How Long...

[fishinorfarmin]

I have been lurking around here on the musky forums for awhile now and have appreciated all the good info put out by you guys. Ive been wondering how long do you guys work a musky that you saw on a follow or maybe one that came all the way to the boat and then took off 5 feet from the boat. Do you cast back for a certain amount of time or maybe just make a few casts and then come back later?

The water I normally fish is very stained so typically I dont see too many follows. When I do have a follow, or maybe miss on a topwater hook up, is it worth the time to throw a couple of lures back to them? Or is the fact that a fish bolted away at the boat a pretty good indicator that its gone and isnt coming back?

Normally in this situation I will throw the same lure back in the general area 4-5 times and alternate speeds. Then if nothing I will try a couple others 4-5 times. Usually thats it then and I will move on. Just wondering if I am giving up too soon.

[DaRangeFinder]

Me and my musky partner found that if you are on a lake with pressure that day, stay on him and dont let him get away. We have also had success giving the fish time to recoup. I would say if it is big enough and there is a chance someone might come in right behind you and scoop it up, stay on it until your convinced you need to move on.

[Nick Kuhn]

I make a few more casts in the area, but continue to work down whatever structure it is afterwards. I'll come back for a few casts before leaving that particular area. If the rest of the day goes pretty rough, I'll come back to that spot later in the day.

[FLnick87]

I have been successful gpsing the spot of the follow and moving on, then returning to the spot 20 minutes later after the fish settles. Then I cast the area for several minutes from different angles w/ the same and different baits. More often than not, they hit the original bait they went for.

[50inchpig]

i've had my best luck coming back to fish at prime time, like sunup, sundown, moonrise/moonset. if there are alot of boats out though i'd probably be inclined to stay around and work the fish longer like some other guys have already stated, but if first dark or moonrise is coming i'd rather wait for it.

[RK]

Hiya -

For me, it totally depends on the circumstances and my read on how active I think the fish is.

If it's a slow, lazy follow, I may not come back to it until conditions change, whether that's a weather change, wind switch or sundown.

If the fish is pretty hot (moving fast, snaking on the bait, or rushing off fast at the boat) I may come back in a few minutes, or just stop casting for a couple minutes, let the fish reposition and settle down, then cast to it again.

It can also kind of depend on the spot too. If it's a popular spot on a busy lake I may take a shot at it sooner rather than later just due to competition, and may make repeated casts to the area from different angles just to try to get the fish to move. If it's an off the wall spot or on a lake with little traffic I may leave it alone longer.

Pretty much gut feel all in all though...

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[Jmeyers]

Musky are pretty territorial fish, there’s a study out there called "project Nobel Beast" where they study and tag most of the musky that they catch. After catching and tagging them they would track and follow them for the next 2 hours to see what their patterns were. They found that after being caught most all of their fish receded back into the weed line and sat there without moving for the remainder of the time no matter what baits they threw at them. However, the next day they head out there to track the fish again and seem to always find them sitting in the same spot and have noticed them to be pretty active by catching that same fish the next day.

I would say after a musky gets startled and darts off after a follow up they more than likely head back to their weed line and sit without being too aggressive. I think your best bet would be to try that same spot the next day, or at least give the fish around 2 hours to settle down and regain their energy so they are willing to be aggressive again.

[Nick Kuhn]

Musky are pretty territorial fish, there’s a study out there called "project Nobel Beast" where they study and tag most of the musky that they catch. After catching and tagging them they would track and follow them for the next 2 hours to see what their patterns were. They found that after being caught most all of their fish receded back into the weed line and sat there without moving for the remainder of the time no matter what baits they threw at them. However, the next day they head out there to track the fish again and seem to always find them sitting in the same spot and have noticed them to be pretty active by catching that same fish the next day.

I would say after a musky gets startled and darts off after a follow up they more than likely head back to their weed line and sit without being too aggressive. I think your best bet would be to try that same spot the next day, or at least give the fish around 2 hours to settle down and regain their energy so they are willing to be aggressive again.

Interesting because another study I read found the opposite. Fish would linger around for a while but then would relocate. Often a different fish will move in, as the first fish was there for a reason.

[Esox_Magnum]

I have moved fish,changed baits swung around and caught them, have also caught a fish and an hour later and over a mile away the same fish came in hot and missed my partners bait at the boat, same bait I caught her on to just different pattern. We had a fish caught in a tourney last year that was lost at boatside, they came back over her 3 hours later and netted it that time. Seen fish lost at the boat come back and try to eat again seconds after being lost. Also seen it the other way saw them come in hot and never seen again.

[50inchpig]

are you saying you saw a fish, then an hour later and a mile away you caught the same fish?

[Esox_Magnum]

Caught it first saw it an hour later, no question about it being the same as she had a boil on one side and her gill plates were spotted.

[Esox_Magnum]

Pretty distinctive pattern, only the 2nd like it we have seen on the lake, I caught a 42 similar the fall befor, this ones a 41

[Jmeyers]

Nice fish Esox

[Esox_Magnum]

Thanks, we seem to have about every varition in the lake, from near clear to full spots at 50" and about everything in between.....