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Posts: 134
| I don't know how to do a poll on here so I'll just ask. When you go on your proverbial muskie trip to the northland, how much time do you spend muskie fishing vs. (smallmouth, pike, walleye, perch, etc). I find myself questioning why I bring so MUCH extra gear for fishing the above mentioned, when in reality I spend 95% of the time chasing muskie and the occasional pike bays with muskie equipment. Maybe I could haul less stuff? more room for other "stuff"? Thoughts? |
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Posts: 323
Location: Elk River, MN | 100% Muskie |
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Location: Contrarian Island | our week on LOTW we each bring 1 walleye rod and a few jigs/plastics.. pulling up on rock reefs the eyes are easy to spot on the locator and if we are looking to take a break from the skis and want to catch some eyes for dinner we jig some up...other than that it's all musky gear...we do spend some time in pike bays w musky spinnerbaits smackin 35-42" pike tho cuz that is a blast when the skis are not going
what we have learned is it is great to take a break from the skis when they are simply not moving...we actually take time out to fish eyes and pike... it's amazing how just an hour or so jigging eyes rejuvinates you.... don't beat your head against the wall when the muskies are off... we fished less hours last year for muskies than any other trip but had our best week with 26 in the boat...
Edited by BNelson 2/12/2016 10:43 AM
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Posts: 25
| Similar with our group on LOTW. 95% time dedicated to muskies....5% time dedicated to jigging up walleyes for dinner that evening.
Edited by soxfan11 2/12/2016 10:32 AM
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Posts: 1676
Location: Mt. Zion, IL | BNelson - 2/12/2016 10:23 AM
our week on LOTW we each bring 1 walleye rod and a few jigs/plastics.. pulling up on rock reefs the eyes are easy to spot on the locator and if we are looking to take a break from the skis and want to catch some eyes for dinner we jig some up...other than that it's all musky gear...we do spend some time in pike bays w musky spinnerbaits smackin 35-42" pike tho cuz that is a blast when the skis are not going
what we have learned is it is great to take a break from the skis when they are simply not moving...we actually take time out to fish eyes and pike... it's amazing how just an hour or so jigging eyes rejuvinates you.... don't beat your head against the wall when the muskies are off... we fished less hours last year for muskies than any other trip but had our best week with 26 in the boat...
What size plastics and weights are you using? Taking a first trip up there and want to get dad on some walleyed between musky windows as well. |
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Posts: 93
Location: Des Moines IA | 80% musky, 15% Smallmouth and 5% walleye... |
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Posts: 51
| 1/4 - 3/8 oz jig, 3-4" inch plastics... grubs or minnow like plastics work well, whites, yellows, black...doesn't usually matter. You can also try casting crankbaits like flicker shads/shad raps on/around reefs that top out at about 7-10ft. walleye fishing will also bring plenty of smallies, pike, and an occasional muskie on light tackle.
We will also troll crankbaits while eating lunch and/or moving from spot to spot to pick up some dinner. |
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Location: Contrarian Island | 1/8 to 3/8 oz jigs.. any colors...chartreuse is always good.. we used any kind of twister tail or thumper tail, I think I was using a b-fish-n paddletail.. I'm sure things like gulp 3" minnows would work too...
Edited by BNelson 2/12/2016 11:22 AM
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Posts: 1901
Location: MN | And it can be really fun when a 8-10 lb 'eye smacks your crankbait or spinner bait on some of those shallow reefs in the evening. They hit harder than a muskie. And see if you can get a walleye to go on a figure 8. We've had several go around at least once but haven't caught any yet 
Edited by Propster 2/12/2016 11:39 AM
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Posts: 2004
| I bass fish down south, so when I come north it's all musky. But then again, my biggest LM came off a topraider. Biggest SM off a DC in 5' of slop... go figure. Just picked up a small Whopper Plopper for using down here and will maybe to those biguns! |
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Posts: 1970
| reefs that top out in 15-24 ft surrounded by large 30-40' basins are usually loaded with walleyes on lake of the woods.. best thing is these deeper reefs and edges of these reefs are dynamite on bluebird zero wind days (traditionally terrible mid-day muskie weather) .. you clean house vertical jigging. |
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Posts: 300
| My wife and I are taking a trip to LOTW this year, and she does not fish. So I would like to keep her as entertained as possible. I realize reefs are going to be a multi species option while I fish for muskies, but those pike bays that you guys are talking about...am I going to have realistic shots at muskies while I throw a spoon or small crank on for her while she casts for pike?
Dont get me wrong, pike are actually my favorite fish to target, and I wont complain a bit about catching one, but since i am going to LOTW, I would prefer to target muskies. |
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Location: Contrarian Island | yes, muskies of course use those bays too.. the ones we have found loaded with Pike tho seem to be void of muskies ... but never know one cast could change that! |
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Location: SE Wisconsin | I fished muskies about 85% of the time in July when we went. The other time was spent jigging walleyes and lake trout. Love all the shore lunch sites on random islands on LOTW. Keep a filet knife, cast iron skillet, oil and shore lunch mix in a compartment of your boat and when you're hungry, throw a jig out and pop a walleye, pull up to shore, light a fire and take a much needed break to soak it all in and look around. Sometimes you miss things going on around you when you're fixated on casts and retrieves. |
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Posts: 375
| We take 2 trips to northern WI each year. One in the spring (musky opener) and one in the fall. We are getting older so we tend to go out for a day with all of our musky and walleye/smallmouth gear. The time we spend always favors musky but it is situational depending weather and the action. The ratio is probably 70/30 in favor of musky. Taking a break from musky casting to jig for walleyes can be a nice break but keeps you on the water. Fishing cribs and rock piles with crank baits or wacky worms for small mouths is a great way to get the adrenaline going. With the change in trolling regulations in Northern WI we might take breaks to troll but our group would really prefer to avoid that. |
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Posts: 16632
Location: The desert | BNelson - 2/12/2016 11:19 AM
1/8 to 3/8 oz jigs.. any colors...chartreuse is always good.. we used any kind of twister tail or thumper tail, I think I was using a b-fish-n paddletail.. I'm sure things like gulp 3" minnows would work too...
Pick up some zoom flukes. Bite about an inch or so off the head of one and put it on your jig. They outfished everything else we had by a wide margin. |
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| Up until mid sept its 80/20 walleye/musky after that 100% musky. |
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Posts: 296
| Trips to canada are 100% muskie. Walleye doesn't rank very high on my favorite eats list and I only like casting for them. Nice pike are a nice bonus along the way on musky baits. |
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