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Posts: 78
Location: In the Weeds | I have come to the conclusion that I really suck at summer musky fishing. Spring im fine and fall im fine. But summer I cant seem to consistently catch fish to save my life. Deep or shallow, weeds or breaks, suspended or not. I chase my tail every time out and rarely produce fish. What do u guys do to produce summer musky? Thanks. |
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Posts: 1134
Location: NorthCentral WI | Cast the other direction. |
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Posts: 20179
Location: oswego, il | Well if you are looking for help you can tell us the lake types or area you are fishing and what you are doing. Would help alot in helping you. |
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Location: Sawyer County, WI | MartinTD - 7/17/2015 11:51 AM
Cast the other direction.
All joking aside, this is excellent advice. All too often people cast out over the deep weed edge and retrieve. If you have more than one person in the boat one of them needs be throwing towards deeper water. |
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Posts: 3136
| Night lake???? A lot of systems/lakes turn into night bites during the summer have you tried that. |
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Posts: 78
Location: In the Weeds | The lake is 2000 acres. I would say shallow, as deep as it gets is 35 pr so. The water clarity is about 2-3 foot and sort of an algae stained green color. I have not tried night. Casting at night has always left me flustered. Considering tryjng trolling at night |
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Posts: 1000
| I'd back out a ways and slow roll something that thumps hard. |
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Posts: 556
| If that lake doesn't get a lot of boating traffic---but I bet it might being 2000 acres----I would think you could catch fish on sunny days with the 2-3 ft visability. Shallow running lures something with noise or vibration/bright colors. I fish many lakes ,like that and have caught so many fish on the brightest of days--shallow fish also---3-7 ft of water. I also find the SUMMER FISH to be my toughest. Spring and Fall are so much easier for me to locate and catch. |
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Posts: 688
Location: Northern IL | Summer is a great time of the year, I know it's a pike report but here's what a buddy and I did over
Things were a slow on Saturday up in Madison which got Chris and I talking through out the day about the difference between a "real movement" or activity period and just picking up one here and one there, in my case it was none here and none there but as we've heard it said before "A days success is measured at the end of the day".
These are extremely long days especially when it's 90+ out with humidity that makes it feel even warmer. It's a constant battle to press on when both the weather and the fish are not cooperating. Through out the day I ran into other spoonpluggers and they all expressed a degree of frustration to which I replied, "we must be patient". We've all seen them going and of course we've also been out and nothing seems to be happening. Mendota is a lake with a lot of fish! Mendota is a lake where straglers can be caught at this time of the year, Mendota is a lake that when they're moving it's hard not to know it. (If your a spoonplugger ha ha!!!) That thought is what keeps me motivated to press on, and besides where would you rather be, trolling, jigging or what ever around a lake full of big fish on a warm summer day or sitting on your couch in February?
Sometimes it can be difficult to draw a line between a short movement and leave the lake when things get slow or call them straglers. Chris and his girl friend caught 3 pike between 35" &36", a good days catch for a lot of fishermen but Spoonpluggers (Structure fishermen) aren't a lot of fishermen. I caught one dink, all in the mid morning, no two were caught in the same area. Was that a movement? Chris seemed to think at the time "maybe". We have both seen them go way too many times in July to say that's what we came for, so in my mind it was not an activity period and besides where else do we have to go?
On Friday night I launched on Monona about 7:00pm. I had a fish on almost immediately but it was lost, another good fish pounced on my JB1, it jumped and shook the hooks but all was not a complete lost when a 27" walleye took the spoonplug and went directly to the filet table. Though we had a warm front come through over night and very unstable light conditions all day Saturday we have good water color and some of the warmest water temps we may see all season, again another reason to stay on the water. Saturday morning both Chris, his girl friend and I launched our boats on Mendota by 7:30am. It was more than 12 hours later when we finally saw them go. At 7:40pm I hit a 38" Pike. I circled back and a few minutes later a 43"er hit the net, then a 41" and lastly a 36" all off the same spot and then it was over. It took almost 13 hours to catch 5 pike but 4 of them were caught in less than 30 minutes, thats a movement, and thats what we came for!
Sunday the fish moved for a much longer period of time in the midday. Between our two boats we ended up with 22 pike, 39" was the biggest, a hand full of bass and a few walleyes to 27". Fish all day (if you can) it's worth it!
Edited by jerryb 7/21/2015 5:48 PM
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Posts: 2
| I've struggled at times too in the summer, but there's always a way around the "Dog Days of Summer." Have you tried switching up presentations? For the most part I found that downsizing lures works well. I caught two fish over 45 inches last year just by downsizing to smaller bucktails, instead of throwing the same big double bladed baits majority of other musky fisherman are throwing. Another adjustment that works well for me is retrieve speed, especially when it comes to throwing bucktails in the the summer time. Try bursting bucktails -- meaning real fast back off, real fast back off... This tactic works great to get those lazy summer muskies to strike. But also try to slow down and actually work a spot, instead of jumping all over the lake - it could make the difference.
-Hope I could provide some assistance. May the Musky Gods be in your favor. |
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Posts: 400
Location: Metro | If it makes you feel better I have had a very interesting mid to late summer. With no fish in the boat yet this year I have done nothing but burn money.
Last week I bought a new yellow bladed white flashy tinsel, double 10. I threw all day and had the most action I have had all summer. 5 follows with 2 being 50 inches or over. Very exciting day for me to say the least when all I have seen this summer is small fish. About 20 minutes after seeing my first fish I get my first backlash and cast my brand new double 10 into the depths. As most musky guys I had to go back and get the same bait because I was getting so many follows. Fishing with the same lure the next day, after about 20 casts the paint on the blades starts chipping off in huge chunks. Great $45 down the drain in two days. Think that was enough? Nope. The following week I cast off another double 10.
I know most of these issues are human error but I haven't had a stretch like this in all my years of fishing. I guess you have to live and learn.
Hope everyone is having a great summer and staying strong when the bite is tough. |
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Posts: 81
| It's really tough here, but that's because there is no summer muskie fishing in Missouri...cove temps last week were 90. Bring on Fall!!!! |
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Location: MN | Musky952, why are you losing so many baits on backlashes? Leader or line? You shouldn't be losing dub 10's to backlashes with the right equipment.
I seem to struggle mid-summer on small water. I head to the big lakes when the small lakes slow down and the action seems much better. Rivers have also been productive for me. |
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Posts: 400
Location: Metro | Nershi - 7/27/2015 10:07 AM
Musky952, why are you losing so many baits on backlashes? Leader or line? You shouldn't be losing dub 10's to backlashes with the right equipment.
I seem to struggle mid-summer on small water. I head to the big lakes when the small lakes slow down and the action seems much better. Rivers have also been productive for me.
Nershi I have only lost one to a very bad backlash. The other was because I tied a bad knot. I think I clipped the line too short or something. I am taking full responsibility for all of the lost lures ha ha. Trust me I am not proud, I have never had this happen to me and it happens within a two week span. |
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Posts: 390
| Where do you find this white tinsel bucktail you speak of? Never seen white tinsel and must have one! |
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Posts: 400
Location: Metro | bbeaupre - 7/29/2015 1:29 PM
Where do you find this white tinsel bucktail you speak of? Never seen white tinsel and must have one!
I will find the box hopefully when I get home. It is a custom bait by buchertail or something like that. Not very impressed with the paint on the blades though. Whole chunks were popping off after 20 casts. |
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Posts: 1283
| Burn the end of the tag so it cant slip threw. |
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Posts: 390
| All buchertails I own have done that so I hear ya. |
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Posts: 15
| 2nd the bucher tails, bought the shallow raider, paint peeled right off by 3rd day, returned it for a bucher "slop master" ..... Will be returning that..... Due to paint coming off first day... |
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Posts: 718
| Go deep and use the graph until you see one. Old school.. |
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Posts: 1023
| I've always enjoyed salmon fishing in the summer..... |
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