which book?

[delmuts]

i plan to buy a book on muskie fishing , when i order some things from thorn bros. my choices ( too me) are between " muskie on the shield" or "complete guide to muskie hunting" i am still a beginner chasing these fish. i only get to fish a couple of lakes for them.( one is french by faribault, and a small lake here in iowa) which one do you guys reccomend? del

[cliffy]

"complete guide to muskie hunting". Lots of good info for someone just starting out.

Good luck.

Cliffy

[musky_tail05]

"Complete Guide to Musky Hunting" hands down. I just picked up the second edition and it's a great book.

[Muskycrazy]

If you can find it " The Freshwater Angler - Northern Pike & Muskie " is like a bible for Musky fishing . Its all about the Fish , different type of waters , etc . Its not a Im a great fisherman book like so many are , in fact you really have to look to see who actually authored it . I have read quite a few books and subscribe to mags but this book is no nonsense info , kinda like a text book for Esox .

[KING]

Both really ...Complete guide to Musky hunting is good for an overall look, as it covers boat rigging, to livebait fishing, trolling etc...while Muskie on the Shield is great if you are planning on hitting a shield lake, and it helps understand structures and why or how to fish them.

I have read both of these many many times. I like to go back to them when I am stuggling with getting fish, seem to be able to find confidence when nothing else is working.

Also both of the musky specific magazines are good sources of info if you have not checked them out.

[Bauer and Standke]

I tell you what I dont know which book to get but you wont catch a muskie in shields lake because there is no muskies in shields.

[delmuts]

aaaaaw gees! i changed it ! french!

[10,000 Casts]

Quote:

---

you wont catch a muskie in shields lake because there is no muskies in shields

---

He is talking about a Canadian Sheild Lake. It is a Region.

[RK]

Hiya -

I'd say "Muskies on the Shield" but I'm somewhat biased

Another good one is "Muskies Maina Style." Pete has some good stuff in there, particularly on triggering fish and figure-8s (I know a couple guys who are better than Pete at getting following fish to bite, but not many...), trolling techniques, and a very good discussion on developing patterns from day to day. Plus, it's just a fun read.

I'm not sure when it's coming out exactly - spring sometime I think - but my fellow The Next Bite-Esox Angler editor Jack Burns and I are working on a new muskie book right now. (taking a break from working on it right now in fact) Some basic info in there, but quite a bit of how we approach things at different times of year - kind of a season by season tactical book I guess. Who knows if anyone else will think it's any good, but I think there's some cool stuff in there

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[delmuts]

sure RK ! you start chuming, but leave me searching for the bait!! the book sounds interesting! del

[RK]

Hiya -

Hehe...sorry Del. I'm not trying to be coy. I seriously don't know exactly when it'll be out. We have to have the copy in to the publisher by the end of March, but I'm not sure what their turn around time is. It's going to be kind of cool though. 100-150 full color photos and illustrations. We touch on other geographies in passing, but the bulk of the stuff in there is about techniques we use in MN, WI, and Canada.

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[Scoot]

RK,

You're promising me the first copy, right?

[RK]

Hehe - well, one of the first 10,000 anyhow

This has been kind of a neat project. I write lots of articles obviously but putting together something of this scale is a whole 'nother deal. I worked on Pearson's book, but it's a little different when you're coming up with the whole thing from concept to content. It's a little intimidating sometimes. It's also forced Jack and I to, ahh, resolve some of our differences of opinion on a variety of theories so we can settle on what goes in the book... Those have been some interesting conversations/arguments.

Now quit bugging me so I can go finish the chapter on Figure-8s

Cheers,

Rob

[Random guy]

I have read most of the books mentioned and they are all good books that have a lot of good info. I really liked "Muskies on the Shield". Some good common sense points in that book.

Still my favorite qoute was about Doug Johnson and why fish sun themselves; "It makes them happy".

Simple and makes sense.

[mtreno]

i love that quote "it makes them happy". i use that one all the time and anyone who has read the book/ or hung out in my boat laugh. it has become the awnser for everything that i have nothing us to back it up with.

both books are good -

Del -

if you want email me when we get close to summer. i spent a insaine amount of time on french last season. its a good example of fish doing odd things......

[delmuts]

thanks mtreno. i'll try to remember to do that. i hate it when they sun themselves !i have tried going back to that area later but never any luck then either!so far my strangest thing was while casting a shore line, i heard water splash behind the main motor. ( it wasn't running!) i went back to look, and there was a 40+ fish with its' nose maybe a half inch from the prop, just following!( didn't catch that one either !