Muskie-Tips and Tactics

[kevinb]

Thought we could use this forum for explanations and questions reguarding tiger muskie fishing. However,I'm not the expert on this. So, if any of the veteran muskie anglers woudn't mind sharing some tips. Best lures? Best retrieving method? Etc...




FYI,got back from Tapps today. The water is rising.:thumright

[kevinb]

Since I started this topic,I guess I'll shoot first.
I recently purchased a new rod and reel.Berkley medium heavy Lightning and Abu Garcia ambassadeur 6000 reel.
With the exception of a rapala magnum. I can't seem to get my cast to far out. I was tossing some bucktails. I was originally worried that they were not enough wait to get them far out. I was watching carefully how I pitched them. I'm starting to wonder if the problem is the line,I might have done some over kill(I copied one of the guys from in-fisherman)my basic set up is a 45pd test leader followed by 80 pd test stealth spider wire. Not to mention,I'm having a hard time adjusting to this reel,it cranks fine...but it seems like every 10-15 casts,I'm getting alot of back feed,then tangled. I recently suffered a nasty shoulder injury and had to adjust my casts(I thought this might have been the problem)But now I'm sure its something else.

Thank you

Kevin

[muskyhunter]

Hey Kevin,
Sorry to hear of your troubles. The birdnests really suck. Did you put the line on your reel? First and most improtant is to make sure when you put the line on you've got it on there as secure as possible. What I did was tight your line on with a good Arbor Knot knot. then what I have been doing is drop a little drop of super glue on the knot and on the spool to keepthe line from spinning on the spool. Otherwise you are basically spinning your wheels. I put my line on myself. Drop the spool of line at your feet. Reel with one hand and about 10 inches up or so use the other hand to hold the line and apply as much pressure as you can by squeezing it. This will help with the line going on tighter and will eliminate SOME of the birdnests. Or just pay someone 4.00 to do it with a mechanical line puteronerthingy. Tie on your lure. I would reccomend a 80lb or heavier leader (my Opinion) Push the little button and let your bait drop. You can then adjust the speed by which it falls by using your mechanical brake. Remember though you will always need to thumb your line. I find my reels not to be so automatic as some folks seem to be able to do. Always use your thumb. Again, my opinion. Maybe it might just be the line.. I use anywhere between 60 and 80 lb Stren Braided. Sometimes that makes a difference. I've got 30lb mono on one at that line or reel has ever givin me any problems. Plus I don't know if you are new at this or not. This type of fishing like any other has a learning curve. You just gotta learn kinda hands on. Doesn't matter how many vids you see or how many books you read. Hands on is usually the only way to get it. Boy, once you do there will be no stoppin ya!

[kevinb]

Thanks for the tip..its possible I huried with the line on the spool..not enough tension. My 2 year old was climbing all over the place that day. The leader itself,I put that on temporary. Could'nt find a heavier one at sportmans or joes that day(I prefer flourocarbon) This reel not exceptionaly big however,its the biggest one I've used(bait casting) My others are for the bass. And spinning reels for the walleyes and trout. Thanks for the tip,I'll try to re-load it and if that doesn't work,I'll go panhandle for $4.00 bucks.
Thanks again
Kevin

[muskie guy]

Kevin: Sounds like muskyhunter is right on. When I adjust the clutch on my abu's I tighten it down so when I hit the free-spool button the lure will not drop. Then I slowly back the clutch off until the lure will fall about 12 inches when I give the rod a slight tap. That's where I start off, then adjust the clutch to the lure you're tossing. Usually I don't have a djust it to much after that because I've gor "the feel" for the clutch setting. And absolutely use the ole' thumb to slow down the lure before it smacks the water.
If you are using a steel or titanium leader, 45 pounds and up should be fine. I wouldn't go below 80# on the Floro leaders either. I think alot of guys won't use less that 100# in fact. Usually, leaders over 12 inches are a bit of a fuss to cast with also.
I will forever use the term line "puteronerthingy". A classic is born, thanks to da' muskyhunter!!!

[kevinb]

puteronthingy..thats pretty funny. Thanks for the help muskie guy. I think I'll take my rod up to the meeting on thursday. See if I got it right,if not..Todd can hit me with a sock full of quarters in the back of my head.

[kevinb]

Got another dumb question.
Is anyone using attractant(scents)? Naturally you have to order from the midwest(unless you know a place) I've been spraying Gulp Alive for a hopeful advantage on my bucktails. Does this even help? Should I even bother ordering from Rollies or whoever else? Any help is appreciated.
Thanks
Kevin

[Don Wittenberger]

Item 1 - 80# superbraid on a Garcia 6000 should cast fine, if everything else is set up correctly. With any superbraid, though, you have to make sure the line is spooled on the reel tightly. I clip the leader to my mailbox and walk down the street until the line is completely out, then take it up under tension while walking toward the mailbox. There are other ways to accomplish the same thing; the idea is to keep quite a bit of tension on the line while you're spooling it on the reel. Just cranking the reel handle while it unwinds from the spool it came on isn't enough.

Other causes of backlashes, lack of distance, or other casting difficulties include: The lure is too light for the line and/or the rod is too stiff or short for the lure's weight. Unless you're throwing lures under 1 oz., I don't think you necessarily need to go to a thinner line (although that's an option); but for light lures you should use a long rod (7' - 8') with a soft tip action.

Item 2 - I don't bother with scents. They're much less important in muskie fishing than bass, walleye, or catfish fishing. That's because muskies are sight feeders who often come a considerable distance to get the lure and usually hit it at full speed. They don't stop and sniff. Compare that with bass fishing, where you put the lure right in front of the bass, let it sit a while, twitch and dance it, and Mr. Bass is checking it out the whole time. By contrast, a muskie never really gets a good look at, or whiff of, your lure. He probably saw it or detected its motion with his lateral line, and he's making some knots when he catches up with it. He doesn't stop to check it out; he hits it like a train. Scents are irrelevant in that situation, and I don't think they'll make a difference in your fishing, but that's my subjective opinion and others are welcome to disagree.

Item 3 - I think people put way too much emphasis on the "best lure." When you catch a nice fish of any species, usually the first question you get is, "What did ya catch it on?" That's the wrong question, especially in muskie fishing. A more pertinent inquiry would be, "How deep and how far out from the shore was the fish, and what type of cover was nearby, and was it an active or a neutral fish, and what's the water clarity and water temperature?" Deciding what lure to use is a function of putting together all of these factors. It doesn't do you any good if I tell you I caught a fish on a deep diving crankbait that was lying on a dropoff under clear skies at high noon if it's now early evening, the skies have clouded over, and the fish are moving onto shoreline cover.

Because muskies are sight feeders, your lure must be seen by the fish, or at least detected the fish's lateral line. Considering that muskies exist in low numbers, are widely dispersed, and will chase a lure from a considerable distance, it's obvious that in murky water you need brighter colors and more vibration. If the fish are deep, you need a lure that goes deep. If they're tangled up in shallow cover, you need a lure that won't hang up in the cover. Lures are tools. When building a house, you don't do the framing with a ball peen hammer, nor do you drive finishing nails in moldings with a framing hammer. Lure selection is always a matter of choosing the right tool for the specific conditions you're fishing.

Item 4 - Best retrieving method ... I addressed this topic in my article written for Washingtonlakes.com titled "Tiger Musky Strategies." To summarize, when you don't know where the fish are, and you have to search a lot of water to find them, you want to use "search lures" that allow you to throw a lot of casts and cover a lot of water in a given amount of time. Bucktails excel as search lures because you retrieve them in a straight line at a fairly high rate of speed, allowing you to make many more casts per hour and cover much more water than you can with a crankbait or any other type of plug. The bucktail's main drawback is you normally can't get very deep with it, so it's effective only when the fish are shallow, unless you add extra weight to make it sink. I use bucktails for searching whenever possible, but at Merwin Lake, where the fish often are 20 to 30 feet down the dropoffs, I also use deep diving crankbaits as search lures when working the dropoffs. In general, you should retrieve as fast as conditions allow, in order to cover more water, but as a rule the colder the water the more sluggish the fish are, and when water temps get down in the 60s or below, you have to slow down your retrieves.

The game is played somewhat differently when you see the fish or know approximately where it is, and you're working that specific fish. If it has followed a bucktail without hitting it, when it turns away, you should toss a crankbait beyond the fish. This is called a "throwback bait" and it should look be a different type and color of lure than the one it followed but didn't hit. Sometimes a follower will hit this throwback bait. If it doesn't, leave the fish alone for several hours, then come back later and try it again -- with a different lure. You don't want this fish to see the same lure again, because they can remember their earlier encounter with you.

When you can see a fish but it's not responding to your casts, this is where you can slow down your retrieves and use finesse retrieves to try to entice the fish into hitting. This is the time to go into your tackle box and break out the Suicks, the choppers, the twitch baits, etc. You fish this situation more like bass, i.e., you put a lure in the vicinity of the fish and keep it in the strike zone as long as possible, hoping the fish will get annoyed enough to take a whack at it.

[kevinb]

[quote="Don Wittenberger"]Item 1 - 80# superbraid on a Garcia 6000 should cast fine, if everything else is set up correctly. With any superbraid, though, you have to make sure the line is spooled on the reel tightly. I clip the leader to my mailbox and walk down the street until the line is completely out, then take it up under tension while walking toward the mailbox. There are other ways to accomplish the same thing; the idea is to keep quite a bit of tension on the line while you're spooling it on the reel. Just cranking the reel handle while it unwinds from the spool it came on isn't enough.

My son has a ton of energy,maybe I'll make some practice casts and let him run down the block.

[Marc Martyn]

This is in relation to what Muskies feed on, bait fish.

What water temperature do the bait fish, crappie, perch, sunfish start their spawn? I understand that they move into the shallows to spawn. I have heard that this happens around 59 degrees water temperature. Correct?

With the bait fish swarming in the shallows, wouldn't the Muskies follow them in?

[Don Wittenberger]

Washington's tiger muskies don't feed on crappie, perch, or sunfish very much. They mostly feed on squawfish, will also eat suckers and tench (if available), and Washington doesn't really have a lot of crappie, perch, or sunfish in its stocked muskie lakes. There is evidence that Washington's tiger muskies are dormant during the cold winter and early spring months. They'll still be pretty sluggish in 59-degree water, if they're moving at all. In Curlew Lake (and only in Curlew Lake), they eat a lot of rainbow trout in the spring -- over 40% of their diet. They don't seem too interested in the trout or kokanee in Mayfield and Merwin lakes. I usually don't start fishing for them until mid to late June after the water hits the 60s although some guys start earlier and I'm not saying they can't be caught sooner.

[Marc Martyn]

Thanks, Don. That information is helpful. Another thing that would be helpful would be for winter to end! Left for work this morning in a blowing snow storm. We have had snow now for 5 months](*,)

[chironomid_guy]

I use a method called chuck and duck. It consists of a 10wt fly rod, a 6" - 8" big azz bunny fly. It takes a brave fishin partner to fish with ya even in a 19ft boat. As the fly goes by your head it sounds like a F18. With good polarized lenses you can spot and fish the TIGERS or fan cast and do quite well. I have only fished Curlew, but by the evening your arm is sore (both from castching and casting).

[PDXFisher]

I tried fly fishing for them in Minnesota (well, pure Muskies, anyway). I quickly got frustrated by line tangling on anything and everything at my feet. If you're not sight fishing for them, it's just too much work (I did have one blow up a popper once, but I wasn't ready for it). I don't even take my 9wt to MN anymore, though this year I'm going for a month and may try again on the clear lakes up north. I had the time of my life fly fishing for Pike outside of Calgary with big bunnies. Even got a few on the figure 8 ;)

My dream is to go up to the Innoko in Alaska and fly fish for the Pike and Sheefish up there: http://www.mstpa.com

[kevinb]

[quote="PDXFisher"]I tried fly fishing for them in Minnesota (well, pure Muskies, anyway). I quickly got frustrated by line tangling on anything and everything at my feet. If you're not sight fishing for them, it's just too much work (I did have one blow up a popper once, but I wasn't ready for it). I don't even take my 9wt to MN anymore, though this year I'm going for a month and may try again on the clear lakes up north. I had the time of my life fly fishing for Pike outside of Calgary with big bunnies. Even got a few on the figure 8 ]

Thanks for the link. This is something I would like to try.

[PDXFisher]

As soon as there's a summer where I feel there's five grand I don't need for something else, will too

In the meantime, I'll have to make do with Chum fishing in the Juneau area...

[chironomid_guy]

Drove to Curlew lk yesterday. The main lake is frozen solid. The smaller southern section of the lake (I think its called "rose bud" or "rose hip Lk") was ice free from the south end. I dont think it will be long until the tigers will be getting active in there. TTFN

Cheers

[Anonymous]

Chironomid_Guy: Did you bring us any pictures? I would like to see Curlew frozen over.
... and did not realize that Laurier was so far north, eh.

[chironomid_guy]

Sorry, Im guilty of forgetting the camera at the house. I used to ice fish Curlew a lot and catch some really nice rainbows, but havent done that for a couple years. I am anxious to get on the water and fly fish those tigers this spring though. I have fly fished for big Pike at Wollaston Lake lodge in Sask, it a rush to say the least!!

Cheers

[muskie guy]

The little lake on Curlew's south end is called Lake Robertta. And it sure does have muskies in it.