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Location: Northern Illinois | Headed up to LOTW 2nd week of November for the first time. Will be trolling 98% of the time and maybe 2% walleye for dinner. What baits do you guys recommend for trolling muskies up there. Thanks for the input. |
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Posts: 444
| Supernatural Big Baits, Lynchum's, Grandmas, Jakes... |
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Posts: 617
Location: Clintonville, WI | 1) 10" Jake
2) 10" Jake
3) Large Believer
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Location: Northern Illinois | I have some Headlock's and 1 Mattlock in sucker color That I will bring, Will 13" grandma work? |
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Posts: 199
| muskyhunter07 - 10/4/2017 2:26 PM
I have some Headlock's and 1 Mattlock in sucker color That I will bring, Will 13" grandma work?
Any bait can work. |
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Location: Northern Illinois | Yeah. Not sure about that one.. But yeah the consensus is bigger baits in the fall.. Any colors that work best? |
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Posts: 300
| Match the hatch as they say. White, Perch, Walleye...all good colors. |
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Location: Northern Illinois | Yuup I will for sure do that. Thanks for the input, White fish color is a tulibee correct? |
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Posts: 135
| 2nd week of November? Are you talking about the 5th-11th or the 12th-18th? What part of the lake? That might actually be after the ciscoes and whitefish are done spawning, and you might need to bring your ice fishing auger...
If you're in clear water, troll extra-big profile baits in moderate depth water around concentrated baitfish/current areas.
If you're in stained water, troll big profile baits relatively shallow banging rocks around baitfish spawning areas.
Jakes (10"/14"), Grandmas (9"/13"), Headlocks (10"/12")...if it moves, it's food.
Edited by Glaucus_ 10/4/2017 3:25 PM
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Posts: 425
Location: Roseau | Good chance of ice by then.
Jake
Grandma
Any color
That's it!
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Posts: 37
Location: MN | I'm fishing the Canadian side of the NW Angle next week....not sure what the water temp is there yet.... Think the trolling bite is on or still need to cast shallow? Some posts from a few years ago indicate that 50 degree water seems to improve trolling results? Thanks for any input! |
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Posts: 200
Location: Twin Cities | general trolling question, how do you know how much line to let out? Can't seem to get a good answer on that. Obviously it depends on depth but a general rule of thumb is what I am looking for |
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Location: Northern Illinois | I will be at Baystore camp November 4th through 11th. Its still pretty warm out I don't see it icing by then. But yes I will bring headlocks, Mattlocks, Grandma's, Jakes and bang the rocks.. What is ideal speeds at that time of year? 3.5-4.5? |
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Posts: 199
| You should hire a guide. |
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Location: Northern Illinois | We have a couple guides going in our group. Should be good there just prepping before hand. |
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Posts: 135
| I will be at Baystore camp November 4th through 11th. Its still pretty warm out I don't see it icing by then. But yes I will bring headlocks, Mattlocks, Grandma's, Jakes and bang the rocks.. What is ideal speeds at that time of year? 3.5-4.5?
The water up there is already down to 57 and cools quickly this time every year. Looking at the weather forecast, it could be below 50 by 10/20 and upper 30s by 11/04. If the weather snaps cold and there's not a lot of wind you could see ice before the 11th, especially in bays or areas of less current.
If the fish are chowing during the cisco/whitefish spawn, +/-3.5mph is good. Slow down once it's under 38 degrees. And since you're staying at Baystore Camp, be sure to ask Frank when you get there about baits/speed/location!
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Location: Northern Illinois | Thanks for the input Glaucus_. It's much appreciated. Hopefully the fish are still hungry when I get up there and not bloated and full of ciscos/whitefish. |
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Posts: 26
Location: Foley, Mn | I fished the Morson area this weekend and the water temps just hit 50 deg., the trolling bite is on.
10" Jakes are the #1 lure this time of the year as they simply catch fish, are tough as hell and dont hang up in the rocks as bad as some other lures. Krave baits are my second choice followed by Grandma's, Belivers and Magnum Rapalas.
Your going to look for rock structure, mainly shorelines adjacent to water that goes down to 25-30+ feet of water. This can be in a main basin area or a channel. The reason you fish by the deep water is that is where the Ciscos live and will be moving up from to stage and then spawn when the water is around 40 Deg. In your case in Nov. they will be spawning or have already spawned. Try to fish in 10' of water this will keep you in 8'-15' as rock structure is very irregular.
Here's is how we fish 10" Jakes. I use a 4' 150lb braided wire leader or 200lb Floro. connected to 80lb main line.
10" Jakes run 10' deep with 50' of line out. Set your inside rod at 40' and outside rod at 50' for starters and then adjust if needed. I typically run the boat at 3-4mph.
A great resource for lake of the woods trolling is Justin from Mylies Place Resort in Morson. Go to Jman2-0.com and search u-tube for Mylies Place Resort. You can learn alot and it will work up at the angle.
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Location: Northern Illinois | thank you for the info stocking up on Jake's as we speak. Will also pick up some Krave's. Thanks again for the tips. |
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Posts: 63
| muskyhunter07 - 10/4/2017 12:56 PM
Headed up to LOTW 2nd week of November for the first time. Will be trolling 98% of the time and maybe 2% walleye for dinner. What baits do you guys recommend for trolling muskies up there. Thanks for the input.
I used to work for the Kenora Ministry of Natural Resources and lived in the area for many years and am familiar with many bodies of water from Dryden,Kenora,Souix Narrows,Nester Falls,Minaki,English River System,Ear Falls,Whitedog,Grassy Narrows,Lac Seul etc.
October and November are a good time to start fishing for trophy Muskie which are usually females that are starting to feed heavily in preparation for the winter and to help with egg production.
There are thousands of areas to hunt for these large fish in many different types of habitat areas which depend on water depth,clarity,water temps and structure.Shallow areas of the lake will hold Muskie where the forage fish can be found.Perch,Crappie,SM Bass,Walleye,Pike,White Sucker.The medium shallow(Mesotrophic) and shallow(Eutrophic) water areas and bays on LOTW with aquatic vegetation that held these forage fish in the summer will not be the areas to focus on as the dying vegetation will decrease the dissolved oxygen levels as they begin to decompose.The forage fish will move to the open areas and gather in deeper water around structure like saddles,humps,rock piles or reefs and the Muskie will follow.The fall turnover period will start to mix the Epilimnion (top layer of water) with the Metalimnion(middle layer of water where the dissolved oxygen rich thermocline exists during the summer months) and thus create a unified layer of water rich in dissolved oxygen where forage fish will collect. Shallow reefs adjacent to deeper drop offs are a good target area.Points off of islands with humps or saddles hold Muskie at the apex as they will face head first into the wind driven waves waiting for prey to carelessly swim by.Troll the deeper areas in the open water at say 15' to 20' if in 30 feet of water.Muskie will suspend in these areas and hunt down schools of forage fish.
Areas that have the above mentioned water classifications are plentiful on LOTW and include areas such as the Hades Islands,Barrier Islands,Safety Bay,Rat Portage Bay,Matheson Bay,Keewatin Channel,Welcome Channel,Andrew Bay,Witch Bay,Sunset Channel,Portions of Yellow Girl Bay,Sabaskong Bay any many other areas.
There are other areas on LOTW that are deep Oligotrophic waters that are 200+ feet deep with crystal clear waters that hold Muskie, Lake Trout,Pike,Walleye,Smallmouth Bass and deep running forage fish like Herring,Ciscoes,Alewife,Smelt,Whitefish,etc.These type waters are low in nutrients and aquatic vegetation is only present in some shallow areas.They are also less likely to experience algae blooms during hot summer months that can shut down fishing production from days to weeks.The Thermocline can be found at deeper depths but the lake will also go through the fall turnover process as explained previously.Large Muskie in Oligotrophic lakes can be found and caught at much deeper depths as they tend to like the cooler water and also feed on the Lake Trout,Ciscoe,Herring,etc..One thing to keep in mind is that some of the forage fish such as the Ciscoe for example spawn in the fall,usually in October when the water temps hit the mid to low 40's .They will start to gather on shallow reefs and rocky humps at this time and the Muskie know this cycle.Muskie will actually stage themselves in these areas a week or so in advance anticipating the Ciscoe or Herring migration.When the forage fish arrive the Muskie are there and ready to intercept and sabotage them,...and that's when Muskie anglers want to make an appearance and increase their chances for hooking into a trophy.Find these areas and you will be rewarded.
Also,find reefs,humps ,saddles that are adjacent to deep drop offs and toss large 8" to 10" crank baits,soft plastics.Use surface baits on those evenings when the water is glass flat.Troll the deep open water at depths up to 50 feet if fishing over water that is 100+ feet.Use a Dipsy Diver or Pink Lady to get you down to those depths.I have caught Muskie in Oligotrophic Lakes while fishing for Lake Trout at depths of 50 feet.Points off islands as explained above also deserves attention.Find those isolated rocks that are just below the surface and surrounded by deep water in the range of 40 to 80 feet and cast some crank baits.If using Buck-tails slow your retrieve down as the cooler water temps will slow down the velocity of the Muskie attack.When trolling try speeds of 3-5 MPH instead of summer speeds of 6-8MPH.
Oligotrophic water areas on LOTW include Whitefish Bay,Clearwater Bay,Ptarmigan Bay,parts go Regina & Yellow Girl Bays.Also, inland lakes such as Kakagi Lake,Rowan Lake,Dryberry Lake,Silver Lake,Delaney Lake and many others.
There are Muskie throughout the entire LOTW so to say where the optimum area is located is a difficult task indeed and perhaps impossible.Just get out there and cover as much area as you can trying different techniques.Don't waste too much time in one area,...just cover a spot thoroughly with as many casts as it takes and if nothing surfaces move on to the next spot.If you get a follow here and there but the fish are not in feeding mode leave and return in a day or two when it is ready to feed again and take the bait aggressively.
Again,use LARGE baits as that is what the brutes are in search of.
As well,try live sucker rigs as this approach can prove to be very productive in the fall.Rig up a 6 to 8 inch white sucker on a couple treble hooks.One in the snout and one near the dorsal fin.Open the bail and allow the bait ti swim freely while drifting from over deep water towards a shallow reef,rock pile,saddle or hump.When the Muskie grabs the bait allow it to take some line and swim off with it.It will usually stop and turn the the bait head first before swallowing it.This process may take a minute or two.Once that time frame passes set the hooks and prepare for battle.
One of my favourite areas is Devils Gap during the late fall as boat traffic has minimized and some very large Musky will roam the area. A 56 inch brute was caught and released there couple of years ago.
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Location: Northern Illinois | Awesome information thank you. I will use some of these pointers. I've been slowly collecting some big Jake's, Grandma's, Headlocks, Modica Custom Walker's and Trouble Maker's. I'm pretty much prepared for my trip November 4th thru 11th. Hopefully the ice holds off. Ice is my only worry at this point. |
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Posts: 906
Location: Warroad, Mn | Pine Creek was froze over this morning. Better hope for a warming trend or it will be hard to get the boat in the water.
Fishing was good last week. |
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Posts: 1664
| Maybe a silly question but, are you only allowed one line per angler trolling in Canada? |
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Posts: 906
Location: Warroad, Mn | Yes, only one line. Minnesota also.
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Posts: 214
| So Doug what you think about launching at Mylies in Sab or in Sioux Narrows in Whitefish and boating over to Franks supposed to be there the 3rd - 13th ?
Darren |
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Posts: 906
Location: Warroad, Mn | Darren:
I would guess that you'll still be able to launch at Young's on the 3rd, getting back out may well be a different story? Long range forecasts look pretty cold during that period. There will be folks trying to get out of Young's till the bitter end so they break up the ice, but sooner or later it's over.
Whitefish doesn't freeze for a while, but the government dock is in a shallow bay and will freeze. The French Portage area freezes over quickly (shallow). If you would go through the Tranquil Channel that may work.
I would think coming from Mylie's would still work, but you need to deal with the Little T, and that can be a handful on a strong W/SW wind.
Good luck, the fish have been biting before the big snow storm.
I pulled my boat!
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Posts: 538
Location: northern indiana | dougj - 10/28/2017 9:23 PM
Yes, only one line. Minnesota also.
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Guess that depends on where you fish. You're allowed 2 per person on Canada side of St Clair. |
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Posts: 906
Location: Warroad, Mn | Yep! Great Lake exception, includes LSC! |
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Posts: 246
| 46 degrees today,2 weeks from today you could be ice fishing?
Gman |
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Posts: 26
Location: Foley, Mn | We had 42 deg in the Morson area yesterday. Doug I read an article written by Gord Pyzer and he stated the fish leave there summer area and start feeding at a water temp of 59 and go into hibernation at 41. Does your years of experience coincide with these numbers? |
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