What to do.

[Guest]

I have all the nessessary muskie equipment but can never cash in. I hit French Lake when I go. This is a good lake lots of big muskies. I try almost every thing, but what are your good lures for french. What locations. I fished it for a while but nothing.
Thanks

[musky1]

Turn your following fish into biters. Watch closely for follows and do something different to make them bite, like speeding up your lure or moving your lure left or right. Imagne you are the lure (minnow), or whatever. That minnow is going to be going nuts trying to get away from that big hog on its tail.

Good luck.

[Guest]

I know more guys who have caught muskies on French, while fishing for crappies, than I know who have intentially gone for them.

French is a very hard lake. Primarily, because of all the pressue. When you have 6 to 10 boats, each day, pounding that water over and over and over again with the same lures............Well Good luck!!!!!!\

Down size your lures, or go with a Flu-Flu and a crappie minnow!.

Yes, there are huge fish in there, but they just look. I don't bother with that lake that much anymore.....

You will find better action on Minnetonka, during the week. I've boated as many as 3 fish in 30 minutes of fishing on good days. There are many fish there, and many BIG fish too.

Again, I would down size on that lake too.

In order to catch these fish, you have to put your time on the water, to learn the body of water that you are working.

Point is:
French is different that Minnetonka, which is different than Mille Lacs, which is also different than LOTW, but LOTW is completely different than French. Each lake has it's own personality for these fish. They feed at different times, have different pressures or pressure patterns, and most people hit the common spots that every other Tom, Dick, & Harry hit too, time after time after time.

Learn the lake and how it is structured, via, spending your time, and you will connect.

Try slow presentation in the morning,
Fast mid-day presentation
Holy Cow, burning bucktails towards the end of the day..........
Back to slowing it down on top water at the end of the day.
Point is: Pattern the mood of the fish, as they warm up their body with the mid-day sun.

Also, watch your weather. Blue-bird skies.............Fish panfish, cause the muskies aren't going to give you much time of the day.

In turn, cloudy weather with a storm coming in........I'm all over it!!!!!!!!!!

Good luck and don't let them get to ya!!!

By the way, make sure you have the right tools to release these fish. Don't beat them up.

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Let 'em go so they can grow!!!

[delmuts]

adam i only get to fish french a couple of times a year. we have luck using surface lure ( like and awaker, annihalator, or and inline buzzbait) and on cranks such as a jake. a couple of the old guys use the smaller 5-6 in versions of a rapala or some other crank bait that would be a good pike and bass lure . i see alot of people using buck tails , so try some different things. del

[Trailblazer]

Keep on pluggin away and I agree with all the responses. Try something diferent. Even if it means throwing Pink, Yes, Pink!
Worked for me......

[Guest]

I fish French from Muskie opener intil the First of July. French is a very good early season muskie lake. I fish very shallow in this lake(like 2FT of water)!!!! What has work for me is that I work the docks around the whole lake. I only throw Top-raiders at these fish. Biggest so far was a 44 incher.
I fish this lake only during the week and get on the water around 5AM and I'm off around 11AM.

Brian