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Posts: 200
Location: Twin Cities | First of all I just wanna say I am still a novice at muskie fishing, this will be my second season of targeting them regularly. I have fished for them for maybe 5 years but before last year it was only a few times a year. I did two guided trips last year and try to read as much as possible to learn but I still don't feel like I know much. Winter has settled in so how about we share some knowledge. I guess I'm looking for some early season techniques or techniques in general. What areas to target on a lake and depths, what baits to use where, what colors to use, etc. I fish in Minnesota metro, mainly Indy and Tonka. Opener is a ways a way but its hard to not get excited. I definitely need to get out fishing with a few of you guys as that's the best way to learn but that's not quite possible right now. Thanks | |
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Posts: 397
Location: Wisconsin | I dont fish Minnesota Metro lakes, but I can give you some general advise for spring. I would focus on new weed growth in soft bottom bays, and exclusively very shallow water. Anywhere you can find a stream/river coming into a bay is going to hold post spawn fish. Generally the northern most bays will warm up quickest, so focus on those bays, and then narrow down areas that you can locate fresh weeds as well as good bait fish.
As far as baits and presentation, spring is a good time to use smaller baits and slower presentations. I like using suicks, baby squirkos, 6inch red october tubes, and other baits you can work slow.... Good luck and PM me if you have any questions! | |
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Posts: 994
Location: Minnesota: where it's tough to be a sportsfan! | You have the right idea get out on the water with some other guys and "watch more than you fish" "listen more than you speak" there are things some seasoned anglers
do by instinct not by planning. So for them to tell you what they are doing would be a waste of time. Reading the information at hand, water, fish activity & location, etc... is the great part of the HUNT. I watched a fairly new to Muskie fishing angler come up with ideas. This was last year that I shared a boat with him. The ideas were interesting as they did not seem to have a common thread or thought process. But guess what he narrowed down and we got into fish action. I learned the puzzle doesn't always have to put together the same way. What looked like a scattered shotgun approach to me was in his mind like reading the first and last line of each paragraph. There's a bunch of good T.C. anglers to get hooked up with for fishing, and you can learn something from anyone. | |
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Posts: 8782
| You're on the right track. Other more experienced anglers and guides are a goldmine, especially early on. The best question you can ask is "Why are we fishing here?" Followed by "is this somewhere you'd fish all season?" and then "Why?" Every answer will lead to more questions. ASK them. I'm sure the guides I fished with early on couldn't wait for me to shut up and for the day to be over!
First and foremost, find the fish. Then fish. Time and a lot of mistakes will teach you how to actually catch the fish. Unfortunately there's not a lot of substitute for that. There's no shortcut to learning how not to scare the fish away, how to set the hook, how to fight the fish, how to trigger a strike, how to catch a fish on the figure 8 and get it to the net without losing it.
To your original question:
There are variables from season to season, lake to lake, and state to state. But muskies generally spawn in predictable locations, (shallow bays) and those locations stay the same year after year. Then they transition into adjacent areas and hang out there. (Shallow weedy areas areas adjacent to those bays) Then they move out deeper onto deeper weed edges, points, bars, and eventually mid lake structure. Part of it is chasing food, and part of it is chasing their "comfortable" water temperature. When the water is cold in the spring, they're going to seek out the warmest water they can find. (Where is the water the warmest + Where did they spawn?)
Best advice I can give is to always be thinking out there. Pick it apart. They should be here. They're not. What's the most likely place to try next? Then what? Maybe they ARE there and they're just not responding?
Don't worry about what lures to use or how to fish them. Find the fish. There's tons of information all over this site and everywhere else about seasonal fish migrations. Start there. | |
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Posts: 200
Location: Twin Cities | Thanks gents | |
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Posts: 20219
Location: oswego, il | Typically, when EA is with a guide his first question is "when is lunch and what are we having?"
look for the warmest water in spring. Typically this can be the direction the wind is blowing but not always. Sometimes lakes can have a big cool off in spring after a warming trend. When that is the case look elsewhere for warmer water. 1 degree might not feel like much to us but it does to a cold blooded creature. | |
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