... Forgot my headlight... And had to grab the fish out of the water bare hands... I got lucky everything went well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dontcryformejanhrdina Posted October 12, 2011 Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 but at least i know where a 50 is sitting... hopefully she stays till saturday for Dontcryformejanhrdina... Haha I hope so too! Getting a 50 is one of my fishing goals this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Handlebarz Posted October 13, 2011 Report Share Posted October 13, 2011 I have only went night fishing a couple times it sure is different when you cast your bait and here it hit the water but don't see a thing then when you miss judge the distance from your rod and the leader hits it that is a rush its self. I have not caught s night time musky yet but cant wait for the first. One thing I was thinking of was adding some red rope lights around the inside of the of the boat so I could see the inside of the boat but not ruin my eyes for night vision I was on a submarine before and noticed that they had all red lights inside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike rousseau Posted October 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2011 Figured I'd post the fish that got me to start this thread... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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