Muskies on French

[Doop]

Hello guys,

Has anyone fished French lately? I have never fished it before and will be there on Friday....just wondering how it was going? Thanks guys

[38poundbeauty]

Not good. Very murky. Very weedy.

[Doop]

I know French can get pretty mucky and green....could anyone tell me if that's the case right now? We are driving about 2 hours to get there and were thinking about fishing the River out of Lansing if French wasn't producing. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!

[mtreno]

bring your little boats - hard a hard time getting mine on and off - right about 1 foot at the access. milfoil was real think last monday. was back last night it had died off pretty good and could get up on the points again. lake is already getting its nice green slime on the surface. water temp was down to 68.1 as of late last night. lots of baitfish around.

[38poundbeauty]

I was there on the opener and got a 40" trolling. The water was clear and the weeds weren't horrendous. Yesterday we fished it, didn't see a thing, and the water is green and murky. Use your own judgement but French seems like a tough fish right now.

[Doop]

Thanks guys....I really appreciate it. My buddy and I have one more day to fish before I leave for Texas and neither of us have been muskie fishing before, but we have the gear and thought what the heck, I don't want to waste a trip though when French is slimy green. I know how that lake can be. If you guys go out in the next day or two could you come back with a report? We aren't planning on fishing until Friday. Thanks a million!

[mtreno]

which boat were you?

hey doop - whats your email i got a lake for you to try.....

[38poundbeauty]

18' Maroon Crestliner with a 175 and a 9.9.

[Doop]

[email protected]

[Bauer and Standke]

Quote:

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bring your little boats - hard a hard time getting mine on and off - right about 1 foot at the access. milfoil was real think last monday. was back last night it had died off pretty good and could get up on the points again. lake is already getting its nice green slime on the surface. water temp was down to 68.1 as of late last night. lots of baitfish around.

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There is no Milfoil in french the only invasive weed that is in the is curly leaf pond weed.

[mtreno]

ya ya ya - i always call the both the same thing. my home lake has it as well but they have been spreying for it and its not nearly as bad. at least it dies off when the water gets to warm

[porterhouse]

I learned how to muskie fish on French lake. I don't fish the lake anymore because the shallow landing. Good numbers lake with a good shot at a 48" fish.

Got all my fish on little bucktails and topwaters. 90% of my muskies caught on that lake came on a custom color topraider(blue with white belly). Very strange.

Brian

[mrwalleyee]

Any new reports on the lake? I'm thinking of heading over there with my dad on Sat. How are the weeds and slime? Is it worth the trip over there to fish it? We have never been on the lake before, but have a smaller 16' lund, so I'm guessing that the landing shouldn't be too much of a problem. Any help is appreciated. Thanks, Paul

[delmuts]

hopefully some one well give you some current info. the lake has a good number of muskies, but does get a lot of pressure. it is probably turning green by now.( as to how bad??) some of the pond weeds maybe dieing off but you will still have inside and outside weed lines to work, plus rock pts. a hump, and breaklines. get a map to help guide you to some of those!the shallow ramp can be a pain, but manageable.( much easier if you have two people!)

[mtreno]

been there the last three nights by myself. launch sucks. your fine with your boat and most are fine its just really low. and it stinks (yes smell). weeds have died off nicely but left some nice slime. there are some good fish in there but they are still kinda lazy. burning baits fast is at least getting them to swing at some or you can slow roll some big bucktails and watch them chase all day. try something new or work something differently. i think those fish no more about musky baits then anyone.....

[TR0PHYPHISHIN]

I was there last weekend and lost my lower end at the boat launch. Very green and weedy.

[38poundbeauty]

What's the good word mtreno?

[mtreno]

the good word for the day is independence. as in i give up on french and will be fishing indy for awhile. that and with the upcoming holiday i thought that maybe.... just maybe..... the fish would go my way.....

i stay away from french most weekends but friday could not be missed. watched as every boat slowly made there way to the access at dark as the storms moved closer and closer. (access was full we parked on the road) one by one they all left the lake. not to far after we were the only boat out there.... wind picked up. lighting was crazy. and we boated a monster...... fyi - when i say we that means i was the net man - the fattest 48 i have ever seen - we had this old camera - this old camera had this stuff in it called film...... you have to like wind it up and bring it into the store and then wait a day then you can see you pictures...... i am sure there great!

as far as french goes - man there must have been 50 musky fisherman out there when we got there...... it has forced me onto some new patterns out there. not to happy about all the dead fish i keep seeing out there as well. going to let that one rest for a bit there is just way to much pressure out there and conditions are just not hot enought to keep going. but it can be a fun little lake.....

[38poundbeauty]

man, thats too bad. i knew it was pressured, but i had no idea it was THAT bad. how many fish have you seen down there belly up???? i hope we're not talking 10 or more.....any size to them? put your pictures up of that monster!!!

[mtreno]

only 4 - but dead is dead. mid 30's i would guess - been dead long enough i am not going to play with them.