Northwest Fishing Reports

OK, here's a question from an amatuer - E-Bay has a bunch of great looking Sebile jointed swim baits in various sizes and colors.

The 228 is 9" and the next size down is 165, 6". What size do you think would be better for fishing our muskie lakes here in WA? Do you like the HUGE size lures, or is 6" enough of a meal for a muskie?

Colors - I figure you can't go wrong with colors in rainbow trout, perch, and silver or bronze/brown shiners (aka suckers). What do you think?

I use 6" swimabaits. Havent tried anything bigger because my rod cant handle the weight.

Mike Carey wrote:OK, here's a question from an amatuer - E-Bay has a bunch of great looking Sebile jointed swim baits in various sizes and colors.

The 228 is 9" and the next size down is 165, 6". What size do you think would be better for fishing our muskie lakes here in WA? Do you like the HUGE size lures, or is 6" enough of a meal for a muskie?

Colors - I figure you can't go wrong with colors in rainbow trout, perch, and silver or bronze/brown shiners (aka suckers). What do you think?

I think you are right with the colors. My fishing buddy and I switch it up a lot when it comes to the baits we throw. Sometimes we throw large baits like the Double Cowgirls and sometimes we throw very small spinnerbaits. With this said, I don't think we catch any more fish on one size than the other. I also believe that the size of the bait is not always directly related to the size of the catch. To say that bigger baits always catch bigger fish is crazy, as we have caught 1-3 pound bass on the Cowgirls and I netted a 43" tiger a couple weeks ago that my buddy caught on a bass sized spinnerbait.

Most importantly, throw something that you have faith in, something that will hold up to the rigors of the task it is given to complete, something that is easy for your pole can handle and lastly, something that you can throw for countless hours while sharing the stories of catches from the past!

thanks. I tend to add another tray of baits to my bag when I add a new species I get inteested in, so I guess now I'll have a dedicated muskie tray.

Somewhere in that musky tray you may want to add a big section for patience. A wise man once said this about Musky fishing. "It aint that easy!" Come to think of it, that was me that said that.

AJ's Dad wrote:Somewhere in that musky tray you may want to add a big section for patience. A wise man once said this about Musky fishing. "It aint that easy!" Come to think of it, that was me that said that.

ya, I'm aware of the amount of time and effort muskies demand. I have a new muskie video I'll be posting in the next few weeks for Merwin that features no fish caught (but it should still be pretty interesting to watch, I hope)

Hey Mike,

If you are ever looking for an opportunity to do a video shoot on either Pike, Walleye, or Tiger Muskie's in Washington State, give me a shout. I will be more than happy to take the time, as well as my boat, while providing entertainment to make the trip worth the shoot. I am all about bringing education to the table and helping to bring light on the important reasons for Catch, Photo, and Release on the Fish with Teeth!!! Have a good one and Tight Lines!!!

Nate

Just PM me if you have an opportunity to do a trip and I will certainly try and be flexible with my schedule. I am willing to fish from Eastern Washington all the way to Western Washington so I am not limited on one particular area. I enjoy the Pend Oreille River all the way to Merwin.

thanks Nate, pm sent.

Mike,

Great question. The correct answer is the one that catches the trophy-sized fish!LOL! :jocolor:

Many of us prefer the smaller-sizes out here around 6-inches +/-... but that may not be a hard and true fact any longer... The Curlew 50-incher was caught on a substantially large-lure... around 10-inches...I believe...

The question may be one of "selectivity"... Will a smaller-lure catch more "smaller" Muskies for you? Will a larger-lure only target those "trophy" size fish? Hmmm... it's a mystery:-k

It has been found that a muskie will try to eat something as large as one-third of its own size... and then again I've read more recent M.I. studies etc... saying the Muskie prefers prey that is only as large as they can fit sideways (jaw to jaw) in their mouth... big fish, small fish, red fish, blue fish, then there is the Muskie my friend! A breed of their own.

Mike, we would always enjoy your presence at any of our Chapter 57 Meetings etc... if you would so choose to learn more from those who know much more than I... You always have a standing-invitation to attend any meeting, any time...

We would love to learn more about your WASHINGTONLAKES.COM website from the WL Supreme Overlord himself...

Best Regards...

thanks, I'll keep it in mind. Need more time to do everything I want to do!

$28 bucks on a "custom"? How many muskies have you caught on this?
Sounds like a really productive bait and a smoke'in deal

Mike, I think that the above advice is pretty spot on. When I first moved to Washington, I would fish Hauser Lake in Idaho for Tigers. My wife got excited and purchased two giant muskie fishing boxes, with lures to follow, all from e-bay. Washington's Silver and Newman in the Spokane area are now my normal Tiger targets.

She ended up getting me stuff from 4" to 14", and almost every lure has caught either a Northern or a Tiger at one time or another. I find that length is not as important as girth. As indicated, Northern and Tigers will eat fish up to 1/3 of their length, but as also suggested, they still need to get them in their mouths. Carp are a target food up to about 8", then the girth gets a little to big. Crappie and Bluegill are targets when small, but again, the girth can get too big. Suckers, perch, smaller bass, trout, all are perfect length to girth shapes.

I have added to my collection, and the Sieble magic swimmer and the River2Sea S-Waver are two of my best baits, in the 168 mm size. (~6")Still, the smaller one has done well on may occasions, probably because it has quite a girth for the length.

As for color, consider what the normal food available is in the target waters. For example, in Silver and Newman, they stopped planting trout a few years ago, so trout colors are not great. In Hauser, they still plant trout, and the rainbow color is still quite hot. Baby Bass also prove to be especially good to imitate at times. In all three lakes, perch are a key food and that color is a good choice. Also consider visibility when choosing colors. Black is a go to color, as is white, both which stand out well in the proper conditions. Chartreuse and orange are also good at times.

Most important, in MN they say that Muskie are a fish of a thousand cast. For a beginner, it may be 5 thousand cast, but the experienced, with knowledge of the lake, can often cut that down to a few hundred cast.

Good luck, and may the Tigers be your friend.

kevinb wrote:$28 bucks on a "custom"? How many muskies have you caught on this?
Sounds like a really productive bait and a smoke'in deal

The 28 bucks deal was for Mike only, as he has helped me out in the past so he is getting a deal. My normal price on these is $36 + Shipping which is still a great price for the 228mm Sebile with a custom paint job. I can also do this Perch pattern in the 168mm Sebile for $20 + shipping if anyone is interested.

Fish-N-Fool wrote:

kevinb wrote:$28 bucks on a "custom"? How many muskies have you caught on this?
Sounds like a really productive bait and a smoke'in deal

The 28 bucks deal was for Mike only, as he has helped me out in the past so he is getting a deal. My normal price on these is $36 + Shipping which is still a great price for the 228mm Sebile with a custom paint job. I can also do this Perch pattern in the 168mm Sebile for $20 + shipping if anyone is interested.

Killer paint job. PM sent.

Really? A $26 mark-up for doodling with some sharpies?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-UNPAINTED-228 ... 0532838710

value is in the eye of the beholder...

Anyway, when I get all the recent purchases (I've been on an E-Bay muskie lure binge) I'm going to post a photo of my muskie lure collection for you all to comment on. I've had fun buying stuff. I think this is a serious addiction I have. Hey, it's a New Auction! Gotta Go!