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Posts: 300
| So you guys are free lancing on LOTW. What makes you stop at a spot that you see and fish it as you are cruising to your next milk run spot? |
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Posts: 901
| If it looks good fish it. Of course I've got my milk runs, but I really do think if you just fished any shoreline or around any island you will see fish.
Every year we force ourselves to try something new and more times than not we contact fish. |
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Posts: 1767
Location: Lake Country, Wisconsin | jvlast15 - 3/31/2017 7:49 AM
So you guys are free lancing on LOTW. What makes you stop at a spot that you see and fish it as you are cruising to your next milk run spot?
There are quite a few things that can make me stop. It's amazing how many great spots on that lake will not show up on any chip or map as looking like anything special.
- Little mini "points" with some boulders and bullrush will get me to stop every single time. That usually means there's a few big underwater boulders in front of them.
- downed trees extending 6' out or more in the water. A long downed tree over deeper water is worth a stop every single time, even if it takes you 2 minutes to cast it
- a small cup of sand
- a beaver house. Lot of guys drive past these....they hold fish. Sometimes big ones too
- broken rubble, or bass rubble, can be a good stretch of shoreline to fish in areas of the lake with more of the flat, bald rock. Got that many, many years ago from Muskies on the Shield
- any type of complex, with tiny islands grouped together. Some of them are simply deadly.
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Posts: 443
Location: Duluth, MN | I look for any point that has some type of shelf extending out that dumps into deep water. Bullrushes and rocks added and its money.
As mentioned above beaver houses also as there is typically some good structure around them. I watched a guy pull a 52 off one last year up in Sab Bay.
I'll do milk run spots in morning and evenings and use the middle of the day to hunt for new spots.
I also bring my humminbird inside during the winter and hook up a battery and use the lakemaster to find spots and hit them during the summer.
Edited by Lundbob 3/31/2017 12:01 PM
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Posts: 197
Location: N Illinois | Once you've established a pattern, you'd be amazed how many similar looking spots you will find or pass. Example; if your seeing lots of fish on beaches, once you really start looking for beaches to hit you'll start noticing spots you've probably been driving by. The fish can help you find new spots. |
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Posts: 153
Location: Antigo Wi. | The posts above are all correct, the more you fish it the more you will realize when to hit a spot. Been going to LOTW for 10 years and always find new spots that hold everything from dinks to monsters. Will be trying a new area this year, but will start with patterns that paid off in the past and work out from there. |
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Posts: 120
| If the fishing is slow or the weather doesn't cooperate I stop. If the fishing is good I go to areas I know have fish. Usually I make a long run in the morning and fish spots I know and look for new spots on the way bay throughout the day. All of the above is correct. We have also come across many spots that look like they are not worth stopping and there is something special about it that you don't see driving buy or on a map that holds fish. Just keep casting |
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Posts: 52
| Remember, not all of Lake of the Woods is created equal. Do some homework and stay in the Musky belt!! Many good options for resorts. |
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Posts: 300
| If you don't mind explaining...what is the "Muskie belt"? |
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Posts: 153
| Spent close to the last 30 years running around the lake, not as a tourist. Usually over 60 days per open water season, some were as many as 120.
Doug Johnson wrote an article in In Fisherman (I believe it was in 1998 or 99). If you can find it, about the best quick read on how to approach LOTW. He's a great fisherman, friend and neighbor. I fish with him quite a bit and pretty much shows me something new each day. Last year it was "Frustration Point". Yep I got frustrated when a +50 incher wouldn't eat my bait.
Good luck..... |
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Posts: 2227
Location: SE, WI. | jboutdoorguy - 4/1/2017 8:52 AM
If the fishing is slow or the weather doesn't cooperate I stop. If the fishing is good I go to areas I know have fish. Usually I make a long run in the morning and fish spots I know and look for new spots on the way bay throughout the day. All of the above is correct. We have also come across many spots that look like they are not worth stopping and there is something special about it that you don't see driving buy or on a map that holds fish. Just keep casting
You may want to rethink your first statement! If the fishing is slow, your new spot will likely be slow, and you will drive by your new spot next time.
If conditions r good, that's when you create a new milk run and hot spot! Nothing Ventured/ Nothing Gained!!!
JD
Edited by jdsplasher 4/3/2017 5:28 AM
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Location: Contrarian Island | I agree with JD here... best time to fish 'new spots' is when you think fish are going... as if you fish new spots in off times that could give you a false sense the spot isn't any good..that being said, when fishing is slow we do fish new spots to map them out with our gps etc... figure out how the lay out, get a trail down, and icons indicating any hazards, weeds, etc etc... more times than not, if it 'looks good' to us, the muskies will be there at some point...so don't just fish a new spot once and chalk it up to being bunk...fish it 10 x in various conditions and when fish are moving on other spots to give you a good indicator of what it can produce....
Edited by BNelson 4/3/2017 11:01 AM
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Posts: 300
| Last year was a strange year it seemed. It was my first trip to LOTW, and prior to going, everyone told me rocks, rocks, rocks. And the only place we contacted muskies was on sand beaches with pencil weeds. It took us about 3 days to figure out. So we didnt really spend time looking for other spots. And I assume this year when I go back, it will be a completely different pattern.
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Location: Contrarian Island | we caught fish on rocks, rock/weed, sand, sand/weeds, and weeds I think all in the same day last year... fish it all.. 
Edited by BNelson 4/3/2017 12:46 PM
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Posts: 1969
| That's what makes LOTW's so special, 10's of thousands of spots that muskies will use when conditions are correct, if it looks good fish it is maybe too vague, everything north of Oak island "looks good"  some of my most consistent spots (catch or raise a fish nearly every time I fish them) are deeper than most people fish, I can't see anything that "looks good" but there is something down there that the muskies like, big boulders and perch and walleyes - ha! - I sound like a broken record but don't forget your deep diving cranks, if you aren't enjoying your results don't forget they are shallow, deep or somewhere in between...LOTW muskies rarely have lockjaw |
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Location: Contrarian Island | 2 approaches on Lotw and both can bare fruit... in the 5 trips I have taken to LOTW, I can only think of 1 fish on a crank out of 102 fish in our boat (2 guys)...with 22 in 4.5 days, and 26 in another week... 99% of our fish are on bucktails or toppies...with 3 over 51 last year... we run and gun for the most part..."power fish" like Bill Sandy would do.. we don't slow down or rarely, cover water, and throw topwater and bucktails... there are guys like Justin that do slow down, fish a bit deeper and more methodical and their numbers can be on par w ours... no right or wrong....proof is in the pudding...or pictures at the end of the week!
I literally could take 10 baits there and a few might not even get wet!
Edited by BNelson 4/3/2017 1:52 PM
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Posts: 571
| Some excellent responses above. I've been giving a presentation on LOTW at the CCMI Muskie School for the past several years and the question of "what makes a good spot" comes up frequently. Below, I've copied and pasted text from a slide in my powerpoint. It's not rocket science, and I'm painting with a pretty broad brush, but it seems like our best spots have some common ingredients:
What makes a “good spot”?
Milk run spots generally have at least one of the following characteristics, and often have 2 or more of the following characteristics:
-Broken Rock or Boulders generally in 2-5’ of water on larger flat extensions of underwater real estate
-Weeds. Preferably broadleaf cabbage.
-Bulrushes or reeds in 2-5’ of water
-Deadfalls. Particularly along steeper dropping shorelines.
The best milk run spots also have at least one, but preferably two or more, of the following additional characteristics:
-Immediate access to deep water (“deep” being relative to the area)
-Current. Whether natural or wind-induced (such as being adjacent to neckdown, funnel-type shoreline or islands, or in areas of the lake with natural current)
-Located close-by, adjacent to, or within an “island complex”
-Located close-by or adjacent to other proven milk run spots or potential milk run spots
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Location: Contrarian Island | one other thing I like to do is eliminate water, every year try to eliminate fishing water that doesn't produce...ie, let's say you go around an island complex and you consistently catch a large majority of your fish from one area or stretch, ask yourself why are you fishing all the way around it.. or a shoreline, if most of the fish come from one area, don't fish another 100 yards just because...eliminate water will help you fish more spots in one day...
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Posts: 897
| Everything you need to know about fishing Lake of the Woods from one of its foremost authorities...
http://www.ragasfishing.com/lake-of-the-woods-muskellunge-mystique/
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Posts: 897
| In all seriousness, though, there's a ton of good advice above. The original question was fishing spots based on looks alone as you drive past. Once you spend enough time on that lake, you'll find almost everything looks good. Except bald rock...I've never done anything on that stuff...but I'm sure others have. |
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Posts: 52
| The musky belt as explained to me by a local pro would start around the Wiley Point area. Continue through Big Narrows, the Angle, the area between the Angle and Morson. It would contunuing east of Morson to Nester Falls. Of coarse there are Muskies throughout the lake, however they can be few and far between outside of the Muskie belt. The key is to find areas that are out of the way, and therefore see far less pressure.
Edited by Tamarack 4/5/2017 3:57 PM
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Posts: 759
Location: Ames, Iowa | Is there a big difference between the water near Morson vs. Nestor Falls? We are looking into going up next summer for the first time. I was looking at Split Rock Lodge. It will be my two adult sons and I. I will take my boat. |
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Posts: 51
| I've been to the morson area and split rock lodge, I really like the nestor falls area. Lot's of good fishing close by, cool things to do in town if you get some nasty weather. If you go to split rock lodge PM me and I'll try helping you out a little bit with pointing out a couple spots I like to fish |
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Posts: 1767
Location: Lake Country, Wisconsin | djwilliams - 5/29/2017 11:58 PM
Is there a big difference between the water near Morson vs. Nestor Falls? We are looking into going up next summer for the first time. I was looking at Split Rock Lodge. It will be my two adult sons and I. I will take my boat.
I never cared for the immediate Nestor Falls area. Just not as many islands or complexes to fish, and it's kinda busy with cabins/boating activity close to town. You can certainly catch fish around there, but it's not the same..imo
....I think Split Rock is far enough away though that you will be just fine. I would just avoid the camps/resorts right in town
Edited by Musky Brian 5/30/2017 11:29 AM
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Posts: 1636
| Eliminating water is a good point.
Even in smaller lakes... there are some areas or spots that simply do not produce while some spots hold fish the majority of the time. That is a small lake... Lake of the Woods is huge. A dead stretch of water on a small lake is nothing compared to a dead stretch on Lake of the Woods.
Brian... "this is Lake of the Woods... there are fish everywhere."
A huh... sure |
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Posts: 331
Location: Stevens Point, Wisconsin | I have been fishing the woods for 17 years and it's crazy how many times I drive past good looking spots. Then one day a voice (whisper) in my head say's fish it! I jerk the boat off course and fish it. Surprisingly most times I catch a fish. But to many everything looks good and you can spend a lot of wasted time casting down a long good looking shoreline.
But the lake is changing and muskie holding structure is also changing. There are spots that were incredible the first 5 years I spent on the woods, and I mean incredible!!! now I don't even fish them anymore.
So really the short of it is to first establish a pattern and then look for structure that resembles that same very structure. Early in the season water temps and wind direction play a major role in locating fish. I think people underestimate the importance of water temps in late June and early July. Spots might look good and will hold fish at some point during the season but you have to establish when that time is. This only comes through time on the water and taking note of the conditions at the time you move fish on that structure. It's not always an easy short cut in finding new structure most times it comes through time on the water, trial and error or someone gives you a tip.
Many spots I know are terrible in the morning but great at last light. Mid August and later and many great mid lake rock spots don't get going until late in the day when the sun is highest and water temps warm late in the day. Some spots hold fish all the time but many hold fish when the conditions are just right.
Now I do not have the time on the water like Doug, Dick or Bill or other guides, but I have spent a few summers guiding and many weeks each summer on the woods to at least establish a pretty good idea of patterns. The loss of weeds has really changed things is some ways but not in other ways. I will say that it was much easier 17 years ago and the fish were much more predictable. Unfortunately a lot of prime shoreline spots that had a thin band of cabbage are gone and with nothing to hold fish those spots are a waste of time. Many a great hidden gems of featureless shorelines that had underwater weeds that held multiple fish no longer produce. OK now I'm starting to ramble.....
Ed
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Location: SE, WI. | Ed ; your only starting to Ramble, because your in Love lol
JD |
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Posts: 331
Location: Stevens Point, Wisconsin | Yes Jim I am in love, she has been so awesome to me over the years. My wife is pretty darn awesome as well. |
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Posts: 304
| I love,echo and agree with your comments Ed.The lake is a wonderful mistress. |
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Posts: 2227
Location: SE, WI. | dickP - 6/26/2017 5:08 PM
I love,echo and agree with your comments Ed.The lake is a wonderful mistress.
Love/Mistress?......Hmmmm, wonder if there is any correlation with fishing, and holding a 50 incher for pictures in your underwear? ;)LOL
Right dickP?
JD
Edited by jdsplasher 6/26/2017 7:29 PM
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