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Posts: 410
Location: With my son on the water | Fall fishing certainly seems to be here, I have been on the water regularly and have watched the water temps drop from the low 70s to 64 last night. I have mixed it up fishing deep humps to very shallow. Have thrown the whole gamit at them and have fished enough I should have determined a combination. But yet I haven't moved a fish in 3 weeks, and 4 weeks ago we killed them on humps.
Kinda frustrated, any thoughts/advice?
Thanks |
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Posts: 67
| Hi - were are you located or where do you fish? I might be able to provide a little guidance. |
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Posts: 410
Location: With my son on the water | NE wisconsin |
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Posts: 68
| The last two weeks I have been moving a ton of fish and getting a few bites each day in very thick cabbage in 4' or less of water. I have been ripping suicks right through the weeds creating reaction strikes during the day and top water in the evening. Hayward, WI area. |
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Posts: 221
| Shallow with small blades or topwater has been the ticket for my boat. |
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Posts: 1000
| try fishing at night, up shallow |
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Posts: 105
Location: Jane Lew, WV | I look at this time of year as a prolonged cold front in a sense. Temps continuously dropping with nothing really stabilizing for a while. (It hasn't happened yet but it's coming here in WV) With that being said, I downsize my lure of choice and push off the spots that were working, either move shallow off those spots, or go out off of them a bit into deeper water. |
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Location: Contrarian Island | maybe spreading yourself too thin? I'd keep the boat in 6 to 8 feet or less, and mainly weeds or sand. this time of year fish are notorious for moving shallow...
Edited by BNelson 9/5/2017 1:39 PM
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Posts: 1828
| haven't been out much but casted for a few hours Monday morning. Saw 7 fish, 6 of them bit. They all but 1 came from < 5 ft of water - the bare sand or rocks/sand up behind the weeds. Only the smallest one came from the nice, tall weeds (cabbage / coontail mix). 66 deg water. |
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Posts: 8721
| Fish are probably looking for the warmest water they can find at this point. I'd be up shallow. |
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Posts: 133
| I have never fished the sand in the fall that alot of people talk about. Does this movement to the sand occur all across the muskie range? And does the water type dictate if the fish use the sand? For example has anyone seen this work on gin clear water? Or is it a stained water trait? |
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Posts: 497
Location: Ludington, MI | I recommend this to my friends and refer to it often: http://www.muskyhunter.com/forum/showthread.php?1937-Fall-Muskies-b...(by-Steve-Heiting) |
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Posts: 410
Location: With my son on the water | Thanks for the replies. I did what all of you guys suggested which is very similar to what I have been doing. Never moved a fish, again.
So frustrating, I am by no means a rookie and have caught a bunch of nice fish out of these waters this year but it certainly is dead now.
Does anyone have any more suggestions?
Thanks |
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Posts: 3472
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | Hiya,
I'd stay with the areas you have been, but maybe change the speed of the presentation? Try burning for a while, or slow it way down with big blades? Possibly take a spinner bait and run it slowly through weeds or along edges?
Steve |
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Posts: 833
| I do not fish the waters you are on, so take this with a grain of salt. All the shallow stuff posted above is certainly valid. However, if you are not contacting fish in those areas and you have confidence that you are on quality spots, then I'd consider moving deeper.
My general rule of thumb is if I'm fishing proven structure (especially shallow locations) and I do not contact fish on three or four prime spots on any given day, then I will start moving deeper and adjusting my presentation.
It is worth adding that I only get to fish on average one day a week, so for me there is not always a consistent pattern to rely on from the previous trips. If you have greater confidence in a bite, my three to four spots formula might need to be tweaked.
Edited by Brad P 9/6/2017 1:18 PM
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Location: Contrarian Island | try to network with guys that fish the same lakes or area. share info back and forth, can help figure out where you should be fishing and when...weeds pretty much always hold fish, just gotta be on em when they bite. time your next trip if possible the day before a front is coming thru.. |
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Posts: 6
| BNelson........How long will these fish remain shallow?
Edited by iamusky22 9/6/2017 4:36 PM
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Posts: 682
Location: Sycamore, IL | btfish- I fished up your way last week and found fish in 18-25ft off points and relating to deep sandgrass/ rock transitions. All fish moved during and after the weather system on Saturday. I was on a deep clearish water lake. It was pretty slow up until that weather change with only small fish contacted in the weeds....hope that helps! |
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Posts: 410
Location: With my son on the water | Well, fished again last night. I again took the advice from all of you Thanks. But the results was the same, zippo. I didn't see a boil or even any bait fish.
The only thing I did notice was I saw bait fish on the graph off a point in deeper water holding 7 to 10 ft down. Which we have seen in the past few weeks and have targeted without success.
Now what? It's now been a month since we have moved fish. I know what you guys are saying about the fall bite is true but it sure isn't happening in NE wisconsin. 62 degree water temps when I came off after dark.
Maybe it's just angler error which I am a believer of. Meaning I suck. But seriously it is like the waters have gone dead. |
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| I was out yesterday in Oneida County and moved 4 fish, all in 3 to 5 feet of water. I was using top water and unfortunately the two that actually hit the bait both just left tooth marks in the tail of a new Klack. But the fish were shallow. Even had a very nice small mouth blast completely out of the water and launch itself over the bait, missing it by a foot. Was really surprised to see that smallie come out of the shallow weeds. I was on the water for five hours and did fish deeper with crank baits as well but only fish I saw were in that 3 to 5 range. |
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Posts: 315
| I was up in north central WI over the weekend on flowage water. The fish I caught and moved were all shallow in thick weeds on top waters. Water temps were 61-63. This time of year the fish will relate to the green weeds. As the weeds die out they will move into the stump fields and rocks. Saw a lot of pan fishermen & walleye guys fishing shallow weeds too. If all the bait fish are shallow the muskies will be there as well. Good luck! |
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Location: Contrarian Island | I'd imagine you have quite a few lakes near you that have muskies? maybe switch lakes... sometimes a lake can be off, and one 5 miles away can be on. |
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Location: Contrarian Island | I think someone broke his slump!? BTFish better fess up!  |
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Posts: 2280
Location: Chisholm, MN | When all else fails, throw a hawgwobbler all day |
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Posts: 410
Location: With my son on the water | Brad is correct.
Yesterday was a very good day and I got the monkey off my back. Stuck a solid 48 at 4 pm, fished a few other spots and I could see the rain coming in so I returned to where I got the 48 and stuck a 41 less than a cast away. Then threw the rain gear on.
Persistence pays, but I also apprecinate all the advice, but particularly the advice and encouragement from Brad Nelson. Class Act.
Edited by btfish 9/8/2017 12:51 PM
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Posts: 251
| He's ok  |
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Posts: 36
Location: se wi | So what was the magic trick to make something happen Brad? Shallow, deep, fast, slow?
Nice fish by the way! I was thinking maybe you had already caught your allotment for the year? |
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Posts: 410
Location: With my son on the water | Hey Scott
Maybe the secret is sending my son to college so I get a crack at the big ones, he sure showed us how to do it up on LOTWS again this year didn't he.
Yesterday the fish were shallow out of the wind in the warmest water, but the weather was almost perfect. I was burning big blades and got react strikes. The weeds sre so junkie that you can blow right through them without many problems.
Say hi to your boat partners for me.
Brad
Edited by btfish 9/8/2017 5:37 PM
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Posts: 682
Location: Sycamore, IL | Nice work! Way to hang in there and put a nice one in the net... |
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