|
|
Posts: 24
| Hi avid Musky anglers,
My name is Niels Hagenaars, 36 years old from the Netherlands. I am a fanatic Pike fisherman spending yearly fishing vacations in Sweden to chase big pikes as well as in Dutch waters. Next spring I will be in Eastern USA with my family. We will be in Philly during May and make a road trip in PA, NY, ME, MI, Quebec and Ontario with an RV in June.
Can't wait to give Musky fishing a shot. I am very familiar to using musky gear, lures and techniques (except figure 8s). I have done some research and mapped some potential Musky fishing grounds that may overlap my itinerary:
-St Lawrence river
-Lake Champlain
-Finger lakes region, NY
-Niagara river
-Ontario and Quebec waters south of Montreal/Ottawa/Algonquin Park
Who can help me out? I see 3 options:
1) go with a guide
2) Find someone from this forum who would like to show me around his waters and share fishing stodies from around the world for a day
3) Rent a fishing boat myself
Since I will be fishing alone, options 1 and 2 appeal to me most.
Do you have any advice on where I can best go? It is not a must to at least catch a single musky and i really understand in some waters chances are slim. What really attracts me is the chance for a decent size musky, beasts lurking in the dark :-).
I prefer to fish water with potential for a big musky, learning about musky strategy, hoping for a good size musky, but having a great experience no matter what.
My questions for you:
-Is there anyone interested in hooking up for an enjoyable day on the water with me?
-Alternatively, who knows a good guie that is fun and can provide me with an exciting fishing day?
-What waters should I go and what waters should I forget about in June?
-Which waters are open for musky in June?
-What kind of fishing can I expect in June?
-I am a left handed angler, should I bring my own reels at least or can I expect peft handed reels to be present at a guided service (would be great).
Sorry for the long request. Would really appreciate all advice you guys can give. If easier, send me a pm or drop me an email: [email protected]
Thanks a lot and tight lines!
Niels
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 1405
Location: Detroit River | In PA try the Susquehanna River. Hit the guys up on the Fishin24/7 page on Face Book for general areas to try. Not monsters in there but you can fish from shore/wade or kayak/canoe. The St Lawrence and Niagara rivers are good places for a big girl. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 63
| Sent you an email with information on fishing southern and northern Ontario,Canada. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 390
| If you are headed through MI why not give St Clair a try. Clear water and lots of fish = a good chance at a cool figure 8 strike. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 203
Location: Germantown, WI | Niels,
Good luck on your North American trip this Summer and your quest to catch a Musky. I would highly suggest a stop in the Kawartha Lakes region of South East Ontario. It is a one and a half hours drive northeast of Toronto. Several of the areas mentioned in your post are really primarily noted for trophy Musky fishing, such as the St Lawrence and Niagara rivers. Lake Champlain is not really noted as a Musky fishery, but I understand some are present. The Finger Lakes are not really noted as great Musky water, but they may be present through stocking (perhaps hatchery raised Tiger Muskies). The Ottawa River like the St. Lawrence is trophy and probably best fished with a guide. If you want to catch your first Musky go to the Kawartha Lakes. You won't like catch a 40 lb. Musky or probably even a 30 lb. Musky there, but for numbers of fish up to 25 lbs there are few places as good or better. All of the lakes in the Kawarthas have good fishing for Muskies. The tri-lakes of Pigeon, Chemung and Buckhorn receive a lot of the press and are a good option. My experience has been on Lower Buckhorn Lake which I have been fishing for over 35 years. I could give you some good pointers on that lake and would be happy to share with you a map marked with some spots if you are interested.
Edited by MUSKYLUND1 2/27/2017 12:47 PM
|
|
| |
|
Location: Eastern Ontario | Although I spend a fair bit of time on the St Lawrence it would not be my pick for June . The Ottawa R. is a possibility the season opens 3rd Saturday in June which may be late for your Schedule. ( Same for the Larry ). The Kawarthas and other inland
Ontario lakes open the first Saturday in June. In my opinion Balsam or Pigeon would be the best choice. There are some good guides in the Kawarthas and I would recommend Shawn Maher maker of the Hosebaits he would either cast or troll depending on your preference. He has two facebook pages Hosebait and Shawn Maher.
Edited by horsehunter 2/27/2017 2:08 PM
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 24
| Hi All,
thanks a lot for the advice so far. Your help is much appreciated!
@ZIB: I will check the fishing 24/7 FB page. A spot along my roadtrip that is easily accessible and fishable from shore is always welcome!
@bbeaupre: Lake St Clair is definately a good option since we may very well drive through that area.
@MUSKYLUND1: The kawartha lakes seem to be a good option too. Thanks for poiting me to Shawn Maher as a guide. I will check it out. And I also read that Niagara and Larry only open up in 3rd week of June.
I will try to keep you posted when my plans become more clear, but for now some more questions:
What kind of fishing is most succesfull in June? What type of lures should I absolutely pack?
If there are more tips on waters, guides, rental boats, great!
If someone on the forum is up for a day of fishing on their home water with me, even better!
NIels
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 977
| Two additiional possibilities in NY: Chautauqua Lake - contact Mike Sperry of http://www.chautauquareeloutdoors.com or there is the allegheny river in Western PA - contact Red Childress of www.alleghenyguideservice.com. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 24
| Oh yeah,
I see that Nippeeing is a great option too! Anyone know of the fishing there in June?
N |
|
| |
|
Posts: 386
| I'm not familiar with those waters but just wanted to say best of luck to you sir. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 112
Location: Illinois | Best of luck on your trip. If I lived in that area I'd take you out. I've always dreamed of going to the St Lawerence and Kiwartha lakes are on my bucket list. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 24
| Thanks Flypiker and Fish4muskie! |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1425
Location: St. Lawrence River | I would say forget the St Lawrence in June. Maybe the Ottawa River it's fantastic.. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1425
Location: St. Lawrence River | Check in with John anderson. Musky factory guide service. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 114
| I have fished with Marc Thorpe (marcthorpeguiding.com) on the Ottawa and St Laurence rivers 2 different times with 2 different fishing buddies (4 days each time). Both trips yielded a personal best for all of us....54", 53" and a 49.5": along with numerous 40's. Marc is located in the Montreal area. We brought our own left handed reels. Marc has international clients that visit from Europe annually to chase these river beasts. Learned a lot with Marc. Just check out his web site and you'll get a idea of what you might encounter. Best of luck.
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 983
| Ronix - 2/27/2017 3:57 PM
Two additiional possibilities in NY: Chautauqua Lake - contact Mike Sperry of http://www.chautauquareeloutdoors.com or there is the allegheny river in Western PA - contact Red Childress of www.alleghenyguideservice.com.
The alleghany river whips my butt on the Reg...Im set up to fish with Red next Month cant wait just to get knowledge from Red about this River Because it owns My nice try right now I know that |
|
| |
|
Posts: 27
Location: Badger State | Niels, I'm sorry I can't help you directly because you won't be passing through my area. Your request is sincere and interesting. Obviously several people, and there will be more, want to help you and that's the beauty of a forum like this and typical of the many generous people of this community. I have a request for you. Since many of the recommendations offered here may be used by you, I would be very interested to get a report about how your adventure went - both successful and not so successful efforts. I'm sure all of us here would like to hear from you again. Good luck. I wish you much success. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 24
| HI Stealthski,
I am still planning the upcoming months so I can't tellen het where the adventure Will take me, but I Will post AN update once I do know. I am an active Member of a Dutch forum quite similar to this one on pike fishing. I am always amazed by the strong bonds people have with strangers that share a love for fishing. So far, I had kant responses from members here and I appreciatie this a lot! Hopefully I can use their advice to plan for a great experience. Possible even meet one or more for a shares day on the water. Will keep you posted, but first planning a week of pike fishing in the middel of Sweden in 2 weeks from now. Can't wait!
All the best, niels |
|
| |
|
Posts: 24
| Hi dear forum members!
It has been a while since i last posted in this forum and I promised to give you a report on my fishing adventures in Musky country.
After all the good help I received from forum members I got into contact with some. We tried to arrange some fishing days together, but unfortunately last minute it did not work out for a fishing day together. @Mike and Tim especially, thanks for reaching out to me.
After that plan failed I contacted Sam Ecker of Figure Ate Muskie Guide Service to fish a day on the Kawartha lakes somewhere because this was highly recommendedin this thread and perfectly fitted our itinerary through Ontario. Sam was very responsive and helpfull. He got me into contact with Tom Morris who is a profesional fishing guide at FigureAte.
We went fishing on Pigeon lake and I enjoyed every bit of it. The sun was scorching hot and Tom took care of drinks snacks and knew the fishery very well. We had a lot of fun discussing pike and musky fishing while casting blades most of the time.
Lake Pigeon is incredibly beautiful and super fun to fish. I can recommend it to anyone.
I learned a lot and mostly the hard way, lol. The first fish that folowed lost interest when my transition to a figure 8 wasn't smooth enough and the blades stopped spinning. A couple of minutes later Tom had his blades attacked but the fish didn't stick. Hours went by with no action and in those hours I realized how hard it is to keep on burning blades and figure 8 in the hot sun. We moved from hotspot to hotspot and revisited a nice weedbed that we targeted earlier in the morning. Tom hooked a nice fish and landed the 44" beauty. Fish in the boat!
https://goo.gl/photos/6Y2SNekRbbPJqNZj8
https://goo.gl/photos/NGx9UfXnmnCK7xnr5
https://goo.gl/photos/71cbeH7Rg6dgbxX87
Later that day we had some more followers. I had trouble again with a proper figure 8 when a small fish followed and I hit the side of the boat with my rod. Fishy gone.
So, in conclusion, I loved the musky fishing experience, Tom is a great guy and if I get back to the area I will continue the pursuit for my first Musky. If you are interested in fishing the Kawartha lakes, be sure to contact Sam Ecker and Tom Morris from FigureAte. They kick ass.
For now I wil pick up pike fishing in the Netherlands and Sweden. If any of you guys are interested in fishing the Netherlands or Sweden, let me know. Who knows I can help out.
All the best,
Niels
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 83
Location: North of Sweden! | This was an awesome read!!!
great stuff and something I myself hope and plan to do somtime in the future (that is, to go over the pond and chase muskies) as I am from...sweden! :D
If you ever end up far north in sweden, hit me up and perhaps we can arrange something to get out hopefully hooking up with a great big northern!!!!
kind regards /peter (35year old pike-lover! :D ) |
|
| |
|
Posts: 343
| Sorry to hear you didn't land any muskies but glad to hear you had a good time. I recently went to Russia to try for Amur pike. Didn't catch anything big but caught 8, they are a beautiful fish. I fish western tiger(hybrid) muskies quite a bit, and southern purebred muskies when I'm able to go down south(Kentucky, Tennessee). If you ever make it out to the western U.S. during the summer months, and I'm still alive and able to fish(I have bone cancer), I could show you how to wade fish for tigers. I often go south in September and catch a lot of purebreds wading. I'm working on my bucket list and hope to chase Aquitanian pike and southern pike in Europe next year as they are the only 2 member of Esocidae I haven't caught. Best of luck on your Swedish pike expeditions. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 24
| Dear true tiger tamer,
thanks for your kind response. It sounds like a great experience to wade for tigers. What an adventure it must have been to chase the Amur pike! Sorry I can not help you with Aquitanian and southern pike.
I am sorry to hear you have bone cancer. Hopefully you can still enjoy fishing for a decent amount of time and work on your amazing bucketlist. I wish you a lot of strength and great fishing experiences!
NIels |
|
| |
|
Posts: 343
| Thanks for your reply. I wade fish trues in Kentucky and Tennessee in the fall and have caught a couple over 50" while doing it including my biggest muskie ever at 52.5 inches on a topwater in pitch black conditions that hit right at my feet. It scared the heck out of me and fought awesome, the fish was super heavy easily 40 pound class, took 1 picture and released it to be caught again. Caught and released a 50" tiger wading in Utah on a topwater too, so wading isn't just for little fish (a 50" tiger is way rarer than a 50" purebred) The year I caught it there were about 40 fish turned into Muskies Inc. that were 50" or better and my tiger was the only non-purebred 50". Good luck on your muskie quest. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 27
Location: Badger State | Niels, thank you for the follow-up report - you are a man of your word. I enjoyed the report of your trip and it sounds like others did too. You would be welcome in my boat anytime. I wish your fishing results would have been more successful. If I can assume you will make a similar trip again, please contact this forum for the latest information. While I live in Wisconsin, you can never go wrong hooking up with someone and fishing Lake of the Woods in Ontario for muskie. That should really be on your bucket list. One thing I can suggest is to contact a chapter of Muskies Inc (www.muskiesinc.org) to see if their chapter or another chapter is going to LOTW on an outing and parhaps going as a guest with them. I'll bet you'll find many good members of that organization who would love to sponsor you as a guest. You could also join that organization for $35 USD per year and have access to their valuable database of muskies caught by lake, bait, date, size, etc, and it is all on an active spreadsheet which you can manipulate as you wish for the data you prefer. Stay in touch! |
|
| |
|
Posts: 24
| Hi Stealthki,
thanks for your kind words. A great forum and resource of information deserves my contribution too. Hope you all enoyed the thread and thanks again for all you kind fellow fishermen that helped me out in various ways.
No plans so far to go to US or CA soon, but once I head for Musky country I will bring a lefty reel and contact you guys!
All the best,
Niels |
|
| |
