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Posts: 770
| Hey guys im looking to start a discussion about early season muskie locations. lets say from ice-out 30 degree water temps until the water reaches 60 degrees. What types of locations are the fish going to be in and what are prespawn, spawning and post spawn tactics that you have had success with.
I would imagine that the fish are in open/ deeper water when the ice first goes off of the lake, but any ideas on when they move shallow?
obviously most muskie waters season is closed during this time but in iowa there are a few opportunities to fish early and I would like to take advantage of that.
Edited by T3clay 3/3/2018 4:01 AM
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Posts: 860
Location: NE Ohio | i have good luck on 5" long yozuri minnow baits in bays and along rip rap. wait until it warms up some, best luck i've had is mid day. |
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Posts: 983
| I was fishing a lake last week in ohio water was on average 41 degrees and lake had ice on it the week before...was marking lots of fish at the mouths of the bays and seen 4 muskie smoke something off the top and another come put his hole head out to eat something right in front of my glide bait that or he missed my glide water was really stained due to heavy rain!! |
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Posts: 770
| How deep of water we're they in? |
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Posts: 1425
Location: St. Lawrence River | Early season look for the warmest water you can find. Very simple. Shallow bays, large sand bottom shallow flats. And downsize a little. Not saying its easy, but thats how i would start. |
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Posts: 20179
Location: oswego, il | Pre spawn is about a fickle of time as it gets. Cover is at a minimum. Look for warm water and bait as stated. Expext mixed results and some tough fishing. You can catch some fish though. |
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Posts: 1220
| Late April in Kentucky is usually my first musky trip and for most of the years, the locals are just transitioning from lipless rattling baits called “traps.” I also see a lot of that early bass fishing in Alabama just as emerging weeds or grass forms. Seems like the next logical transition should be smaller crank baits worked more slowly, but as specified above, the key to cold water fishing is finding warmer water, even a little warmer. A few big rocks soaking sun and warming the water nearby could be deadly just after lunch. Dirty water too is a good trick because the sun is absorbed into the particles in the water. Best, if you read the articles, can be the Northern shorelines which statistics say get the most Spring sun hours. I’d favor baits that can be worked slowly in a pretty easy to strike straight line. |
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| rock is what you should looking for.even nuclear plan or brown water.retrieve as slow as you can.big paddle tail is the perfect lure for that time of the year,because it's a lure that start his action at very slow speed .but like someone said it will be far to be an easy one |
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Posts: 983
| T3clay - 3/3/2018 1:22 PM
How deep of water we're they in?
seemed I seen most fish at the mouths of the bays not back in the bays...water 9-12ft deep the 30 min we saw lots of activity was late part of day around 330-4pm up in the cove in lil shallower water but seemed they were hanging out in the mouths of bays and of rocky points |
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Posts: 1405
Location: Detroit River | The past few years in early spring while bass fishing I've caught a lot of accidental muskies in low to mid 40 degree water that was under 8' deep. Most were under 30", with one pushing 50". You always read or hear that musky turn on when a weather front starts moving in, well I've experienced some of my best musky bites during spring time fronts moving in. Bass would stop biting but pike & musky would put the feedbag on. During the summer/fall I don't get no where near the amount of musky activity during fronts as I do in the spring. It might just be that I'm using smaller baits. |
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Location: ontario | early season for me is june 6th  |
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Posts: 770
| Dan111 - 3/9/2018 12:51 PM
early season for me is june 6th :(
Me too, going to be putting miles on the truck to change that. |
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Posts: 20179
Location: oswego, il | I would love to see minnesota develope an open water season with southern MN lakes that would not support reproduction like Fibland and Hoosireville has. |
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