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Posts: 25
| Hey guys young and new to musky fishing.
My lack of knowledge has lead me to a lack of confidence which is a real killer. I suffer most in finding/exploring depths. I like to work off shore structure most but will hit shorelines when I'm not seeing fish. Even though most fish so far have been on shorelines. I feel like I need to work structure at multiple depths. I think I am too shallow usually as I find myself positioning my boat in 10 feet and casting in most of the time.
And with the times of year going by getting into the mid summer, do you find muskies going shallower or deeper? I think but could be wrong that it is more of a day to day weather thing that decides their depth.
I'm just looking for input on how you guys work different depths to develop more confidence and put baits in the strike zone for the better part of the day.
Anything helps!
Thanks guys. |
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Posts: 2687
Location: Hayward, WI | It depends on the lake and/or the spot, but most of the time if I'm on a lake clear enough that the weedline grows to 8-10 feet, I'm probably in 20+ feet, casting to the weedline but not always over the weeds. By mid summer if the thermocline has setup I'm probably positioning the boat in 25+ feet of water.
No hard and fast rules to any of it though.
Last year on the deep clear lakes where I live, the water almost never made it above 75 degrees for any length of time (going down the same path this year), and I found fish in the weeds and on weedlines pretty much all summer long.
If you struggle with confidence in fishing deep water, try devoting an entire day or weekend to it now and then. Most likely it will eventually pay off. |
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Posts: 719
| Spend entire 12 hour days idling around watching that graph and don't even think of reaching for that rod. Learn bottom hardness, inside turns, how baitfish that are being pursued look different on the screen than bait that isn't being pursued and so on. The last frontier is out deep and it will change your mindset completely no matter where you go or what species you will chase. |
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Posts: 392
Location: KY | "how baitfish that are being pursued look different on the screen than bait that isn't being pursued"
Wow, I want to know how to recognize this on my depth finder. I think I am doing well when I find schools of baitfish with side imaging etc.
What do baitfish look like when they are being pursued? |
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Posts: 29
Location: Okauchee, WI | Can't catch them where they ain't. If it is too warm or there is no good snacks to be had shallow, then move out. Generally their deep haunts will be relative to something- bait, adjacent to shallow structures, deeper features, whatever. Thermocline is your friend. Explore. It's a rush to stick a nice one away from the obnoxious crowds. |
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Posts: 86
| BruceKY - 6/22/2015 9:27 PM
What do baitfish look like when they are being pursued?
SCARED!
(coudnt resist) |
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Posts: 1168
| Let the fish tell you where they are. Zig zag over the top of a weed edge, drop-off, etc. sliding up to 4 feet of water and sliding out to 25 feet of water. Cast towards shore, towards the middle, parallel with weed edges/breaks, etc. When you contact a fish make note of the depth and focus on that depth. Often I see guys getting stuck in a rut of positioning their boat at the exact same depth all of the time while casting to the exact same depth all of the time. When they get frustrated it's their own fault for not simply turning around and casting the deep side of the boat or sliding out or in half a cast length. Nope, "I caught one with my boat in 12fow casting to 8fow so I'm going to stick to that depth all of the time." |
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Posts: 41
| I assume baitfish that are being pursued look like they have bigger fish pursuing them??? Brilliant concept. lol |
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Posts: 719
| I'll post a couple of screen shots sometime this summer to show it. |
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How deep?