Musky experience and questions

[Fishin Dood]

I am not a muskie fisherman by any means. I have had a few experiences with muskies, follows and what not while walleye fishing. I was out on a metro lake last monday and had one follow a small northern right up to the side of the boat while trolling for northerns/walleye. It made a few passes at the northern and then disappeared. As soon as I saw the Muskie the adrenaline was pumping and I was shaking violently. The musky made the northern look like 6 in perch. I don't know if it was the sheer size of the fish or simply the surprise of seeing it. It was a pretty incredible experience.

Now i feel like i need to get out and do more musky fishing. I have some of the heavy tackle already (rod, reel, line, leader). What are some lures that are effective during this time of year? Bucktails, cranks, big jigs, live bait???

Another question I have is how nomadic muskies are? Do they have a home territory they hang out in or do they just cruise around a lot? I am wondering if i can go back to the spot I had the follow and attempt to catch it when the season opens. I realize catching any musky is a challenge. I just need a little more info to get moving in the right direction. Thanks for any help!!

[Rebel9921]

Dood... Im sorry to tell you this... but it seems like you've been bitten by the muskie fever... although this isnt fatal... but... its uncurable and untreatable... Only way is to keep fishing for those monsters...

There are soooooooooo many different opinions...soooooo many different methods... I wouldnt know where to start... except to stick to my confidence baits but thats just me...

BEST thing to do is to take couple hours... and browse through all the postings in this forum like I did when I started out... I've picked up so much... some worked well for me some didnt...

Few would suggest specific small lures... few would suggest specific big lures... I know I'll start out the season with big lures... and will always have a Pink/Pink Cowgirl with me no matter what, where, when, or how... It'll get thrown during the opener sometimes for sure...

Sounds like you found a good spot on your own... and if I was you, I definitely would go back to that spot and try it... some days that spot would be off... some days that spot would be on...

[MUSKYMAN1011]

Some Muskies are nomadic (have a home territory) and some just cruise around a lot.

Both statements are correct in my view.

Muskies are as individual as Humans.

Some of us go to bed after the News, some of us go to bed after Letterman.

I agree with Rebel9921, you have been bitten by the Musky Bug and also agree that you should go back to the "spot" you seen the fish. Butttttttt, dont waste all day there, even if you are fortuante enough to see another fish / follow.

I know personally I will be tossing "at least" some TOP WATER, Especially early in the morning. say 5:30 to 8:00 after that I might go to the Same ole same ole routine of throwing jerk-bait / Twitch / glide baits and Bucktails.

Try bouncing a "RAD Dawg" off the bottom like a Jig (as though you were Walleye fishing)

Best of Luck !

Brian Kaiser

[ptkane]

Wow - muskie bug - incurable.

It would be cool to hear everyone else's story of when they got the muskie bug.

[MuskieSlayer]

It made a few passes at the northern and then disappeared. As soon as I saw the Muskie the adrenaline was pumping and I was shaking violently.

Sounds very similar to my first encounter and now I don't fish for much of anything else. Good luck, the sickness will only get worse.

[Rebel9921]

PTkane... My story is wayyyyyyyyyyy too boring and too long... theres no short version to it... so I think I'll save that for someday when Im very bored and have nothing to do

[cupper]

congrats on the neat experience fishin dood... I am excited about just thinking about your story. I caught the bug about 4 yrs ago... now, I spend 90% of my time on the water in the summer chasing ski's. I caught the bug when I cast a bass spinnerbait into the millfoil on tonka and watched it come back with a "log" swimming behind it. I figure-8ed for about 1 min and she would'nt go... after that I was a changed fisherman. I've been lucky enought to boat a few and I still have yet to experience anything more rewarding as a fisherman. I am definately a novice, but here are a few things to keep in mind as you get started...

1.) Start simple (you'll be amazed how fast your tackle-box grows)... buy about 5-6 baits that you are very confident in that people suggest as "must-haves". Learn how to fish them the right way and try different techniques.

2.) Talk to bait shop owners. They will be great in pointing you in the righ dirrection with colors and lures for speciffic lakes... I have yet to find a better experience than Cabin Fever in Victoria... best guys around.

3.) Try to enjoy the process. Don't get discouraged if you don't experience success for a while. I spent 5 months casting and trolling before I boated my first.

4.) Read up on it. You can learn some great tips from guys on here... especially RK.

5.) Get youself some good hook-removal tools (pliers, hook cutters, jaw spreaders)

As for lures... these would be 5 that I would start with right now. I will suggest colors, but everyone has different opinions and it changes from lake to lake as well.

Showgirl (smaller version of double cow-girl... easier to throw and retriev for a long time). Pink-pink is a hot color right now, but you can't go wrong with colored blades (orange/chartruese) and a black skirt.

Lillytail (small in-line bucktail... very weedless and great for burning over milfoil). I have had success with orange and brown.

Suick... all black.

Prop-style topwater bait like a topraider or rumbler... I have had success witht he baby-loon color, but black and orange or black and chartruese are hot colors too.

Bull dawg... there are so many colors... I like the ones that are more realistic (walleye, crappie, sunfish, etc...) Don't be afraid to try a really loud color here either.

Big crankbait like a grandma or jake... I like the walleye, perch, northern, and fire-tiger colors here. Go with what you have confidence in.

Good luck and enjoy!

[mroyten]

cupper, has some very good suggestions to get active for the might musky. I would like to add, that to make sure to double check your tackle. The musky will find the weakest link in your arsonal, break it, and devastate you if it occurs.

Make sure you have good strong line. I don't know how often other people change their lines but a full spool of braid can go a long way.

Good knots. I use the double clinch knot, it hasn't failed me yet.

Make sure your reel is as tight as it goes on the reel seat of your rod. This has happened to me twice and I've witnessed from my fishing partner, you set the hook and your reel pops off your rod! Then, you are left scrambling to keep the fish on and (in my instances) you're out of luck. Make sure that baby is tight.

Sharp hooks, sharpen your hooks, with the musky's boney mouth it it difficult to hook them at times and a dull hook will not help out.

Hope this helps and good luck out on the water.

[MUSKYMAN1011]

I personally would "not" recommend the Suick as a Beginner Lure, as they are made of Wood and you might have to buy 3 or 4 of them before you get one that works well.

They are not always a "user friendly" lure. In order to get good throwing / using a Suick I highly recommend watching & fishing with someone with a Strong muskie fishing back ground with (jerk-bait bait experience)

Doug Johnson (AKA Muskie Douglas) would be a Good choice as he is a Master of the Suick.

Just my 2 cents

Brian K

[Scoot]

I personally would "not" recommend the Suick as a Beginner Lure, as they are made of Wood and you might have to buy 3 or 4 of them before you get one that works well.

Brian K

Purely just an opinion deal, so I'm not saying you're wrong here. I would recommend a Suick ot a beginner. No real wrong way to work it- pitch it out and reel it in, short jerk-baits, long jerk-baits, short pauses, long pauses, slow, fast- all will work at one time or another. As long as you can make it run under water (not hard to do), it'll catch fish.

[MUSKYMAN1011]

No real wrong way to work it ?

I couldn't disagree more.

And like I said, you might have to buy 3 or 4 or 5 before you get one you are confident in.

But I do agree with you scoot, it will catch fish sooner or later, once you get the "confidence" built up.

Brian K

[Nick Kuhn]

I have one that no matter how I adjust the tail it always darts to one side. As far as I can tell the ring in front is perfectly straight. Thing is, it used to work just fine...

[MUSKYMAN1011]

And that, is My exact point VahnTitrio, The "metal tail" needs to be bent "just so" and the fact that it is a Wooden lure adds to the idea that it might work good for while but then after a while it doesnt work worth a sh!t.

However, My experince has been wooden lures actually work better after a few seasons becuase they have soaked up water and become more naturally buoyant.

In any case, I'd go with a Plastic jerk-bait Bait (for the biginner)like a "Squirrly Burt" more consistancy coming out of a mold than coming from a Tree.

Brian K

[b1gf1sh1]

fishin' dood. in case you hav'nt figured it out by now muskie fishermen (persons!!!) are willing to give more info than wally-hoo's will. that rush you felt was the infamous ''bug''. it was at that point you felt there was more to fishing than just little jigs and bobbers. probly looked at your rod and said ''this aint gonna be enough''. well as said before theres a million or so opinions and i get the razz sometimes for sayin mine lol. not just here but anywhere. one thing and one thing only needs to be known when starting out.

1) muskie will be anywhere, anytime they feel like it.

it's just a matter of being there when they are there. that's the trick. there is no ''magic pattern'' in finding them. one single fish may be deep, shallow, in weeds, around stumps, suspended over 200 feet of water, in 2 feet of water, all in a day. or it might be in one place pretty much all year. key word here is ''might''. nobody really knows this mysterious fishes behavior from one to the next. the only thing in common is they are predators, and smart... well for a fish... your about to do what mom always said... read, read, read. and when your reading your see that they are in every possible area of a body of water at any givin time. but here's my list of six must have lures for a ''beginner''. after these it's up in the air.

1) black tandem muskie killer with silver bade. great all around lure for a beginner. fished at night or day. one of the best night lures is a black bucktail.

2)storm shallow thunder in sucker or mullet pattern. great lure for working over weeds or shallow sand/rockbars (don't hit rocks) and over suspened baitfish. don't be afraid to do stop and go retrieves

3)rapala sub-walk in the silver shad. easy to work and the darting action compliments the shallow thunder for nice contrasting style baits. and give you expierience to graduate to the real deal in jerkbaits. nice night time bait

4) rapala slashbait in orange/gold for stained or silver/black for clear water. i forget the size but it's 6-7 ''s long with great profile. all around great bait. get the medium diver if you can find it if not get the deep one. work allong weedlines alongside humps or over structure like sunken islands.

5) super top prop by mister twister. may want to change the tail to another color .. like black, but this is the easiest topwater to use and can be worked almost anywhere,even inside stands of reeds, over lilly pads, and in the heaviest weedbeds.so-so night lure

6) magnum daredevele. yellow 5 of diamonds. nice flutter lure or trolling, cast retrieve. i had a hard time between this and a slopmaster spinner bait by bucher but i went with the spoon. but nobody says you can't have 7 lures. unless your married. then ya gotta make'em. good luck.

oh, and i've had several upon several muskies follow me for several days in the same spot at the same time before i got a hook up. but hookin' up don't mean landed.... keep your line tight, and hope she's a jumper.

[Croix]

Welcome to the sickness!