top 5 musky lures?!

[lew]

2 hours ago, siwash said:

Does it look like this?

Yup, that's it exactly.

[siwash]

3 hours ago, AKRISONER said:

not sure, lots of marinas to launch at...only free launch i know of is at the causeway on chemong. ive caught skis on the west side of the gannon narrows and east side east of kishgo  south end near emily and up in the north end near nogies creek. 

 

The lake once again, I cannot stress enough is loaded with musky. Go poke around and you will find them, its the best place to hone your blade as far as I am concerned. Theres plenty of 40+ fish to wet your chops and learn the ropes.

Thanks! I'll bet there's plenty of other species. Going to take the boy out for some panfishing and cast a bit while I'm out there to get a feel for the lake. Structure in the north end is unbelievable. 

[AKRISONER]

Your son is going to have a blast catching giant sunfish 

[siwash]

I'm coming from the west - just west of Newmarket. What launch would you recommend for pigeon (in terms of shortest drive/convenience)? Thanks. 

[lew]

There's several trailer parks on the west shore of Pigeon that may allow you to launch and leave the truck/trailer for the day but you'd have to contact them to find out. We always launched at the free ramp at the causeway in Bridgenorth and had a milk run all the way to the top of Pigeon but you may not want to travel that far.

[siwash]

I'm in a 25 HP 16' that's basically a utility boat.  That'd be a long run..  The one time I went there (over 15 years ago) I launched at Bobcaygeon I believe.  Not sure if that was free or not.. Thanks, Lew

[siwash]

So for landing net what size (and type) should I get? Width, depth, handle length, etc.. and other equipment - I thinking xtra long needlenose, maybe mouth spreader?  Anything else?  

[SlipperyVic]

On 8/18/2023 at 8:56 PM, siwash said:

I'm coming from the west - just west of Newmarket. What launch would you recommend for pigeon (in terms of shortest drive/convenience)? Thanks. 

There's a good launch at the south end of Pigeon opposite of Emily Park on Peace Rd. Launch is on the South West side of the bridge, and a good amount of parking on the North West side. It's a bit of a ride up to the north end from there, but lots of good fishing in between.

Lots of those pencil reeds in the south end of the lake. Lots of ski's down there too.

[AKRISONER]

Yup There’s a launch that’s free in fees landing.

lots of skis in the south end, no need to travel all of the way up north. Find the deepest water down there.

as a rule, do not start musky fishing until you have the basic musky tools shopping list.

1. a musky net, a cradle will do if you have multiple people, but a net is needed if solo

2. jaw spreaders

3. bolt cutters, when you hook a musky deep, it’s often easier to simply cut your hooks and perform surgery to remove the hooks that way.

4. A cut proof glove. Big musky, have big mouths that will sometime require you to shove a hand right in to get a hook out.

5. Big long nose pliers.

and things to remember, musky die faster out of water than any other fresh water fish, so when handling them, use your net to your advantage. Keep the fish in the water and treat the net like an aquarium. It allows you to unhook the musky, get your camera etc ready etc etc all while the fish is able to breath. This also allows you to contain the fish to revive it at the time of release. A tired musky will often need to be tailed for minutes in order to swim down again. 
 

finally don’t fish musky on bass gear unless it’s an XH flipping rod. You don’t want to play these fish, playing them essentially guarantees that they end up dead.

 

practice your gill plate grab. It’s the only way to properly handle the fish, while doing so support their belly. Don’t hang a big fish entirely by it’s gill plate. If you need help with this, YouTube is your friend

 

Edited August 20, 2023 by AKRISONER

[siwash]

5 minutes ago, AKRISONER said:

Yup There’s a launch that’s free in fees landing.

lots of skis in the south end, no need to travel all of the way up north. Find the deepest water down there.

as a rule, do not start musky fishing until you have the basic musky tools shopping list.

1. a musky net, a cradle will do if you have multiple people, but a net is needed if solo

2. jaw spreaders

3. bolt cutters, when you hook a musky deep, it’s often easier to simply cut your hooks and perform surgery to remove the hooks that way.

4. A cut proof glove. Big musky, have big mouths that will sometime require you to shove a hand right in to get a hook out.

5. Big long nose pliers.

and things to remember, musky die faster out of water than any other fresh water fish, so when handling them, use your net to your advantage. Keep the fish in the water and treat the net like an aquarium. It allows you to unhook the musky, get your camera etc ready etc etc all while the fish is able to breath. This also allows you to contain the fish to revive it at the time of release. A tired musky will often need to be tailed for minutes in order to swim down again. 
 

finally don’t fish musky on bass gear unless it’s an XH flipping rod. You don’t want to play these fish, playing them essentially guarantees that they end up dead.

 

great advice..  you guys have been so helpful and generous.  Much appreciated.  I hope to post a pic of a a nice fish at some point this fall! 

[siwash]

Is this the launch?

 If it is, it's actually a slightly shorter drive (by 15 min) than going to the north end.. that's good.. adds 30 min of fishing!

 

Edited August 20, 2023 by siwash

[siwash]

4 hours ago, AKRISONER said:

Yup There’s a launch that’s free in fees landing.

lots of skis in the south end, no need to travel all of the way up north. Find the deepest water down there.

as a rule, do not start musky fishing until you have the basic musky tools shopping list.

1. a musky net, a cradle will do if you have multiple people, but a net is needed if solo

2. jaw spreaders

3. bolt cutters, when you hook a musky deep, it’s often easier to simply cut your hooks and perform surgery to remove the hooks that way.

4. A cut proof glove. Big musky, have big mouths that will sometime require you to shove a hand right in to get a hook out.

5. Big long nose pliers.

and things to remember, musky die faster out of water than any other fresh water fish, so when handling them, use your net to your advantage. Keep the fish in the water and treat the net like an aquarium. It allows you to unhook the musky, get your camera etc ready etc etc all while the fish is able to breath. This also allows you to contain the fish to revive it at the time of release. A tired musky will often need to be tailed for minutes in order to swim down again. 
 

finally don’t fish musky on bass gear unless it’s an XH flipping rod. You don’t want to play these fish, playing them essentially guarantees that they end up dead.

 

practice your gill plate grab. It’s the only way to properly handle the fish, while doing so support their belly. Don’t hang a big fish entirely by it’s gill plate. If you need help with this, YouTube is your friend

 

I now have all of the above items on your list, Akrisoner. I'll be using the shins I rod listed previously along with a Abu 6000.  And I picked up all the tools I'll need, gloves, net etc. 

just about ready to break the Muskie record 🤣🤣

[SlipperyVic]

9 hours ago, siwash said:

Is this the launch?

 If it is, it's actually a slightly shorter drive (by 15 min) than going to the north end.. that's good.. adds 30 min of fishing!

 

Sure is. 

You don't have to venture far into the lake from the river mouth to be in Musike country

[siwash]

Curious - Does that river flow into or out of pigeon? 

[siwash]

So are we still in "summer mode" for Muskie? It's been cool at night and declining light to add. I wonder if there is a transition about to happen. If so, do they go deeper? Shallower? Depends on the day ? I'd imagine that they may be going into heavier feed mode?

[siwash]

So I have an Abu 6000. Just picked up 150 yards if 65lbs PP. On sale, btw, at BPS/Cabelas. 
 

I don't know how much line fits on that reel. I believe that 65lbs = 16lbs mono diameter. 
 

I can't seem to find definitive info. Before I reel it on I want to know how much backing to add. I usually use a few winds of electrical tape to reduce slip.  
 

anyone have this reel? Happen to know how much line can fit? 
 

thanks 

Edited August 21, 2023 by siwash

[siwash]

This is the reel. Cant find a serial 

 

 

[AKRISONER]

14 hours ago, siwash said:

So are we still in "summer mode" for Muskie? It's been cool at night and declining light to add. I wonder if there is a transition about to happen. If so, do they go deeper? Shallower? Depends on the day ? I'd imagine that they may be going into heavier feed mode?

Everything is starting to chew a lot more aggressively. Probably still find musky a bit deeper at the moment, but I heard the water was 66 in the kawarthas after that cold rain Friday. So I think the ski’s could be anywhere at the moment.

 

no need to worry about massive changes until the lakes turn over in late September 

[lew]

If you do get serious about musky fishing you may want to get a good set of cutters for cutting off heavy hooks. A lot of the musky guys use Knipex, including me, and they're about as good as they come although somewhat expensive but well worth the price for removing deeply buried 7/0 hooks.

[SlipperyVic]

16 hours ago, siwash said:

Curious - Does that river flow into or out of pigeon? 

Water flows into Pigeon Lake from the Pigeon river, and then up to Gannon's Narrows and East to Buckhorn.

[BillM]

3 hours ago, lew said:

If you do get serious about musky fishing you may want to get a good set of cutters for cutting off heavy hooks. A lot of the musky guys use Knipex, including me, and they're about as good as they come although somewhat expensive but well worth the price for removing deeply buried 7/0 hooks.

Knipex are definitely the goto's.  I've got a pair of Kobolts that are like butter through hooks an probably half the price.  We'll see how long they hold up!   Luckily I really haven't had to cut many hooks out though.

Here's a 45in Gbay fish from a few weeks ago.

[siwash]

Is this it? 

 

https://www.amazon.ca/Cobolt-Leverage-Compact-Cut-Notched-Blade/dp/B005EXO8LK/ref=asc_df_B005EXO8LK/?tag=googleshopc0c-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=292948034357&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10459899207932424410&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9104662&hvtargid=pla-420455848293&th=1

Bloody expensive!  I've already dropped over $250 on gear the past 3 days. 

I just bought these.. the long nose should be fine.. but not sure the cutters are up to the task?  Should I bring them back?

 

 

 

Edited August 21, 2023 by siwash

[siwash]

What about these - I'm a big fan of Princess Auto:

https://www.princessauto.com/en/8-in-mini-bolt-cutters/product/PA0008044029

[BillM]

Any leverage style bolt cutter you can use with one hand will do the job for the most part.

[CrowMan]

19 minutes ago, siwash said:

What about these - I'm a big fan of Princess Auto:

https://www.princessauto.com/en/8-in-mini-bolt-cutters/product/PA0008044029

Description says only good for non-ferrous metals...mild steel at best. Hooks are generally hardened carbon steel. For $14.99, I wouldn't expect much.

It's not only important to have a good set of cutters for the health of the fish...it's also important for you or someone else on the boat. If you get stuck by a hook from a thrashing Musky,  and have to cut off the point of a 7/0 3X hook...you'll quickly regret having sub-par tools. Been there, done that...have the scars to show for it...

Btw, those Crappy Tire special Red Wolf cutters are useless...

Unfortunately, Musky fishing doesn't come cheap...keep an eye out on Kijiji or FB Marketplace for someone selling their used gear...that's about the only way to keep the price down

Edited August 21, 2023 by CrowMan