Water Clarity and Night Fishing....

[Rebel9921]

Would the clarity of the water impact the fishing overall now??? Matty and I hit Forest Lake at 8pm and didnt stop til 1am... We practically threw out everything we had in our tackle box... Only thing was a "sneak-n-peek" on Matty's Reef Hawg... nothing more... I even threw out Hellhound, Rumbler, DC-10, Nut Buster Mag 10... ZIP!!! The algae bloom's really bad out on FLake... The clarity's less than a feet... We did discuss how the algae bloom could influence the overall fishing... and are still wondering whether this would greatly influence the night fishing??? We're talking about hitting other lake on Sunday night (if permitted) but dont know which lake to hit... My brother says Owasso is ideal??? any advice???

[RK]

Hiya Rebel -

I really don't like fishing in a bad bloom. (A little bit of a bloom is actually a good thing I think - cuts down visibility and light penetration a little and can get fish up in the water column.) I hate a real pea soup bloom though - more because *I* can't see than anything though. I don't think it affects the fish as much as we sometimes think. The fish you catch during and after the bloom are as fat and happy as can be, and they still have to eat...

If I can't avoid a bloom, I try to play the wind as much as I can. Wind will suck the bloom away from leeward spots somewhat and you can find a little cleaner water. Also have to remember that algae floats, so the bloom is really only in the top 3-4 feet of the water column, so I try to get under it by slow-rolling spinnerbaits or twitching crankbaits like 10" Jakes. Make contact with cover, whether it's grinding a spinnerbait through the weeds, or banging a crankbait off the bottom. Can be a very good time for deep diving crankbaits like Ernies or Triple-Ds too. When I had to fish the bloom on Lake of the Woods (you've never seen a bloom until you've seen Lake of the Woods in August...it's like green latex paint sometimes. ) my favorite three baits were a big M&G lunker tandem (which isn't made anymore, but it's basically just a giant spinnerbait), a 10" Jake, and a jointed Depth Raider. Jointed 10" believers work good too. basically stuff with a big profile and a lot of thump and vibration. I like them in high-contrast colors like Firetiger, jailbird (black and yellow stripes) or, believe it or not, white with a red head.

I've never night fished much on lakes with a heavy bloom, unless I could find clean water. I honestly don't have a credible opinion on that part of the question - just haven't done it enough to say anything with anything other than an uneducated guess.

Hope that helps. Bloom is no fun. Really a confidence killer for me. But, like I said - they gotta eat, and you can catch them - if you can stand fishing in that gunk...

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[cjac]

Rebel,

Head south a few miles on 61 and hit WBL, Forest just gets so soupy this time of year, I typically stay away from it for a while. Work some of the outside weed edges and good things will happen.

If you do fish Forest still, I'd try the glow beads on the line so even if you can't see the lure, you'll know when your at the end of the retrieve and know to start the turn into the 8. After some practice you'll get the feel for what's the end of the retrieve but if you're relatively new to the night fishing they help, also helps to keep from jamming the end of the leader into the rod eyelet.

Chris

[Rebel9921]

Thanks Rob... You came thru as usual!!! Guess Matty and I will have to rethink our "war plans" and see what can be done... I guess I'll have to redo my personal tackle box and include few bright-colored lures... ALl of the lures are BLACK or has more black than another colors..

CJAC... I threw out Llungen Nite Bites DC-10 and Nut Buster Mag 10... Both of them had glow beads on the lure itself and I couldnt see it at all in the water... Am I supposed to do anything to the glowbeads to make it glow brighter??? like shining them in the flashlight or whatsoever before casting??? The first night started off good then the clouds came in and covered the moon... second night was way better... totally CLEAR night sky so the moonlight reached everywhere... I could see the splash when the lure comes out of the water and thats a good indication for me to stop reeling before the leader jams up into the eye tip... Thats how "BLACK" FLake was...

WBL sounds a bit appealing right now but with the temp wreaking havoc on Muskies... I think I'll "rest up" for two weeks or so... Then I'll keep trying at FLake...

[AWH]

Rebel,

I've run some glow beads above my baits and/or leaders when night fishing and they don't do a lot of good unless you shine them occasionally. I have a big spot light that I just shine them with quickly which works well. Should do the job on those Night Bite baits too.

Aaron

[cjac]

I was thinking of trying the little ice fishing Northland Glo Buster light, if I can find it. That might work....

Hey Rebel, maybe go try Clear Lake, just south of Forest, it's stocked with tigers and does not get near the pressure of Flake. Not sure about the water clarity there, I don't think it's quite like the name implies!

Chris

[RK]

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I was thinking of trying the little ice fishing Northland Glo Buster light, if I can find it. That might work....

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That's what I use to charge up beads. Works pretty well and doesn't kill your night vision like a camera flash or spotlight.

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[ole matty]

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I was thinking of trying the little ice fishing Northland Glo Buster light, if I can find it. That might work....

Hey Rebel, maybe go try Clear Lake, just south of Forest, it's stocked with tigers and does not get near the pressure of Flake. Not sure about the water clarity there, I don't think it's quite like the name implies!

Chris

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clear lake clairy r almost like forest but a lil tad better. i lost one tiger 3 or 4 summer ago n last summer i had hooked one but its tail splashin the surface then its got off but not sure if its tigers or nice northern.

[AWH]

Good point by RK on the night vision. The spot light that I use definitely does effect that...

However, I've found that if you're running the lights on your boat (Which happens to be the law and could save your life!), the glow beads aren't always necessary. I can usually see my bait (and follows if they're right on the bait) without much trouble, even in pitch black conditions.

Aaron

[MuskieMojoTackle]

I tried the beads for night fishing, and I just dont really like them.

You cant see them very well unless they are recently charged, and having to stop and flash them all the time really irritates me.

So here is what I do. I cant claim to have came up with this, but I put my own little spin on it...

I connect about a 4 foot section of 80 lb floro directly to my main line using a uni-to-uni knot. Because I dont feel that 80 lb floro is strong enough, I then take and crimp a heavier floro leader to that section of floro. You could also crimp a wire leader to the section of floro if you want to.

The uni-to-uni knot will go through your guides on the retrieve. This will allow you to know exactly where you are when you are in the dark. Take the time during daylight to figure how many clicks get you in the right place for a figure 8, and your set.

Might not work for everybody, but I like it.

[Rebel9921]

Thanks Aaron... guess I'll need to invest into one of those 2-million candlepower searchlight for that...

I did some quick-look online on Glo Buster light... and apparently they're LED... I have a Musky Armor headlamp that has LED too but they dont seem to work on the glow beads??? Maybe I need to try doing that again, just keep the headlamp on the beads a bit longer??? CJAC... try looking at Northlands' HSOforum... they have more info... u'll find it there!

As for Clear Lake... I'll give it a try someday but right now Im just gunning for my first-ever Muskie... and I want it to be a pure-strain... I might be aiming bit too high...

[Rebel9921]

Luke... Your suggestion sounds better... I believe I do more "feeling" than "sight" while fishing... but one question... would your suggestion work well with 80# power pro? It might be a hassle but can you clarify on how exactly do you do the set-up?? Such as swivels? stay-lok?? o-rings??

[MuskieMojoTackle]

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Luke... Your suggestion sounds better... I believe I do more "feeling" than "sight" while fishing... but one question... would your suggestion work well with 80# power pro? It might be a hassle but can you clarify on how exactly do you do the set-up?? Such as swivels? stay-lok?? o-rings??

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I dont use it, but I'm sure 80 pound power pro would work fine.

Here's how I do it...

1. uni-to-uni knot your Power Pro to the 80 lb floro (you can find instructions for this knot all over the internet)...you'll only want to do a 2 wrap uni on the floro side and 5 or 6 on the braid...make sure its tight and clip the tag of the floro as short as possible!

2. take the other end of the floro and crimp it in a loop that is connected to the swivel on the heavier leader.

So you will have 80 pound floro connected to a ball bearing swivel connected to your leader of choice connect to a snap.

Clear as mud?

[Rebel9921]

Clear as mud??? Yepper... LOL Sounds great... I'll get 80lb Fluoro soon... What brand do you recommend???

Right now Im using Fluoro leaders made from Seaguar 130#... Used them the past two night fishing outings... love them!!! Dont have to worry about kinks... and it handles Dbl Cowgirls, Hellhounds, and Rumblers just wonderfully... if not better than steel leaders... So, with your suggestion, it wont be a problem!!!

Other thing... would it be wise to put a knot at 2ft of the 4ft fluoro??? so that I can stop once I feel that knot hit the tip of the rod then go into a figure 8???

[MuskieMojoTackle]

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Clear as mud??? Yepper... LOL Sounds great... I'll get 80lb Fluoro soon... What brand do you recommend???

Right now Im using Fluoro leaders made from Seaguar 130#... Used them the past two night fishing outings... love them!!! Dont have to worry about kinks... and it handles Dbl Cowgirls, Hellhounds, and Rumblers just wonderfully... if not better than steel leaders... So, with your suggestion, it wont be a problem!!!

Other thing... would it be wise to put a knot at 2ft of the 4ft fluoro??? so that I can stop once I feel that knot hit the tip of the rod then go into a figure 8???

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Seaguar is the best.

Dont add an extra knot. Just use the uni as your tell when to figure 8. If you tie the knot right, it should go right through your tip top and guides.

Just make sure you tie this not correct and tight. You are adding another possible weak link here, but if done correctly there will be no issues.

I know Steve Herbek has been doing this for years, and I'm pretty sure Gregg Thomas uses it as well...without my little twist of the extra heavier leader

[Rebel9921]

I would like to thank everyone who submitted all those info in this posting... It all will be etched right into my feeble mind... and HOPE that it all will be helpful in my pursuit of my first-ever Muskie... Thanks again!!!