Muskie fishing- is on or off

[scuro]

I'm at the point where I want to give Muskie fishing a serious go, it time to catch that first one. Sure I have made stabs at it, trolling giant spinners at ridiculous speeds or casting huge pieces of wood till my arms felt like molten lead. Two weeks from now it will bea different story . For one I have more then one Muskie lure to troll and cast with lol. Secondly, I am big guy, I like to throw metal and wood and like to impart action on my lures. Most of all l like the feel of utter chaos in the boat when a large fish hits a casting lure. Muskie fishing seems like a natural fit.

 

So I have been told that these conditions are good:

a ) a bit of chop,

b ) partially cloudy or overcast,

c ) before the full moon,

d ) before a cold front.

 

Then I hear of "opening" and "closing windows", and how it is all completely unpredictable.

 

But...having said all that...are there little tiny cues in your Muskie environment that tell you that you are there at the right time and the right place. I'm thinking of cues like some species of bird, a particular look to the water, the feel of the air......give me ANYTHING so that when my arms are like lead this next time around I'll have a little more confidence to continue longer.

[Sinker]

When your arms feel like lead, and you've not caught one......keep casting

 

You'll get one, you just have to stick with it!!

[Pigeontroller]

3 days, or better yet, a week of stable weather before you go out!

[Rizzo]

What I can tell you is this: When you get one, get it back in the water ASAP and keep fishing!. From my experience, when the fish turn on, they turn on! You may see nothing for hours, and then for 10-20 minutes you're getting hits, boils, agressive follows, landing fish etc. The sad part is, as quickly as they turn on, they turn off. What causes them to turn on like that? Even if I knew I wouldn't let that little gem out of the bag :D

[bucktail]

When I show up the fishing dies...when I leave it picks up. If you see me coming leave!!

[Guest Trophymuskie]

Any day you can get out is a good day. Sure you may increase your odds at more and bigger fish if all the stars line up just right but then again it may just not happen and yet you can score on any bad day.

 

You need to get out and make do with the conditions of the day.

 

Just yesterday afternoon after hours of mindless trolling in the hot sun, out of no where comes this dark cloud and bingo a rod goes off and a nice fish is boated. Now this cloud only came over the small area we were fishing and even a mile up or down river and we would of never seen it.

 

Full moon normaly means big fish action ( for us spoiled ones is fish over 50 ) and last 5 days we've got 15 fish with 13 over 40 with 6 of those over 44 but no 50's. My clients still had the trip of their lifes and I sure enjoyed all the action.

[Crazyhook]

Go and fish.... best way, can't catch em at home!

[ehg]

Try casting big black bucktails with orange or silver blades around weeds with rocks.

Any northern part of a Kawartha lake has weed/rock and lots of musky.

 

Hope this hleps,

 

ehg

[Musky or Specks]

Consecutive days is the key. The more days you can be on the water in a row the better the chances that you will be there when the fish turn on. Now you didnt mention if you just wanted to catch one or whether you wanted to get one your first time or not ? I'll give you the best lake in the province to catch your first musky on. It was given to me many years ago by Rocky Crawford and I have used it to introduce a lot of guys to musky fishing. Heck the first time I took my 9 yr old son there he caught one with 15 minutes of us starting to fish. Heres the series of photos first the hook up

 

 

Then the fight

 

 

Pose with your fish son

 

 

 

 

 

Now surely if a nine yr old can do it you could. Proceed to Head Lake in downtown Haliburton. Fish casting towards shore with your boat in 8 -12 feet of water. When you get tired of catching 34" head down stream to Grass and Kash and try getting some bigger fish.

[scuro]

Now surely if a nine yr old can do it you could.

 

That's gonna be a curse for me. I'm going up to the cottage that we have rented for over 10 years in the third week of August. While not known as a Muskie lake there are Muskie in there. It has several good areas of weed on rock and sand bottom with real good drop offs all around. I'm ready for bear. I have slowly been accumulating gear and I am ready to go. This will be the dry run where I will devote a few hours for a few days specifically on Muskie. At worst I'll have the routines down for when I finally go fishing with my older brother. We both have busy lives and live in separate cities. We haven't even vacationed together as families for three years. This year for my birthday he agreed to go Muskie fishing with me for a weekend this fall after thanksgiving. I cover the cost, bring the gear, and pick the lake. Hopefully it's going to be an annual thing. We were extremely close as kids. The goal is to catch a muskie and photograph it. I have cousin who lives in Germany. He comes to Canada every few years. He loves to fish and hunt and is very intrigued by Muskie, a fish that one doesn't see in Europe. He wants to go salmon fishing and although I have done salmon fishing with my brother in law and enjoyed the experience, I hate to say it on this board...compared to casting to your target, I find it a bit mundane. To me there is nothing like feeling that strike in your hands, hearing the rod squeal, water splash...and then having to out smart a crafty competitors every move. I also like knowing that it was you who put all he elements together for success.

 

Here is a thought that just occurred to me. There is a one nice reed bed along a point that sticks out from shore where the lake narrows. There is deep water on the downstream side and the front of the point. But...it is near the cabins...say a 100 yards from the dock. Kids are playing on the beach and the dock all the time. You would hear screaming and yelling. The kids would be jumping in the water and clattering with canoes. Some might even come by to see what we are doing. Do muskie need the solitude or do they adjust to noise if the habitat is good?

Edited August 1, 2007 by scuro

[Guest Trophymuskie]

First off I would suggest fishing for muskies all day as you never know when the feeding window will be and most times that will be when you are bait fishing.

 

As for the spot you mentioned I think all that noise and action may actually make it a better spot as muskies are the top predator and are kind of curious.