Northwest Fishing Reports

i need to know how to catch or how i would go about trying to catch for fun a muskie out of lake curlew if it is possible can you guys help me out? it is deeply appreciated

Thomas: Welcome aboard! I am glad to see another poor soul is going to be sucked into the wonderful world of muskie fishing. Ha ha! In all honesty, I think you will find some really nice and helpful people on this forum and they all like to get new people started.

I will give you my opinion and experience on how to find and catch a muskie in Curlew, but it's no substitute for the many hours you'll have to spend on the water. Be patient and persistent, it can take a while when your getting started.

First, catch-photo-release. Muskie CPR is what we all preach. The healthy release of a muskie is as satisfying as any accomplishment in sportfishing. Check out the Muskies Inc. website for all the information your going to need on proper handling and release. And make sure you've got a good camera, these fish are beautiful!

I would use a hefty set-up for fishing Curlew, this lake has some lunkers and you would be under gunned using a medium action set-up if you are lucky enough to hook-up on a good fish. I would recommend a 7 foot rod, rated from 1 - 3 oz, with a fast tip and 12 - 14 inch lower handle. Something like a Quantum Affinity is really inexpensive (compared to other muskie rods). Our friend Musky Hunter (Todd) brought a rod, available through Bass Pro Shop, to the Muskie Inc. meeting that was an excellent choice for a starter rod that could handle just about any situation well. Best of all it was really affordable. It was a "Graphite Series, GS63XHT Muskie Rod" for $29.95.

I am partial to Abu Garcia reels, that's what I've been using for a while now so that's what I recommend. A 5500 or 6500 series, which ever fits your hand the best. Long hours of throwing hefty lures take's a toll. My line choice for Curlew is 50 lb. power pro. I like it's smaller diameter for the clear water in the spring, early summer and fall. If you choose a superbraid line, spool the first half of the reel with mono and finish filling with the braid. I use back-to-back uni knots to connect the two lines. My other favorite has always been florocarbon line (no less than 20 lb. test), I'm not worried about using this line as most of my fishing is over weeds and not wood cover. A good quality leader is a must also. I prefer Terminator titanium leaders, but that's me. I like the 12" lengths for most casting applications.

When fishing Curlew I always stop to fish the south sides of the islands no matter what direction I'm heading. I would start on the north end. You will almost always see fish in the large bay south of the neck down, that is south of the railroad bridge. The bays south and north of the railroad bridge also hold many fish. But, everyone knows this and that's where they all go. Still, fish the shore line and move often to find fish that are active. In the south end of the lake, south of the county launch, I would stay along the shore casting to cover and moving quickly here as well. There are 2 islands south of the launch. Both hold fish along their perimeters. Lake Robertta is the little lake attached to Curlew's far south end. It can be accessed by a narrow, shallow channel. It does have muskies in it. but I don't fish for them often enough to be of any help.

As far as baits go, perch and rainbow are the color patterns I swear by. No matter how big or small the muskie, they all seem to like a perch and trout pattern rapala's (#18), 6" Jakes and swimbaits. I like black or yellow bucktails for tall weeds. I alsways have a 1oz. black, yellow or white spinnerbait ready to cast into and pull through weeds looking for a reaction strike from hidden muskies and to bounce off any timber along shore.

I would stick with these couple baits to start with so you don't spend all day changing lures instead of casting. That's the basic information I have about Curlew. I'm no expert and I'm sure the fellows here are going to offer much advice to you as well, so read it over a few times. Take all the different things you'll read and hear and come up with a plan that best suits the day you fish. And stick with it, these are great fish!

muskie guy wrote:...snip...I am partial to Abu Garcia reels, that's what I've been using for a while now so that's what I recommend. A 5500 or 6500 series, which ever fits your hand the best. Long hours of throwing hefty lures take's a toll. My line choice for Curlew is 50 lb. power pro. I like it's smaller diameter for the clear water in the spring, early summer and fall. If you choose a superbraid line, spool the first half of the reel with mono and finish filling with the braid. I use back-to-back uni knots to connect the two lines. My other favorite has always been florocarbon line (no less than 20 lb. test), I'm not worried about using this line as most of my fishing is over weeds and not wood cover. A good quality leader is a must also. I prefer Terminator titanium leaders, but that's me. I like the 12" lengths for most casting applications.
...snip...

I just remembered that I have an old Ambassadeur 5500 CA kicking around. I cleaned it up last night and it seems to be in great working condition. I also have a 6'6" med heavy rod to go along with it. Would this setup spooled up with some PowerPro braid and cheapy cable leaders be a serviceable Muskie setup? Any other suggestions? I have a black/red bucktail, some old big lure that looks sort of like a crippled killer, and a couple of 4" X-raps that I plan on using.

Why would you put a cheapy leader on good line spooled on a good reel attached to a good rod after spending good money on good gas to drive to a good lake? The first 12 inches between fish and line is where you're most likely to lose a good fish. You may wonder, What can go wrong with a leader? Let me list the ways:

1. The swivel could fail
2. The crimps could fail
3. The cable could break
4. The clasp could come undone
5. Even if the leader doesn't fail, it could kill the action of your lure, and keep you from getting a strike

A leader, when you stop to think about it, is a fairly complicated piece of equipment with several different components, any one of which can cost you a fish if it doesn't deliver top performance. If you've got to skimp somewhere, fish a lake closer to home or go hungry or buy fewer lures -- but don't skimp on leaders!!! Buy quality line, buy quality leaders.

Does anywhere local sell good fluorocarbon leaders? Or any other good leaders worth considering?

No, as with all other muskie tackle, you have to order them by mail -- Rollie's, Thorne Bros., Pastika's, etc. If you need them right away and will be driving through Seattle, drop by my house in the Shoreline area and I'll give you a couple. I'm about a mile away from the N. 175th exit from I-5. If this helps, send me a personal message and I'll provide driving directions.

Thanks, that's very generous. I just got my Rollie's catalog in the mail so I guess I should put an order together. Which leaders are good ones from them? Guess I'll get some of the not-so-secret buck tails too if they have them in stock yet. Any other must have items from that catalog (considering I'm on a budget).

Rollie's sells a couple different brands of flourocarbon leaders. These leaders are spendy, $6 - $7 each. A less expensive alternative is the "hard mono" leaders by Smity for $2.99 each. Equavilent quality; the main difference is that flourocarbon "disappears" in the water better (you'd see the difference if you fished them side-by-side), making flourocarbon better for clear water or spooky fish. Before flourocarbon came along everyone used single-strand solid wire leaders, and Rollie's still sells these for around $1.99. They still work as well as they did before everyone switched to flourocarbon. The main drawback of solid wire leaders is that once they get bent or kinked they're toast and you have to discard them. Leader weights vary from about 60# to #100, and as with line, you want to use a thinner leader with smaller lures. The standard setup for average sized muskie lures (6-inch crankbaits, 7-inch bucktails) is 80# superline coupled with a 60# or 80# leader. I used mostly 60# leaders although I've been gravitating toward 80# for throwing larger lures at the big fish in Mayfield and Merwin. Curlew has some big fish too; a WDFW biologist team went there this month to do radio tracking studies and reported shocking up a bunch of 25-pounders.

Although good leaders may seem expensive, you don't need a lot of them. I usually buy them 3 or 4 at a time, and I don't think I go through more than 2 or 3 in a whole season.

I talked to Rollie's today and they still don't have my secret lure in stock. The manufacturer claims they didn't get Rollie's order. Also, this is a small manufacturer, so supplies may be limited when Rollie's finally does get some in. And I'm going to scarf up the first half dozen they get. Try Thorne Bros., maybe the manufacturer didn't lose THEIR order.

Dilbert,
Hey man check out ebay if you can and if you do punch in Musky fishing...There is a guy I highly recommend. charlier2753. He is in Wisconsin. He hand makes some HIGH QUALITY leaders. From wire to flourocarbon to mono. Excellent leaders. For real reasonable prices. And usually when you buy from him once he'll sell you more for less than what he lists if you email him and do it off the ebay website.. He is a real good guy. Average prices are from $6.50 -$9.50 for three leaders...and he can even special make some for you.I agree with what Don W. says about the cheapies..but you buy what you can afford. Mal Wart sells some eagleclaw leaders for real cheap but they are good quality...anyway, hope this helps...Todd/Muskyhunter

The leaders I have are the eagleclaw 12" ones from sprawl mart. I don't want to use them if they'll fail and leave the fish with a lure in it. But if the biggest concern is that the action may be worse or they are more visible then I may give them a shot.

dilbert wrote:Does anywhere local sell good fluorocarbon leaders? Or any other good leaders worth considering?

Check out this link on ebay. Charlie is where I buy all my flourocarbon leaders. He makes alot of different styles in many different weights at very reasonable prices and has the cheapest shipping around. High Quality. I've been using them for about 3-4 years now without any problems.

http://cgi.ebay.com/3-MUSKY-LEADERS-FOR ... dZViewItem


This is his seller name: charlier2753