12 Volt Man Posted September 24 Report Posted September 24 16 hours ago, Weeds said: Nice Fish! Never seen a pike in the Otonabee in the 17 years I’ve lived here. They are in some lakes but by no means over running the Kawarthas. Drives me nuts when I see guys “pike fishing” pre musky or bass season in waters you know aren’t holding pike. They are there. we stayed at Wild Woods cottages a few years ago right by the mouth of the river and there was lots of pike there. All hammer handle size though.
Rizzo Posted September 25 Report Posted September 25 On 9/23/2024 at 12:18 PM, siwash said: Going to try pigeon and sturgeon next better idea. Balsam used to be my go to lake until 20 years ago when I started catching just as many pike as muskies. Figured that was the beginning of the end for musky in Balsam 1
AKRISONER Posted September 25 Report Posted September 25 balsam is loaded with pike now. Not a good musky lake anymore. Lots of talk about pike in pigeon/tri lakes. I fish a decent amount there and have yet to catch one. Sure as hell catch a bunch of muskies though fishing those lakes. I think I am actually 3 for 3 the last 3 times ive fished those lakes the boat has landed a ski...and im there fishing bass tournaments lol. Thats how loaded with ski's the tri lakes are.
BillM Posted September 25 Report Posted September 25 Definitely the place you want to go to hook a muskie, or you need your confidence back from fishing Gbay lol. 2
siwash Posted September 27 Author Report Posted September 27 I came across this statement while doing some research on a lake... do you guys buy it? what do you think? And often overlooked factor is the sun's position, better to cast towards the sun than have it at your back. Clear water fish don't like following a bait with the sun in their face
lew Posted September 27 Report Posted September 27 I think people that follow that rule are missing a lot of fish LOL 2 1
BillM Posted September 27 Report Posted September 27 4 hours ago, siwash said: I came across this statement while doing some research on a lake... do you guys buy it? what do you think? And often overlooked factor is the sun's position, better to cast towards the sun than have it at your back. Clear water fish don't like following a bait with the sun in their face Don't overthink it. I don't care what position the sun is in. This time of year find those weed edges out into deep water and you'll find the fish. If the water temps are still in the 70s, fish as fast as you can. 2
siwash Posted September 30 Author Report Posted September 30 I'm heading out tomorrow for a stab at some Muskinonge! With water still warm (low 70s probably), should I still be using a fast retrieval and fast troll? hope to post a good report!
BillM Posted September 30 Report Posted September 30 Yes, absolutely. Bring out those bucktails. I like to do 6 casts fast and 6 casts slower. Change it up until you figure out what they want. Don't forget to figure 8 or at least do a big L in the water after each cast. 2
lew Posted September 30 Report Posted September 30 1 hour ago, BillM said: Don't forget to figure 8 or at least do a big L in the water after each cast. Absolutely Bill, every time you don't figure 8 you may be missing nice fish. And FWIW, I used to do a HUGE amount of musky fishing after dark and the majority of my fish came on an 8 right beside the boat.....talk about a rush when you don't even know she's there until she clobbers the bait LOL 4
siwash Posted October 1 Author Report Posted October 1 (edited) got skunked! Hit Pigeon... that Noggies Creek launch (Bass Lake Rd?) is alright.. didn't know it was there til recently.. I hit all the recommended spots of the North end of the lake and tried Lew's suggestions from last year. I don't have a large arsenal of baits (6 or so) as I am slowly building. I mostly used a black with OJ double blade bucktail.. one thing is for sure- it's a workout! I trolled a bit too.. put in 9 hours and saw one confirmed musky at the bottom end of the big island near the big point. It nearly cleared the water.. looked like a dolphin porpoising! I guess it was chasing bait? That was near midday.. Called it a day at 4 as I had to be back. Good day but not used to the skunk as I ussually alway get fish if out for multi species on light gear. I am loving the Lexa 400 and Okuma rod.. casts beautifully Edited October 1 by siwash 3
AKRISONER Posted October 1 Report Posted October 1 1 hour ago, siwash said: got skunked! Hit Pigeon... that Noggies Creek launch (Bass Lake Rd?) is alright.. didn't know it was there til recently.. I hit all the recommended spots of the North end of the lake and tried Lew's suggestions from last year. I don't have a large arsenal of baits (6 or so) as I am slowly building. I mostly used a black with OJ double blade bucktail.. one thing is for sure- it's a workout! I trolled a bit too.. put in 9 hours and saw one confirmed musky at the bottom end of the big island near the big point. It nearly cleared the water.. looked like a dolphin porpoising! I guess it was chasing bait? That was near midday.. Called it a day at 4 as I had to be back. Good day but not used to the skunk as I ussually alway get fish if out for multi species on light gear. I am loving the Lexa 400 and Okuma rod.. casts beautifully Welcome to musky fishing. dont feel too bad, the fishing has been awful the past few days, the fish are most certainly waiting for some cold weather. Everything is sort of just sitting in summer limbo. Need the water to cool off for the fish to get in the mood 1 1
12 Volt Man Posted October 1 Report Posted October 1 Do bucktails/Mepps baits work even in fall when the water gets cool/cold? I know guys throw big rubber baits then but do the bucktails still work? just have to slow roll them? thanks
CrowMan Posted October 1 Report Posted October 1 14 minutes ago, 12 Volt Man said: Do bucktails/Mepps baits work even in fall when the water gets cool/cold? I know guys throw big rubber baits then but do the bucktails still work? just have to slow roll them? thanks Musky will definitely move deeper as the water cools. The challenge with bucktails is being able to get them down in that zone, even at slower speeds. So yeah, that's why rubber like BullDawgs and Medusa's become effective, but I also like to throw jerkbaits and cranks. Even some glide baits like a Hellhound will get down to those deeper edges. I also find the fish transition from weed to rock (on Shield lakes) as the days get shorter. Once the weeds start to brown out and stop producing oxygen, its time to start looking deeper. We usually troll a lot more as the thermometer drops....Jake's, Grandma's, Triple D's are all part of the program. In lakes that have Cisco and/or Whitefish, their spawn in November can be the hottest bite of the year. 2
smitty55 Posted October 1 Report Posted October 1 55 minutes ago, CrowMan said: Musky will definitely move deeper as the water cools. The challenge with bucktails is being able to get them down in that zone, even at slower speeds. So yeah, that's why rubber like BullDawgs and Medusa's become effective, but I also like to throw jerkbaits and cranks. Even some glide baits like a Hellhound will get down to those deeper edges. I also find the fish transition from weed to rock (on Shield lakes) as the days get shorter. Once the weeds start to brown out and stop producing oxygen, its time to start looking deeper. We usually troll a lot more as the thermometer drops....Jake's, Grandma's, Triple D's are all part of the program. In lakes that have Cisco and/or Whitefish, their spawn in November can be the hottest bite of the year. The latest In-Fisherman has a good article on Last Chance Muskie. One section is on casting to structure to target spawning Cisco and Whitefish. The next section is on the Art of Trolling where again they mention lures that mimic Cisco, Whitefish and Suckers. Next section is on Jigging up Fall Monsters and the last section is on Dragging Meat where they slowly move along ith a bow mount with large 15-22" suckers using quick strike rigs under large foam floats that release on the hook set. As usual the have their recommendations for lures and rod/reel combos with all rods in the 9-10ft lengths.
CrowMan Posted October 1 Report Posted October 1 (edited) 1 hour ago, smitty55 said: The latest In-Fisherman has a good article on Last Chance Muskie. One section is on casting to structure to target spawning Cisco and Whitefish. The next section is on the Art of Trolling where again they mention lures that mimic Cisco, Whitefish and Suckers. Next section is on Jigging up Fall Monsters and the last section is on Dragging Meat where they slowly move along ith a bow mount with large 15-22" suckers using quick strike rigs under large foam floats that release on the hook set. As usual the have their recommendations for lures and rod/reel combos with all rods in the 9-10ft lengths. Hmmm...those magazine writers are stealing my shyte...LOL. I was posting about those Musky patterns on OFC 2 years ago....hehe I have to say...the one thing I can't bring myself to do is use live bait for Musky. Something about it that doesn't sit well with me...just a personal opinion. Anyway, there's never anything really new in fishing. I find most of these writers just recycle the same old stuff with different words. Edited October 1 by CrowMan
BillM Posted October 1 Report Posted October 1 I love big glides when the water gets cooler, also don't forget about that Oct topwater bite 1
siwash Posted October 1 Author Report Posted October 1 Lots of info! What size baits are you Kawartha fishermen using? I trolled a 10" jointed believer yesterday and I have a jake that's at least that long. They almost seem to be more suited to geo bay. Should I downsize? Also, those Medusa's and other soft baits - are they casted out and slowly retrieved? How are they fished?
BillM Posted October 1 Report Posted October 1 (edited) 10in is a perfect size for the Kawarthas, especially this time of year. I make all my lure choices based upon water temps because that's usually a good indicator of activity level. What are the temps right now? High 60's/Low 70's I'd be trolling 4-6mph with baits high in the water column (No deeper than 8-10ft) One of my fav fall baits is a 13in Grandma. They're cheap and they catch fish. Rubber baits like Bulldawgs and Medussas are usually tossed out and brought back in with big long jerks. You should check out Youtube, there are so many vids on how to fish certain lures People love big rubber because for the most part they're easy to throw, easy to work and they definitely put fish in the boat. Edited October 1 by BillM 2
BillM Posted October 1 Report Posted October 1 1 hour ago, lew said: Lotsa good info there Bill. ^^^^ I tried your believer topwater trick on Nip a few weeks ago, I had 2 fish roll on it and completely miss it (They were really turned off after that heat wave we got up there for 10 days... brutal!)
lew Posted October 1 Report Posted October 1 59 minutes ago, BillM said: I tried your believer topwater trick on Nip a few weeks ago, I had 2 fish roll on it and completely miss it (They were really turned off after that heat wave we got up there for 10 days... brutal!) You've got a good memory Bill, don't give up on working the Believer across the top, it produces some nice fish.
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