Cold Fronts/Storms

[38poundbeauty]

Does anyone know how long it typically takes for the muskies to get back to normal feeding after a cold front or a big storm rolls through? We had storms in the metro area on Monday night. Went out last night for a couple hours and didn't even see a fish. Thought about trying it again tonight but wasn't sure if the fish would still be sluggish and stubborn.

[RK]

Hiya -

I usually kind of figure that the day of and the 1st day after aren't that bad. In fact, the day after, I've caught some pretty big fish. Overall numbers are probably down - might only get one shot at a fish - but bigger fish. Don't ask me to explain why that would be because I can't...

I figure the 2nd day after is the worst of the bunch. Sort of depends though on the severity of the front and what comes in behind it. If it's one of those deals where it goes from 80 to 65 and it's bluebird clear and choppy ('sparkling waters') or patchy, fast moving clouds and lots of sun (the 'strobe light' effect) I'm not too happy. If it's warmer, or the front isn't as severe, sometimes it's not so bad.

I always just figure that there hasn't been a cold front yet that's bad enough to make me want to mow the lawn instead...

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[cjac]

I did not know that is was possible/legal to use the words "normal" and "muskie" in the same sentence!!

Pre-front (Monday night) I moved a couple fish, but it was interesting to me they were off from where they were fairly active the day prior. How long into the season does it take before they become "trained" and recognize the parade of lures as not being a meal?

A wise man recently wrote and article vowing to use jigs more in 2006, tonight I'm going to do just that! Another wise man is giving a seminar on this topic too! Yes, I just called Jonny P a wise man! The only way to learn is to do it and I already got the hang of feeling the "thump thump" of the shad tail on the jig, so I'm beginning to feel (see in my mind) how it's working. Hopefully I'll feel a big thump tonight, or feel nothing and set the hook!

Chris

[Random guy]

I look at cold fronts as a change in the game, not a shutdown. I had the day off yesterday so I somehow ended up on the lake. As RK explains it was brutal, sparkly water with the strobe light going (good one RK) after some funky weather. I checked out the weeds and normal spots right off the bat and realized quickly that my normal areas that fish always show up did not produce. So I fired up the kicker motor and put the rod in the holder and went looking. I trolled around rock bars, sand humps and open water looking for fish that may still be active relating to baitfish or structural elements. I finally found bait pods off of steep rock breaks with big arches nearby on the finder...jackpot! So out came the Bull Dawgs and jigs to try and entice these fish to snap. Needless to say we seen a bunch of fish and put one little guy in the boat all in all a fun day on the water. Cold fronts or odd weather have a bad rep for shutting fish down. I don't think it shuts all fish down just puts some in a negative mood where other fish in other situations may go unchanged by light, pressure or temperature. Like fish holding deep beyond the effects of light changes or surface disturbances. Trick is to take what changes have happened and adapt to them and make the most of "bad conditions" or stay at home and have "quality time"

[RK]

Hiya -

With cold fronts, I think it's sometimes as much that fish move as it is they shut off. Especially right after a front. I'll often get out of the weeds and go look for hard bottomed stuff. Muskies just plain like sand sometimes. Other times they just move off of the usual spots where they park on a weedline and suspend at about the level of the top of the weeds, but a cast length or so off the weedline. Almost like crappies do now that I think about it... It's like they want to be on the weedline but just hang off it till the weather sorts itself out. 3 days after a front, if you can get those fish before they head back into their usual spots, it can be great. Lots of times though if you fish the usual spot in the usual way, you're parked on top of the fish.

Or can just go root around in the slop. Years and years ago - almost 20 now that I think about it - I remember Bob Ripley (one of the original In-Fisherman guys and still one of the best anglers I've ever known) telling me "when all else fails, go shallow, because some fish just plain live there." He was talking about bass at the time but the same thing goes for muskies. Ever since, I've called it "Ripley's Rule" and it's saved my hide many times since. Get in after them with a spinnerbait, grind away, and root them out. Hard work, but it works.

I've never gotten a good explanation of why fish go into a funk after a cold front. Best I've heard was actually from a doctor. He said that when blood temps change, the hemoglobin's ability to carry oxygen is affected until the blood chemistry adjusts slightly. Basically, they just don't feel good for a while. Lord knows if that's accurate at all, but it's as good an explanation as I've ever heard.

Yeah, jigs... they really can be effective. It's always been a technique with pockets of popularity, but really, it's nothing new. Guys like Tony Portincaso were catching muskies on jigs - and writing about it - back in the 70s. We just have some better tools to do it with these days. Head designs are better suited for a horizontal casting presentation (weight is back on the hook rather than centered under the eye) and they have decent hooks. Main problem perception-wise is guys seem to think jigs have to be fished slow. I fish mine like a bucktail without a blade a lot of the time. Reel fast 5-6 cranks, pause for half a crank, and start again. I know a lot of guys are big on Bull Dawgs, but personally, I much prefer a jig. More versatile and way better hookers I think.

Jon - yeah, the 'sparkling waters'....I hate it...

cheers,

Rob kimm

[Scoot]

RK,

A couple follow up questions to your post about fishing cold fronts/"off fish". You say that when all else fails go shallow- I assume you are referring to shallow slop and not just random shallow water? It sounds like you're saying something akin to what Dick Pearson says about grinding- if you can't find fish where you think they should be, go into the shallow weed beds and grind away. Am I hearing you right?

Also, I'm curious about the shallow sand pattern you alluded to. I've fished a shallow sand bite in the early fall on a local lake that I often see you on. Topwaters in one to four feet of water seem to be a great pattern for serveral weeks most years. However, it sounded to me like you were referring to a more common pattern than just a few weeks in the late summer/early fall. Do you go up on the shallow sand in the early, mid, and late seasons? What is it that leads you to looking on the shallow sand? I'm intrigued...

[RK]

Hey Scoot -

Yeah, that really is it. If you've read Muskies on the Shield, the line about some fish just living shallow is basically "Ripley's Rule." I think there are resident fish that never leave shallow thick cover. Spinnerbaits are good for going in after them, and spinnerbaits in shallow thick weeds have a lot of triggering ability - flash, vibration, blades clanging off weed stalks and the wire shaft. Really a good trigger for fish that are 'off.' It's tough fishing mentally though. Don't get many follows in stuff like that during a cold front - they just blast it or don't move.

As far as sand and shallow stuff goes, I do fish it all season long - from opening day to ice up. Certainly periods of the year when there are more fish than others, but worth poking your nose up shallow now and then any time of year.

Cheers,

Rob Kimm