Advice on Good Lures for Opener????

[MUSKIE11]

Hey guys, I'm looking for advice on what kind of lures to be throwing opener and the first 2 weeks of the season. Which lures or types of lures have you had good luck with in past years that first 2 weeks of the season. Because frankly I suck, I've had over 65 follows and never have had a muskie on, I can locate them and they love to follow and laugh at me, but won't bite. Even my 13 year old brother has caught one. Sorry got sidetracked, any advice would be helpful. Thanks

[Giant_Jackpot]

Muskie11,

I like spinner baits any time of year. As far as your number of follows, are you prepared for the figure 8 or do you lean over and get ready AFTER you see the fish? I have found that if you lean over after you see the fish they tend to shy away due to the movement. If you are ready to do the figure 8 BEFORE you see your lure I think you stand a better chance of getting them to hit. Of course this does not explain why you have not had a hit with the lure farther from the boat. Keep trying though and you will get what you are after!

[MrSenarighi]

Muskie11- Let's start from the top. First of all, I think it would be only fair to you and everyone else if you changed your name from "Muskie11" to "Follow65". Now I am not a muskie pro by any means, but I have caught a few and I have a cabin on a Muskie lake. Early in the year, I catch muskies trolling for walleyes with large spinners and crawlers. Not that I recommend that, but it gives me an idea that of what they will hit, and it is something they rarely see. I also agree with Jackpot about inline spinnerbaits as your go to this time of year. You are obviously doing something right by getting them to follow, could it be maybe the lake your on is very pressured and they have seen it all? That can make a difference in follow/strike percentages. Good luck, and I'm sure someone who actually knows what they are talking about will give you some good advice.

[Cooter]

I haven't had that many follows in my whole life!

[squeedunk]

Don't get frustrated with all the follows and no hook ups, you are definately doing something right. I had over 70 follows a few years back with only a 28" ski to show for it but I ended the year with a 53"! It was well worth the wait! It sounds like you are fishing productive waters at least.

As far as early season lures go, I have seen the most fish when using smaller cranks (6" Jakes), and safety pin spinnerbaits (Rad Dogs). I have also heard people having lots of luck with huskie jerks and bass sized spinnerbaits. I am also trying to figure out the early season muskie tricks but that is what I will be using this June. It can be hard to keep the big lures in your box but I think you will have more luck with the smaller lures.

On a final note make sure to at least do an 'L' turn at boatside after EVERY cast. One of them is bound to strike.

Good luck this season~Squeedunk

[I'llTakeWhatiCanGet]

Yeah, smaller lures seem to be more productive early on, I'm kinda preferential to a 6" Grandma or Cisco Kid. Spinnerbaits and small bucktails work well too, as people have mentioned. As far as converting follows to strikes, you might want to keep an extra rod on hand (if you've got one) with something like a bulldawg on it for a throwback bait. Otherwise, if you get a fish to follow several times without commiting, I like to put on a topwater. I've had run ins with fish that rose to several different minnowbaits multiple times, and then crushed the life out of a topwater after 2 or 3 casts. Plus its just sweet to see a musky eat a topwater Good luck to ya!

[MUSKIE11]

Thanks for the info guys. Much appreciated, probably would be a good idea to change my name to Follow65 .I like the idea of leaning over before the lure gets all the way in to be ready for the figure 8. I always make an L turn or figure 8 at the end of the casts but the lake we fish is a clear water lake so maybe they are seeing my movement. My brother just had found out that the lake we fish recieves a lot of pressure. So we are going to try to broaden our horizons this year and try some other lakes. Yeah I remember a couple years ago when we only fished muskies just for something different, then my brother went and purchased about 10 lures, so we made a trip in beginning of Nov, we had 35 follows in only a day and a half, and didn't hook up with one, now 2 new rods and hundreds of dollars later i still am waiting, Anyway thanks for the advice.

[Fish-n-Freak]

If you are on a lake with clear water and heavy pressure, I have only one tip for you -- fish at NIGHT!!!!!!

Either one (Pressure or Clear Water) will make night fishing my option. If you have both on your lake, you need to try fishing at night. Just make sure you are ready to fish at night, before you try it. Head Lamp, Hook Cutter, a big net and a VERY clean boat are some of the keys. You don't want to have a messy boat and try moving around with a fish on. Or try to free your net from a couple of lure that were tossed on the floor. When done right, night fishing is very fun and productive.

Good Luck!

Steve Sedesky

[guideman]

Most muskie people will tell you to down size in the early season and that is a proven tactic. My

approch to early season muskies includes throwing some smaller baits, however there are 2 things I think are also important.

Speed...is a very important trigger for hooking a fish vs just seeing a fish follow. I like to keep it slow in the spring time, no matter what baits I'm throwing. The other is lure type, bucktails are well known to be very effective in the spring of the year, as well as all summer long. Minnow style baits excell in cold water and they can be worked almost painfully slow and the action just drives Muskies wild.

So when you're selecting a bait this spring, take a minute to think about how well it works at slow speeds. Believe me if you throw what the fish are looking for, your catch rate will go way up.

"Ace"

[Cooter]

Another option is small suckers (small for musky).

[Quackaddict9]

try jig with plastic minnow on the hook, Saw one guy using it on a show 2 nights ago, caught a 53 incher and another one that was maybe 42 inches? I would have to try that this summer. Not sure when it is the best time to use it (early summer/summer/late summer/fall) though.

[MUSKIE11]

This is all very good info, thanks, I have a question regarding Night Fishing. Do you even night fish in the beginning of the season, like early June, or is this something that is more effective once the waters warm up, like july and august. Also when you night fish which are the most productive times. The 3 hours just after sunset, or middle of the night, or just before light??

[Matt Breuer]

I know guys who don't go out until 11 at night and they stay out until around 3 am. They do fairly well, but be careful so you don't get a hook in the face!!

Easrly season I like to throw a smaller Reef Hawg and work it back real slow. Ace is dead on when it comes to speed!