Catching "Sunning" Muskies

[MNBIGBEAR]

Just curious if anyone has ever had luck catching fish on the hot, flat days when you can see the fish lying in the shallows. I cant say that I have ever even had one of these fish show interest in my bait at these times until later in the evening or at night. Thinking about breaking out the fly-rod with a big streamer on it!

[goblueM]

meh, good luck. i've never heard of anyone having success with those fish

although an injured live baitfish might do the trick occasionally

[2000AlaskanDC]

That 57" out of Vermilion came excatly that way........ it can and does happen.

A few times for me, super fast a couple times and long long pauses other times..

[cbrooks]

Banjo minnow J/K.

[JRedig]

meh, good luck. i've never heard of anyone having success with those fish

Now that's funny right there. Clearly it doesn't happen then! Must be the same as the one's that never eat when they're swimming around with their head out of the water...caught a few of those too.

Speed speed and more speed, IME.

[urban cowboy]

Nothing like chucking baits at sunning lethargic fish. I have pulled up on reefs that had 5,6,7 fish just laying there... backed off... burned small bucktails, spinnerbaits, gliders, everything in the box to no avail. You have to get lucky and catch them in transition. IMO, I don't think its the fish that is sunning that you catch, I think it is a fish that is leaving or coming in or an active fish that you dont see.

[bemidjibasser]

Go small and subtle. I have caught several fish that are up sunning, including my biggest a 53".

[urban cowboy]

Did you watch the fish eat, site fishing? Like the fish is laying there... you watch it move and start following the bait... and then watch it eat? Or where you backed off the spot casting?

[nater]

I've had two fish up shallow nearly hit my bait this year. One I threw a tube up to it. It swam up flared its gills but took off when I twitched it. Another chased a Suick around on the 8 in 3 feet of water. It clearly saw the boat before it started chasing. Closest I've come to converting a sunning muskie.

[fullmetajacket]

I tried everything in my tackle box from big and little blades to topwaters to bulldawgs and finally I stuck my rod tip in the water and touched its tail. Then it swam away nice and slow.

[mainbutter]

Senko, worked VERY slowly right in front of their nose.

Muskies on bass tackle are crazy fun. 20-30lb braid will help you land them almost as fast as on regular musky gear.

[JRedig]

Muskies on bass tackle are crazy fun. 20-30lb braid will help you land them almost as fast as on regular musky gear.

Is that comment made with sarcasm? That's a very fish by fish basis kind of a statement...

[PostFrontal]

More won't bite than will. But some will. It's worth some casts. You know a fish is there.

[Lakeside_Nelson]

If you have the appropriate fly tackle that would be a great option. Most muskies never see the subtle presentations of a large streamer or bunny strip leech.

[brad coin]

try this too,,,take a bait with about one rods length of line and overhand smash!! it into the surface a couple feet in front of them they dont spook all the time,,never have hooked one yet but half a dozen times they have darted at the bait,,,I learned this out of frustration trying to get one to bite