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Posts: 163
| Going into my third year hunting muskys, and finding myself struggling to make myself do the 8 regularly. Just seems like when i bring the bait to the boat and i don't see any fish (especially in very clear water) i think i need to get the bait back out as soon as possible and doing an eight is only wasting time. I know this is not true but can't seem to make myself act on my knowledge. I will also say i have led fish around the eight, but only after realizing i was moving a fish. I have never seen a fish after going into the 8 without seeing the fish before i went into it. SO...am i the only one who has ever struggled with this? How do i overcome this? Any tips to help me want to figure 8 regularly? With all you fine fellows out there someone else surly has dealt with this!  |
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Posts: 1416
Location: oconomowoc, wi | had a 49" slam my bait on the eight a couple years ago in canada.. very clear water! never saw her coming! never hurts to at least do a quick J or an 8 after every cast. I'm a believer! |
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Posts: 2009
| Tattoo it on your reel holding hand maybe? Always do at least an L turn. I learned my lesson when I didn't see a big one following deep on a clear lake the first year. You don't always see them. But when you have one come from under the boat and you didn't know it was there that may convince you. It's a rush and I finally got one on the 8 this year because I do it regularly. |
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Location: Sawyer County, WI | Sometimes I get lazy and do the figure 7, but as I mostly fish stained water doing the 8 is a must as one cannot expect to see the fish all the time. That said, I've had fish come from under the boat to grab a lure so even in clear water don't rely on seeing the fish first. You are missing opportunities if you don't. Just do it. |
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Posts: 7010
Location: Northwest Chicago Burbs | Watch the first video:
http://muskie.outdoorsfirst.com/videos/02.07.2011/3262/Steve.Herbec...
Then watch the second:
http://muskie.outdoorsfirst.com/videos/01.13.2014/6644/Herbie.on.th...
And then realize you're missing out on fish if you're not doing your figure 8s all the time. Do enough for long enough and you WILL get that surprise fish you didn't see coming out of nowhere. |
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| EVERYONE has struggled with this at one time or other. For me and many others, it's like backing up your hard drive: You have a hard drive fail, and after that pain you get religious about backing up for awhile, but slowly you backslide back into not backing up regularly until... There was a time I got real lazy about F8ing and then one day I had one of those crazy mid-30s males follow my lure so aggressively he jumped right into my boat as I started my next back-cast! THAT was a Code Brown moment! After that I F8-ed EVERY TIME... for awhile... until the next unexpected follow that scared the bejezzez out of me! I'm more consistent about F8ing now than I used to be, but I still have lapses back into laziness. Until...
Edited by Chemi 3/6/2015 9:25 AM
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Posts: 1638
Location: Minnesota | I don't always do the 8 but I always make sure that I do the turn at the boat |
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Posts: 2280
Location: Chisholm, MN | You need to have it in your mind that any time your bait is in the water, a fish could eat it. You need to act accordingly.
Edited by Kirby Budrow 3/6/2015 9:11 AM
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Posts: 163
| Thanks for the encouragement and info/video links! Good stuff. If i read allot of material like this i might find it easier to want to "waste my time" doing the 8!  |
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Posts: 25
| And don't skip a figure 8 if you have weeds on your bait, my best boatside strike came under such a situation. I had made a cast to a weed point with my bulldawg and could see 6 foot long sections of cabbage weed fouling my bait as it came into view at the boat. I began to pull the bait out of the water with just the tail still in the water and thought wait, maybe I should figure 8 since I had missed fish before in the same situation. Just as I started lowering the bait to make an 8 a 46" came out of nowhere and inhaled the entire bait. It soaked me and my boat partner and gave us both a "code brown" moment. At a minimum a L turn is required on every cast!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In my experience the fish most likely to strike at the boat are not the ones you see following but the fish that come out of nowhere and crush it (especially with 'dawgs, 'dusas, etc.) The best way to trigger these unseen followers at the boat with a plastic jerkbait is to bring your bait up to the surface and make it "porpise" at some point early in your figure 8, it makes your bait look like it is desperate to get away. The best place to catch fish is on an edge and the surface is one of the best. Try this move this year and I guarantee you will put more fish in the boat and trigger those unseen followers. |
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Posts: 540
Location: Leech Lake, Walker MN | Always look far enough behind your bait Don't watch the bait and then always set you self up for the turn way before you even get the bait close to the boat and just go into your turn and if there is a fish you are ready to do the BIG circle. A big circle is much better than an 8 a real big fish can not make the turn with you if you don't give her enough room just keep it out in front of her and be aggressive that's what makes them bite your aggressivness try it you'll see it all happen before your eyes all the best |
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Posts: 4269
Location: Ashland WI | What helps me is the idea that I am covering more water.
If you do a full figure 8, you could essentially pull fish from the opposite side of the boat. |
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Posts: 192
Location: Quebec, Canada | You should start working on that... told myself the same thing before last season and I got my PB when a 51 incher came out of nowhere in a flash and nailed my bucktail. That was the first year that I started doing figure 8s after every casts. I honestly don't think the fish would have committed if it wasn<t of the 8 as I always pause and change speed during retrieves. |
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Posts: 1937
Location: Black Creek, WI | I'm an L turn guy during daylight.... and trust my eyes to see any late arrivals or lingering fish. Does it cost me a fish or two? Maybe, but poor ROI in my opinion vs the fatigue a full 8 creates. Especially when powerfishing (my typical daytime approach). After dark, however, a full figure8 or multiple figure 8's will be executed on each and every cast. Since I typically slow down and work a spot more methodically after dark, the extended Figure8 compliments the approach quite nicely. I think its up to you to decide what is adequate. For some, an 8 after every cast is a must. For others, not. As long as your happy with your results, go with it. |
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Posts: 2687
Location: Hayward, WI | I do a full 8 after the end of each cast ALMOST all the time. I ALWAYS at least do an L turn at the boat.
I have certainly had fish up, and caught fish that I didn't see coming in on the bait. Especially in deep water with rubber or cranks, I've had a number of fish come from directly below the bait, not seen till an instant before they hit it.
With that said, MOST fish that I haven't seen earlier in the cast, usually reveal themselves during the L, if you make a good L that lasts for a second or so. Not all though. I've done full figure 8's and had fish show up after taking the bait out of the water.
I think like Jlong said, you have to decide if it's worth the time to do a full 8 or not, but you have to do SOMETHING. Last year my wife caught her 3rd and biggest fish in the L right at the boat. She never saw it coming till it was hooked. Probably would not have caught that if she just picked the bait out of the water.
Good tip on 8'ing weeds too! I do get lazy about that, but caught one on LOTW in the 8 last year with about a 3 foot string of weeds on my bucktail. |
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Posts: 306
| Had a rookie with me last year, and eventually just told him to close his eyes and do the figure 8. He boated 2 big ones, bigger than all mine. So this year, I may just close my eyes too! |
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Posts: 300
| My wife would always struggle to do the figure 8 after every cast until we went to LOTW. It is the best place to learn because 80% or more of the fish we saw or caught were on the 8. Many of the fish only showed up halfway through the figure 8. Luckily we were able to bring that home, and now we both figure 8 after almost every cast. |
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Posts: 8725
| To me, it all depends on how much you can see. On a flat calm sunny day in clear water, there's no reason to do more than half a turn. If there was a fish there, you'd see it. In a good chop, dark water, cloudy day, when you can't really see much around your lure? I like to be sure there's no late arrivals.
I've had a few come out of nowhere. Always helps to be prepared for that. |
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Posts: 4269
Location: Ashland WI | esoxaddict - 3/6/2015 1:08 PM
To me, it all depends on how much you can see. On a flat calm sunny day in clear water, there's no reason to do more than half a turn. If there was a fish there, you'd see it. In a good chop, dark water, cloudy day, when you can't really see much around your lure? I like to be sure there's no late arrivals.
I've had a few come out of nowhere. Always helps to be prepared for that.
What about the fish you can't see? Even on a flat day in clear water.
The fish that comes from under the boat and actually did not really even follow the lure.... just saw it, and struck. |
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Posts: 325
Location: Otsego, MN | Every cast, every time... Here is a video of my friend in my boat who was distracted and missed a really nice fish last summer. The water was a little murky but without a figure 8 we wouldn't have even known that fish was there. Perhaps if he was paying attention and set back into the fish he would have caught the muskie. Surely it would have been his personal best.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDfDznQv0zA |
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Posts: 238
Location: Illinois | If you don't do the 8 or at least the L and you see a monster after taking your bait out of the water, you're going to be "should of, would of, could of'ing" your self to death. Regrets can be more painful than a day full of figure 8ing! IMO |
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Posts: 8725
| I'm not saying figure 8's are a waste of time, but you can waste a lot of time doing multiple turns for a fish that isn't there when you'd have been better off making another cast. It's one thing when you're 25, but the older you get, the more efficient you have to be. |
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Posts: 4343
Location: Smith Creek | jlong - 3/6/2015 11:47 AM
I'm an L turn guy during daylight.... and trust my eyes to see any late arrivals or lingering fish. Does it cost me a fish or two? Maybe, but poor ROI in my opinion vs the fatigue a full 8 creates. Especially when powerfishing (my typical daytime approach). After dark, however, a full figure8 or multiple figure 8's will be executed on each and every cast. Since I typically slow down and work a spot more methodically after dark, the extended Figure8 compliments the approach quite nicely. I think its up to you to decide what is adequate. For some, an 8 after every cast is a must. For others, not. As long as your happy with your results, go with it.
Same here. You can't cover water if you're figure 8ing for 10 minutes after every cast, and it makes no sense to figure 8 if you're in 3 FOW and can see down to the bottom 20 feet away.
There's a time and a place. Canada is one of the places. So is deep or dirty water.
The time is night or Autumn. |
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Posts: 397
Location: Wisconsin | I agree with Don, I use an oval rather than an eight, until I see the fish and can determine the size and speed to entice it |
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Posts: 1126
Location: Minnesota. | I think I'm going to remember this topic when I'm in the boat next. I have already learned my lesson and admittedly, failed to take heed figuring it was... "just that one time". Then I got nailed with the dumb-stik again.
I'll remember this season and take the time!! |
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Posts: 8725
| I'd recommend a week on Eagle Lake for anyone who wants to polish their figure 8 skills. You can talk about it all you want, but until you've played cat-and-mouse with a bunch of fish, you won't improve much.
One thing that hasn't been mentioned is the size of your 8's/ovals. While I have seen a few fish caught and caught a few fish myself doing those pretty little 8's, a giant oval is far more effective at keeping the lure in front of the fish. If they can't turn with it, a lot of times they just give up.
The other thing that Herbie mentioned in his video that took me a LONG time to understand is to be able to read the fish. Again, that's just a matter of having numbers of fish follow and seeing how they react when you speed up or slow down. Sometimes you have to try to take it away from them to get them fired up. Other times, going too fast does exactly the opposite. You take it away from them and they just sink out of sight. Or they swipe at the lure and miss because you took it away from them at just-the-wrong moment. |
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Posts: 166
| My first few times out I didn't 8 or even L turn every time. Then one day my son made a believer out of me and himself. His first fish this year was on an 8 and he probably went around at least 3 times before the fish hit and neither of us even knew it was there. I wish I had that filmed cause that was probably the best reaction I have ever seen from a kid and he hung on like a champ.
About two weeks later we were fishing a clear water lake and my son was tired and fatigued he wasn't fig 8in at all that day because of the clear water. He made a cast up into a point and neither of us saw anything following. He yanked his bait out of the water immediately after it got to the boat. And low and behold a MONSTER I would guess at least 51 inches or bigger came to the top of the water and was looking for food. Very aggressive and fast. My son and I figure 8 every time after that day regardless of water clarity. |
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Posts: 238
Location: Illinois | In one day on eagle we must of had 20-30 follows. There were fish that followed for 10 turns(big ovals), fish that showed up on the 2nd turn, and fish that just seemed to materialize out of nowhere 5-7 ft away from the boat just watching. The guide we had that day had us at least make one full oval, deep near the boat and high in the water away from the boat. If we saw a fish following on the far side of the oval we kept it going, if not he had us casting again, making sure to get our lures back up to the structure that fish were holding to. |
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| Depends how the days going and just how many follows I've seen. The end the season last year i caught a good fish on the 8 that came out of the no where. Defiantly going to be figure 8ing more this season after experiencing that.
Usually figure 8 a few times after 90% of my casts and keep eyes on the water to see if i see any flashes or anything out of the ordinary
Video of muskie out of the blue on the 8 - http://youtu.be/8a_eMT3jX1A
Shore muskie figure 8 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4XbO8YDWGA
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Posts: 246
| I'll do a turn or two after about every cast. It sucks pulling the bait out of the water without a turn or two and seeing a late follower come in. |
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