Early muskie?

[Bassboy1645]

I dont really fish muskie much until about August. Im going to vermillion area in june for my cuzins wedding. Uncle says thats prime walleye time and many guys I know say the muskies dont bite then...they say more follows then bites. Opinions?? I get more follows than bites anyways so whats so special about august compared to june?? If the fish arent as active then are there tricks I can do to coax them into biting?? I was thinking more along the lines of slowing down or downsizing?

[VMS]

I would have to say that my BEST time is opening weekend. It definitely is a time to go slower, find the spawning areas and fish the flats around those areas.

The problem I see with so many fisherman out there those first couple of weeks is they are throwing their big stuff right off the bat. Sometimes, this works fine, and much of that (IMHO) is dependent on what the conditions have been like and what the fish have been showing me.

My go-to bait in June is a 6 inch twitch bait like a Jake or grandma. I use hard twitches and pauses. I want that bait to swing out to the side just a touch, then sit there... The more neutrally bouyant, the better sinc it sits there right in front of her nose...

Bring the muskie stuff along, but be versatile...The first fish will tell you a lot, and adjust from there. go smaller, go larger, etc... At some point, you will hit the right trigger and the number of fish caught will increase substantially.

Good luck

Steve

[MuskyBug85]

i have never fished the big V but i will throw in some general june ideas. I have found good success with 6" kill'r eels in shallow water. The reason for this i think is that fish are moving into shallow water that have sun beating on it because that sand warms fast and it gives them a chance to speed up their metabolism thus increasing activity levels. In addition to the eels in the shallows my other go to bait for early season is a 1/4 oz. white spinner bait. yes that is a bass sized lure but they are easy to fish and can be fished in a number of ways (burned, slow rolled, pulled through reeds, ground through any weeds you find). I also troll open water around opener, i like 6" jakes early in the year. I know what your thinking, they only run 6 to 8 feet but i have caught lots of fish in june over 20 to 60 feet of water with the 6" jake in Holo Superman. Just some ideas, good luck and BE SAFE. Jonah

[Muskycrazy]

I fished Vermilion in Early June last year . 12hrs. Not one Musky . Not one Musky follow . One 44" Northern . From all I have been told since , June on Vermilion is not all all Musky time . Matter of fact about mid way throught the day , last June , we asked a marina guy and he said any Muskies being caught were probably by mistake . But it is Vermilion and you'll be there anyway so bring your gear , you never know .....

[cupper]

I was on the big V two years ago in early june for 4 days. I only had one follow... it was on a bucktail. One thing that didn't help was that the weather was very unfavorable. I would say listen to what these guys have said... slow down, downsize, and try to find the emerging weeds mixed with sand... especially towards dusk when the sand has been collecting heat all day. That's my .02. Have fun and enjoy... it's a beautiful lake!

-cupper

[RK]

Hiya -

there are so many variables to early season muskies it's really hard to say anything with any certainty...

I do though have to say I don't buy the 'muskies aren't biting' business about early season fish. Other than right during spawn (which happens some years) you can almost always find catchable fish. Might just be smaller males, but they're catchable.

I sort of generalize my thinking on early season muskies based on what kind of spring it is: early, late, or 'normal.' This kind of ties together all the environmental factors like water temp, weedgrowth development, where fish are at in their spring transition from pre to post-spawn, etc. Especially if you aren't on the water fishing other stuff ahead of time it can be tough to go in 'cold' and know what's happening right off the bat. (This is a major argument in favor of bass fishing before muskie opener - muskie do a lot of things bass do, but a little later). Even if you're going in blind though, you can still draw some assumptions based on what the weather's been like, weed development and water temps. If the water and weather have been cold (late spring) and the weeds are barely coming up, then I start looking for either standing cover like wood or old rush beds, hard-bottomed spots like rocky points or rock piles in and around spawning areas, or areas where I think there may be some green weeds that wintered over (inside turns and the lee sides of weed flats or points) Or just go look shallow in places where there may be warmer water. Early season muskies can just turn into bank runners when there's no weeds to hold them early on. Be sneaky and make LONG casts... They spook pretty easy in clear, cold water. Small twitch baits like 6-inch Jakes, Bomber Long-As, bass-sized spinnerbaits, stuff like that are what I start with.

On the other side of the spectrum, if it's an early spring, and I think fish have spawned a while back and are moving out of spawning areas, I start looking along the route to their summer habitat for things that might hold traveling fish for a while - weedbeds coming up, points and saddles, stuff like that. Fish will be getting a little more active, plus they're moving around a lot, so I tend to fish faster - bucktails and the like. If it's an early spring I'm not afraid to go big and bold either. 10-inch Suicks and big Believers. If fish haven't been pressured, they're more likely to do something stupid, and you can catch some big fish if you throw out the book and stop pussyfooting around with downsized baits.

The biggest thing I keep an eye on early in the season is water temps, or I guess I should say the trend in water temps. A water temp number in isolation doesn't tell me much really. 65 degrees can be good or bad depending on what direction temps are going. If it's 65 and it was 62 2 days ago, life's good. If it was 68 2 days ago, not so good.

One side note on this. I absolutely HATE hot spells in early spring. If it was 55 2 days ago, and it's 65 now, I'm going bass fishing. Rapid rises in water temps screws fish up worse than any cold front I think. If I have to choose between a rapid rise in water temps or a decline, I'll take the drop every time. Same thing in late fall frankly. I don't know why, but real rapid temp spikes knocks them for a loop. If I have to fish in conditions like that, I fish like I'm on day 2 of a wicked cold front...

Some random thoughts on early season muskies...

cheers,

Rob Kimm

[10,000 Casts]

Quote:

---

If I have to choose between a rapid rise in water temps or a decline, I'll take the drop every time.

---

Very interesting and I apreciate the the thought, it makes sense.

I also agree on the bigger baits if it has been an early spring. Thats when I like to pull out the big jerk baits too. Actually I like to throw the bigger Jerks anyway, I think that they have a slow enough action that if the fish are lethargic, it can produce strikes.

To me, the key to spring is finding the fish. That is the tough part and Rob gives really good advice on early season movement. There was also a good article in Muskie hunter last month on a study that they did on leech back in the 70's (I believe) It is very interesting.

John

John

[cjac]

I focus on what I see bass fishing the week prior, and what other bass anglers tell me. It opens up a lot of information! Think 'tonka.....

It's all a biological/environmental order, and I choose to stack the odds of what happens the week or to prior to muskie opener to my advantage. Also, I look to the air and water temp, tells a TON!

Regardless, I'll likely be close to home, but my presentation will be based on what I've seen the two weeks prior chasing bass and 'eyes. Worked for me last year....

Chris

[Tim_Anderson]

Bassboy,

Small to mid-sized spinnerbaits and bucktails get the nod for me. I recommend you especially pay attention to the middle section of the lake. Lots of bays and good weed flats. You'll often get some bonus pike too...there's some really good ones up on the big "V". Good luck...

[AWH]

Quote:

---

I fish like I'm on day 2 of a wicked cold front...

---

RK,

What's your strategy in such a situation?

Aaron

[Bassboy1645]

Tim thats were I fish in august anyways! My buds and I drive the boats out of timbuktu in oak narrows and we camp on an island in smarts bay by muskrat channel. From there weve got some of the best fishing period the lake has to offer for anything! We usually target the bays and the weeds then but bouys and any thing fishy gets a cast or 2. We found some dandy fish in the oddest of spots. Just an observation.

Also very nice theory about the water temps. I never paid much attention to that but It defenitley makes sense. Back in the day of bassin in the suburbs us kids always hooked into muskie late may while throwing spinnerbaits for bass. We never used leaders and they busted us everytime.

[cjac]

I had another thought on this.........

The lake I typically start on is under 300 acres, or the other is 'tonka, which is essentially a bunch of joined smaller lakes. Last couple years it only took me a few hours of going fast/slow and shallow/deep to start, and I stress start, to recognize a possible pattern. By Sunday AM of day 2 I was seeing fish and was fairly confident in my presentation. Last year it was slow rolling bulldawgs (reg size) up fairly tight to the emergent weedline in relatively shallow water adjacent to a drop. Or it was pure luck....

Smaller "aquarium" cut down the learning curve. Hope this makes sense, if not chalk it up to Spring fever.

Chris