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Posts: 2
| Hello, There spot on my home lake that is very popular for big Muskie. The spot is a creek that is down from the main dam of the lake. You can see lots of musky just swimming up and along the creek. The musky are very smart considering everyone goes after them. I’m sort of new to musky fishing and I was wondering if you guys would have any tips for fishing super pressured musky in a creek. |
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Posts: 20180
Location: oswego, il | Fish at first light or at night. |
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Posts: 2
| What lures would you throw? |
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Location: Contrarian Island | having fished some of the most pressured waters anywhere, mornings and night are definitely not automatics. best bit of advice is to watch the weather... incoming fronts etc are a good bet they get active.
Edited by BNelson 7/29/2020 3:47 PM
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Posts: 718
| Try offshore? |
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Posts: 112
| What everyone has said so far is good advice, weather and time of day can be a key factor. On pressured lakes, my go-to is fishing deeper like jigging bondys or trolling large baits (mattlocks). In your case with a creek, I'd consider casting some non-traditional baits, like large chrome spoons (8" or 9") or bull shads (made by Mike Bucca). That being said, considering you're sort of new to muskie fishing, always remember that muskies are in large part a function of time you put in on the water, and there is no magic bait or tactic. |
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Posts: 540
Location: Leech Lake, Walker MN | In the Dark |
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Location: Ontario | First light and weekday works for me on very pressured part of the river.
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Posts: 735
| Try to catch bass or walleyes. kdawg |
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Posts: 59
| kdawg - 7/29/2020 8:41 PM
Try to catch bass or walleyes. kdawg
Pretty sure Kdawg was using sarcasm on this, but I unironically agree. I found seriously downsizing baits works well on pressured fish. 3/4 oz spinnerbaits and 1/2 oz swim jigs both tipped with a 4" paddle tail trailer or grub sometimes do the trick, plus all the extra bass and pike keep things interesting. |
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Posts: 390
| My tactics are always, downsize, throw what others are not and pick apart weather fronts. I found a husky jerk with upsized hooks and small (bass sized) topwaters to be good tools for this.
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Location: Athens, Ohio | Find out what bait everyone else is using, then use something different. m |
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Posts: 1971
| Be there at the right time. Sounds stupid, but sometimes when they “go” you’ll look back and say well according to the books I read they should have gone two days ago during the major, why didn’t I even get a follow when all the conditions were “right” and today you get two and can’t really explain it? You know where they live certainly weather changes, low light, and possibly downsizing offering is great advice... you still have to be there when the fish decides to be active  Good luck
Edited by IAJustin 7/30/2020 10:40 AM
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Posts: 69
Location: Royalton, MN | Try smaller bucktails right before it storms. |
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Posts: 357
| bobber and a sucker minow |
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Posts: 4269
Location: Ashland WI | IAJustin - 7/30/2020 10:39 AM
Be there at the right time. Sounds stupid, but sometimes when they “go” you’ll look back and say well according to the books I read they should have gone two days ago during the major, why didn’t I even get a follow when all the conditions were “right” and today you get two and can’t really explain it? You know where they live certainly weather changes, low light, and possibly downsizing offering is great advice... you still have to be there when the fish decides to be active Good luck
I agree wholeheartedly with this.
I have had more “random” encounters with muskies than those times when they “should” have been going. |
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Location: Contrarian Island | timing is everything..but there are definitely things one can do to up the odds of fish being active.. having watched the weather and some key indicators for 10 or more years. If you have the ability to fish when they 'should' be active versus not, always go with that.. yah all things can seem great and they are not active but musky fishing is a numbers/odds game. always stack the odds in your favor and not by fishing in a blue bird high pressure system right overhead with East winds … 
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Location: Neapolitan Chain Of Lakes | Look to see where most of the musky fishing pressure is taking place and go the opposite direction either way and you'll be surprised at what you find down the creek a bit away from the crowd. Every body of water and musky has it's own traits but there is some very interesting telemetry data out there on those "smart" muskies that avoid negative stimulus such as being caught and stuff. Turns out a high percentage of angler caught and released muskies in one study do not return near the point of capture even after years and many avoid trolling motor noise and other boat noises such as depth finders, etc. Just my opinion but I would quietly slide on down the creek and find my own less pressured musky that may be a little more apt to make a mistake when I can go fishing. Otherwise you'll have to set your weather alarm for an incoming front, during a favorable moon period (Which is probably around 2am), throw downsized baits or double secret prototypes, and consequently swear out loud using the most foul words known to mankind when you round the corner, back arched straight up with confidence and pride with all your new found knowledge of how to conquer the pressured musky and see that you're 4th in line to go thru the community spot behind all these other guys with the same wisdom. Oh and one bait I wouldn't leave home without on a creek is a rear prop topwater bait as there is lots of food that swims and wobbles across creeks and rivers that muskies like to eat. Disregard my comment on use of topwater baits if you have any type of heart condition or loose bowels, especially after dark.
Edited by esox109 7/31/2020 3:36 AM
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Posts: 24
| Some great answers....
Pull out your Aqua View from your ice fishing stuff and spend a day or more droppin that in 20' or more to find the deep chara grass
that will supplement what your graphs are showing and unlock the secrets of your lake
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Posts: 343
| River muskies are often suckers for tailspin topwaters. I'd throw a Rumbler after dark, fishing it at a speed where the rear section is just barely spinning, but throw a few speed changes in along the way. Speed up when finishing your retrieve going into an L-turn, they will often hit during this move and the strike will be very violent, often scaring the heck out of you. I'd also fish dark until you hook up, then use your headlamp as I've found artificial light will often spook fish before they hit. Whopper Ploppers in different sizes are also good choices. Good luck. |
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Posts: 6
| large sucker minnows may also be another good choice |
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