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Posts: 284
Location: Eagan, MN | Brad, with re. to boat control, care to elaborate a little more?? I control my boat really well, but my 'boat control' sometmes really sucks, if you know what I mean. I ask becasue 'boat control' means different things to different people. Personally, good boat control to me means putting the boat in the best position to deliver the cast that will get the bite from the spot I happen to be fishing as quickly and efficiently as possible. On a main lake reef, good boat control provides more than 360 degrees of cast angle possibities. So, some may be confused by the concept. Heck, even I am at times.
BrianF
Edited by BrianF. 9/15/2014 3:25 PM
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Posts: 833
| I'm not going to put words in Brad's mouth, but I'll throw an opinion out there:
One aspect of boat control is putting yourself in position to make the cast. I think that is what most people think about when the topic is brought up. Another aspect is where you position yourself in relation to the strucutre. Inside Out, Confined Open Water, Deep Edge, Vertical Edge, what have you. All those parts of a spot can be fished and how you position yourself to fish them makes a huge difference in efficacy. |
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Posts: 284
Location: Eagan, MN | That's what I'm wondering. What variable do you consider when determining the best boat position? Is it the contour of the bottom you are fishing? Wind direction? Sun angle? Other angler pressure? What trumps what? What is the primary determinant to making the decision to put your boat a certain way on a certain spot? As you say, this can be a huge factor in gettng a bite or not getting a bite.
Just trying to understand what 'have good boat control' actually means in practice to the casual angler.
BrianF. |
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Posts: 32784
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Boat control is one of the terms in our sport that means about 100 different things to as many people; to me it's covering the area I feel will hold fish from enough angles to get the lure in front of any fish in that area ( sometimes at least twice from differing angles, sometimes that requires another 'pass') with full consideration to and utilization of every angler in the boat. I position the boat completely differently if alone than if I am fishing with another angler, and even differently if fishing with two others, of course. I use the wind and 'sail' along using short pulses on the electric and the main outboard as a rudder, not prolonged runs which result in pulling the ride down a piece of water. Same even if moving against the wind. I have a reputation of moving the boat 'slowly'.
Covering the water is one thing, selection is quite another. Approach is determined by the wind to a larger degree than any other factor, and so is selection. Wind direction and speed, of course, but also the amount of light penetration, direction, and and water clarity, where the fish are coming from and going, and much more. If I am certain fish are there, I may try several approaches and techniques that match. We moved several fish in an area 150' long Saturday, and moved them again by changing up direction and knowing to a degree where the fish went after the follow or strike. Reading the water is also critical, but boat control allows execution of a correct read and application of technique. |
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Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | Icons … or … Trails …  |
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Posts: 32784
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Interestingly sled, when I looked at the stored data from the weekend on the three lakes we fished, each 'spot' has multiple trails that are identical, like a sharpie line, and that from trips there over the last 2 weeks. Except...when we were working a fish; interesting seeing what I did trying to get the lure where I thought the fish went, and when I adjusted one evening because we found the fish to be shallower than 'normal'. I don't use a GPS on the bow...yet. I am using my knowledge of the structure's edges and staying on a 'road' by using depth readings. Different technique, same results, and I don't need to fish the structure more than a couple times to load it into the memory banks. Comes from learning the water before there were graphs, much less Loran C or GPS.
Same structure for walleyes and bass instead of Muskies, different but consistent lines.
You should see the trails on the 'Bird on Minocqua for the bigger crappies...they move some, pretty predictably. Not a single icon on the map. |
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Posts: 20178
Location: oswego, il | Boat control is totally different with 1, 2 or 3 people on how to fairly position the boat so everyone can cast effectively.
boat snacks. Do not buy two boxes of fiber one bars and a dried fruit mix that includes prunes. If you want to fart your ass off, I do recommend it. |
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Posts: 2097
| Don't leave fish to find fish. |
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Posts: 23
| I am going to give what seems to be a general tip and follow it up with elaboration.
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My tip to anyone new to musky fishing, in their first season, or even their second, is: Set Yourself up for Success.
(This is advice we could all use)
So what does it mean:
- MAKE A GAME PLAN. Read up on a lake you are going to fish, check water color, clarity, wind conditions, weather pattern and trend. Become a weather nerd, it really helps. Is the barometer steady, rising, falling? Is there a front moving in through the area? What kind of bait fish are on the lake, what color does that equate to for lure selection? This all comes out to putting yourself in a situation you feel confident in, and confidence is HUGE in musky fishing. Will it always work, nope, but that's fishing ha!
- BE PREPARED. I've seen a lot of people talk about this but that doesn't make it exempt from my list. Have gear that can handle your lures, line and fish. Use non stretch line and good leaders, just do it. Wear a pair of GOOD polarized sunglasses that are well reviewed by the fishing community (INVALUABLE TOOL!!!). Have tools for fish handling, a good net, and a camera. Is there a chance of rain? Bring some gear, bottom line just have all your ducks in a row so you can do what you want to do when you're out there....FISH.
- KNOW YOUR BASICS. Learn the figure 8, learn the L turn, learn how to retrieve your lure. And get good at those basics. I wouldn't recommend complicated techniques your first couple years, BUILD THAT CONFIDENCE. Throw bucktails - black and silver never fails (seriously), find some simple topwaters like a TopRaider or other straight retrieve lures and WORK THEM. learn them, learn when where and how they work for you. Use confidence colors - for me that means black with high contrast, if perch is the main forage use some bright greens, if your in bog stained water have a heavy dose of bright orange and black, if your water is crystal clear and deep get into those blacks, browns, and whites.
- REMAIN A STUDENT. You will never know it all, learn it all, and not all of it will ever make sense. There's been sometimes the fish have wanted lures that just dont make any sense to me, but they wanted it, and the fish is never wrong ;). Go out on the water with a willingness to learn, pay attention to weed types, weed growth, watch for forage, watch for how wind affects different spots, RESPECT OTHER ANGLERS (cant begin to overstate this), try new retreives or concepts with baits you have confidence in. The beauty of fishing is it will always challenge you to the level you allow it to, and that is a rare thing, cherish what you have and pass on the knowledge you earn to close friends and family, but DONT GO SPREAD IT AROUND THE LAUNCH.
- BE THANKFUL. Never lose mind of the blessing you have to fish for one of the most rare species of fish in the world, it's range is small, and yet it is highly renowned and sought after by anglers around the world. So SHOW SOME RESPECT, don't kill fish purposely, don't be thoughtless, and keep in mind that you are very blessed to have the opportunity to fish for Muskies.
Hopefully it's not too preachy, best of luck to everyone out there beating that water for the fish of a lifetime.
Tight lines.
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