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Posts: 32
Location: Appleton, WI | Has anyone had any success in sight fishing for musky? This weekend I took my little brother out bluegill fishing and during that time we spotted a couple musky roaming or sunning themselves in about 3 feet of water or less, however we could not even get them to give our baits a glance. Any suggestions?
Edited by packz 5/10/2015 9:50 PM
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Posts: 315
| Try a small phanton, small tub, or a jig and creature....dont forget the wacky rigged senko. |
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Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | best time for sight fishing muskies is on the ice in March over the basin ... |
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Posts: 397
Location: Wisconsin | never had luck at all for sight fishing musky. When musky are that shallow, I believe they are in the shallow warm water digesting their meal, not cruising for food. Just my two sense, Ive never spot fished musky and had them chase a bait I threw past em |
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Posts: 32
| No luck here |
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Posts: 376
| I have had success casting plastic creature or a wacky worm well past the musky you have sighted and working it it slowly back in front of them. You have to try stalking them. |
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Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | like this ...
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Posts: 20181
Location: oswego, il | Something small that does not make a huge splash. Big and plastic, whacky worm, small crankbait, bass sized. If no much there, get out your bow. |
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Location: varies | its been my experience that porpoising musky NEVER bite. the head poking musky above the surface never bite. I do catch about a dozen musky a year in 3ft of water or less but they are there to eat before moving back to deeper water mid day. |
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Posts: 390
| Not sure if Im just fishing dumb fish but I have had quit a bit of success site fishing muskies. We normally use small baits(plastics, baby bucktails, ect) but I have also caught them on WTD topwaters and and 6-8" cranks. The one thing I must stress, of all the fish I have caught doing this (11) only 1 fish hit after it spotted us/was spooked by us. Don't let them see you and also make sure the sun is at your back in the shallows. |
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Posts: 1767
Location: Lake Country, Wisconsin | I've had success on a few Canadian lakes sight fishing them in clear water. Done well on a few different baits, but casting plastics in their line of site ( not on top of them) has worked for me in the past. |
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Posts: 568
Location: Lake St Clair | I see them in June on LSC all the time. Not sure what they are doing but getting sun seems right.
The water is always so clear but they are generally in about 5-6 fow. I still have yet to get one to even look at my bait.
Ill try to get some on a gopro this year.
Edited by mastical 5/11/2015 9:35 AM
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Posts: 897
| Musky Brian - 5/11/2015 7:34 AM
I've had success on a few Canadian lakes sight fishing them in clear water. Done well on a few different baits, but casting plastics in their line of site ( not on top of them) has worked for me in the past.
I was witness to this with Brian one day. Small black bulldog, skipped/dragged along the bottom made to look like an eelpout is what I remember got it to go. Awesome to see! |
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Posts: 5874
| Kly spotted a fish on a sand beach during the LOTW trip, and cast his Rad Dog in the skinny water about 20 feet away. That fish was all over that bait in about three turns of the handle! Was cool to watch. I miss that kid.
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Posts: 1971
| dozens...as with all sight fishing the trick is to see them before you "disturb" them. |
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Posts: 1207
Location: Walker, MN | A lot of sight fishing without too much catching here. The few that I have hooked/landed were on small twitch baits. |
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Location: Grand Rapids, MI | I've caught a lot of fish in the spring sight fishing and none in the summer, with the exception of the occasional fish that rolls but that's not really sight fishing. Springtime fish that are 1-2 weeks post spawn are the easiest to catch sight fishing. Best bait for me has always been a bass size soft plastic. Put it 10-15 feet in front of them and just shake it every few seconds. Wait for them to go eat it and try not to get impatient with them. Once they are nudged by the boat, even just a few feet, the odds aren't in your favor. |
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Posts: 3240
Location: Racine, Wi | Will Schultz - 5/11/2015 10:53 AM
I've caught a lot of fish in the spring sight fishing and none in the summer, with the exception of the occasional fish that rolls but that's not really sight fishing. Springtime fish that are 1-2 weeks post spawn are the easiest to catch sight fishing. Best bait for me has always been a bass size soft plastic. Put it 10-15 feet in front of them and just shake it every few seconds. Wait for them to go eat it and try not to get impatient with them. Once they are nudged by the boat, even just a few feet, the odds aren't in your favor.
Exactly! I've done very well doing the same thing. One note, if you spook them, leave the area for 15-30 mins and many times they go back to the same spot. Just sneak in better the second time. 
Don't be afraid to change plastic colors on your jigs as well as sizes to see what gets them to react. Also, if they start chasing the jig and won't eat it, back off and BOMB cast a wtd top water. I've converted quite a few early doing this.
Edited by tuffy1 5/12/2015 7:43 AM
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Posts: 553
Location: 15 miles east of Lake Kinkaid | Lots of great responses above! The only thing I can add as far as sight fishing is a few more baits for the "musky sight fisherman's arsenal". Having a strong background in bass fishing and saltwater flats sight fishing, two of my "go to" baits are hard and soft jerkbaits (jerkbaits in the bass fishing sense aka suspending stickbaits). 4", 5", and 6" flukes rigged weightless have put a bunch of Muskies in the boat for me. The key for me is to use a medium action bass rod with 30lb braid which will allow for a very slow fall. Another great bait is a suspending jerkbait in the 3-4" range such as a smith wick rogue, Rapala X-rap or LC pointer. I chose the bait to coincide with what water temperature they best suspend. |
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Posts: 358
| Never caught one sight fishing. I did watch an old timer drift into the area, poling the boat close enough to drift a fly in, after a boat with two had tried for an hour to catch one. The old timer told me not to stand up or speak as he drifted a fly down to it and worked the fly, the fish took the fly and the two in the other boat both shook their heads and laughed, I was about 12 or 13 and never tried it as I don't fly fish or own a fly rod. I have tried to catch numerous muskie sight fishing.. |
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Posts: 540
Location: Leech Lake, Walker MN | Have been guiding fly fisherman for years with great success find 63 degree water and in he Canadian Shield country they are there very spooky YES can you catch them sight fishing YES |
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Posts: 1283
| I have got a couple sight fishing but the vast majority get spooked and take off before you can even cast out to them. |
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Posts: 1971
| big difference between sight fishing and seeing a muskie and throwing a lure at it! |
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Posts: 1906
Location: Oconto Falls, WI | As Will mentioned the best time has been around spawn-a couple weeks post spawn. My best bait has been a Tiger Tube. Key for me has been to cast a couple of feet in front of the fish similar to how saltwater fisherman target flats fish. Do NOT land it on top of them. Land it so they can watch it drop.
Second best bait has been an X-Rap. With these I cast past them, perpendicular to the way they are facing, and bring it past them with getting wicky-wicky with it. Again run it several feet in front of them, and not right across their nose.
Gin clear lake, very early afternoon, no clouds in the sky, and calm is what I like for sight fishing.
Sometimes sticking your head down the hole works.
This fish was actually spooked when my boat was ~50 yards away. I just stopped (cruising with trolling motor) and waited. The fish was tucked up tight on shore and swam out to about 15' of water, and actually got much closer to me. I waited a bit after it stopped, then landed the tube a few feet in front. About 2' from bottom the fish tilted to watch the tube hit the bottom. Two quick hops of the tube, and the rest is history.
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Posts: 1283
| IAJustin - 5/14/2015 11:52 AM
big difference between sight fishing and seeing a muskie and throwing a lure at it!
How is seeing a fish and fishing for it not sight fishing? |
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Posts: 1971
| when I sight fish I never cast until I see a fish, you anticipate where the fish will be, you are on a hunt to find a fish you can make the perfect presentation to... you use extreme stealth, the wind, light angles on and on to put you in the best position...if you don't disturb them and your presentation is correct at least 1 out of 3 eat....you might make 7 cast in 4 hrs... That to me is sight fishing...... Most people throw lures at fish they see...guess what the fish already knows you are there - good luck! |
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Posts: 1767
Location: Lake Country, Wisconsin | I completely agree with both Justin and Travis. When specifically pulling into a spot that I would be sight fishing, I am not throwing any casts until I see a fish. As discussed, the bait landing on or too near them can spook them in a lot of cases when you are talking about resting spots versus ambush spots.
And as Travis pointed out, the best time to do this for me has been in an 11-2 window, on a clear lake, little to no wind, and little to no cloud cover. Kind of goes against the conventional wisdom but it certainly can work on the right body of water in which muskies will slide up shallow to take in sun/digest/rest...even when doing that there is something in their DNA that tells them a free meal should always be at least investigated. |
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Posts: 548
Location: MN | Those of you that attend the Muskie First Outing know about the 'Aquarium'.
You can sight fish those muskies all day and nothing.
There are some huge fish in there.
We even tried meat and no ski.
Did hook up with a 38" pike though.
That was fun.
Can't wait for this summers outing.
Nick
Edited by Nick59 5/17/2015 8:50 AM
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