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Posts: 2325
Location: Chisholm, MN | Now that us MN guys can't fish anymore, and ice on the lakes here in Northern MN are shot after last night's snow storm, does anyone wanna talk about how their season went?
I had a pretty slow season. Numbers were down, due to traveling for work almost all of July and the Fall bite pretty much sucked for me. Highlights were three 50 inchers in the boat up to 52.5 and a handful of other nice ones including my fiance's first muskie (47). Average size was good. Maybe around 44 inches. I don't keep track.
My boat partner and I placed well in the Vermilion PMTT at 14th place with a 50.5 and and a 35.5. That was probably the highlight for my season. For our first tournament, we felt it was an accomplishment.
Most of my fish came on Bigtooth Mag 8 and 10 bucktails. There was also a pretty good night bite at times this season. Top water also played a role for me and boat partners this season as well.
Due to a lot going on this fall with work and deer season, I didn't fish all that much. I'm pretty jealous of the guys who stuck it out to the end! I wish deer season was a little later so I could fish longer. Deer season was slow for me as well. My fiance did shoot her first buck on opening day though, so it was fun! The rest of the season...sloooooowwwww.
All in all, I still love muskie fishing!
So how'd it go????
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Posts: 117
| My highlight was catching 2 bass and a bird during a major in late July. All fish/birds caught on a black globe |
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Posts: 2325
Location: Chisholm, MN | T_Peterzen55 - 12/2/2015 9:41 AM
My highlight was catching 2 bass and a bird during a major in late July. All fish/birds caught on a black globe
Coordinates??? |
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Posts: 1828
| This was probably my favorite season to date. I fished less than the last few years but caught and netted more fish than ever before. Hit the water 21 times and got 23 muskies in the boat. Most trips were less than 5 hours, but some were good long days. Personally didn't catch any big ones but was in the boat for two 50's. Endured some totally unexpected butt-kickings but also had a couple incredible days.
Highlights:
- good buddy's first 50 incher. insanely hot follow on topwater and an unforgettable bite
- netting the biggest musky I've ever touched, just seconds after a heartbreaking boatside line failure with a different musky
- catching one with three little kids in the boat, and getting those kids their first chances at fish
- helping a first-timer catch two in one night
Many unforgettable memories and no insufferable regrets. |
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| Season summary ...Average for overall numbers.
less follows than last year.
most over 50" fish caught in a season
best single week with 6 over 47 in short time. 2 50's 15 minutes apart.
caught a 51 twice a few weeks apart.
dumped a couple 50's.
more trips out but far less time spent on those trips.
Happy with year. Would like more 40's though. Seem to catch quite a few sub 40's the last couple years, more so than 40"+ fish that made up most of previous years Catches. |
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Location: Contrarian Island | I made 2 trips to MN, ~132 hrs on the water in ~11.5 days... 22 in net, 8 over 50" to 53"... sure hope you guys know how good you have it over there! 
Edited by BNelson 12/2/2015 11:12 AM
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Posts: 335
Location: Minnesota | Fished very little around home this year -kids in baseball, summer hockey, tubing, fishing for other species, etc... Crappies and walleyes were fun with the kids this year. Caught a couple fish here but not the highlights of the year.
My highlights were 5 trips to Canada musky fishing ranging from 1-5 days. 10 year old caught his first musky and a bunch more. Good times on the water with my family and good friends.
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Posts: 1039
Location: North St. Paul, MN | I had my best season ever, BUT I caught 3% of my fish in MN. My average size was brutal at 34", but I had an absolute blast with every fish that decided to eat a bait.
Thanks to WI and Canada I was able to win the Muskiefirst Matchfishing getting a bunch of fish during matches on "Number Waters."
My biggest - 46"
Total - 65 muskies, avg. 34"
Super fun and learned a lot! Next year...I hope to sprinkle in a few more big fish.
*Edit* - Season ended for me yesterday (my birthday) with another great day in southern WI. Boated 5 (32, 37, 40, 40, 44 inchers) What a "cherry" on top of the sunday!
Edited by muskyroller 12/6/2015 8:07 AM
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Posts: 22
| A rough start when I was finally able to get out in July. Close to 90 hours before I boated my first of 2015, but after that it ended being a decent year for me.
Outings: 24
Total hours on the water: 178
Number Boated: 10
Average Size: 42.21"
Largest: 50.5" |
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Posts: 88
| Trips/days fished: 30
Fish boated (>32"): 47
Avg size: 39" biggest: 48.5"
Pretty good year for me and my dad, did most of our fishing before September. Unfortunately work started to get in the way of fishing opportunities later on. 40 out of 47 came out of two lakes in Minnesota the other 7 were from a lake in wisconsin. |
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Posts: 705
Location: Alex or Alek? | Fish boated(between my partner and I) (>35): 7
Largest: 48"
Hot Lure: Black and nickle Jr Cowgirl
I didn't get out as much as i'd like to but i'd say it was a successful season. I got to make around 8-10 weekend trips(fishing all day saturday and sunday morning) I didn't count total hours....I know I had a lot of fun and am excited for next year!!!! |
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Location: varies |
I finished just short of my goal of "one more fish". |
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Posts: 2024
| I caught a personal best 4 stitcher... No bass this year on musky baits, bummer... |
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Posts: 2384
Location: On the X that marks the mucky spot | Worst year ever for me. The year was saved on the last day of the season though with Brandon getting his first fish.
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Posts: 1901
Location: MN | Did you actually get to fish Shawn? |
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Location: MN | I fished a lot less than last year and I caught a lot more fish so I'd say it was a success. I ended with 20 fish (not counting dinks) and my average was 41.5. If I could have kept hooks in fish it would have been an epic season. I hooked in to and lost just about as many as I caught.
My highlight of the season was getting two of my newb buddies on their first fish and watching them get the muskie shakes from the adrenaline. The other highlight was boating 4 in a 1 hour window including 2 50's. Can't wait for next year!
Edited by Nershi 12/2/2015 5:13 PM
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Posts: 16632
Location: The desert | MOJOcandy101 - 12/2/2015 2:39 PM
Fish boated(between my partner and I) (>35): 7
Largest: 48"
Hot Lure: Black and nickle Jr Cowgirl
I didn't get out as much as i'd like to but i'd say it was a successful season. I got to make around 8-10 weekend trips(fishing all day saturday and sunday morning) I didn't count total hours....I know I had a lot of fun and am excited for next year!!!!
And you almost had one on a sucker! I still don't know why it didn't eat yours..... |
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Posts: 397
Location: Wisconsin | I had my most fun season yet. between myself and my boat partners, we landed more fish this year than any year in the past. I was able to fish a dozen or so new waters, including cave run during late March as well as I made two trips to Lsc. Although I did not break my personal best, and my average size overall was smaller than normal, I was able to net some nice fish, including a 52, and my fathers PB a 50.5! On top of that, I got my best friend into the sport this year, and was able to land him his first and second muskys, the later being a nice fat fall 45.
I learned so much this year, and Really dialed in a few lakes that I can't wait to capitalize on next season. Can't wait to start my season with another trip south in March, now I just need to decide which state I'd like to fish!
Edited by WiscoMusky 12/2/2015 7:10 PM
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Posts: 525
| I had a good year for it being my fourth year of actually musky fishing.
31 fish up to 51.5" being my biggest. 4 48"ers too. Most of June was tough for me, which is odd as usually I do well then. I had a good September and October, but November was slow. Lots of hours out in, but that's one of the benefits of teaching school! Bucktails, top water, and plastics all worked well for me this year. |
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Posts: 705
Location: Alex or Alek? | Pointerpride102 - 12/2/2015 6:14 PM
MOJOcandy101 - 12/2/2015 2:39 PM
Fish boated(between my partner and I) (>35): 7
Largest: 48"
Hot Lure: Black and nickle Jr Cowgirl
I didn't get out as much as i'd like to but i'd say it was a successful season. I got to make around 8-10 weekend trips(fishing all day saturday and sunday morning) I didn't count total hours....I know I had a lot of fun and am excited for next year!!!!
And you almost had one on a sucker! I still don't know why it didn't eat yours.....
Because it knew it was your birthday  |
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Posts: 246
Location: Grand Marais, MN | All things considered this was an OK season for me. Got out for 5 evenings two in early july and 3 in mid august, in the troubled waters of ottertail county. dont work all summer in MN anymore like i used to be able to when i was in college. Actually lucky to get out at all these days
only one fish, but it was caught after seeing it exactly 1 week earlier in exactly the same spot after it followed the same lure it eventually fell to. great time out on one of my favorite lakes with old friends
Edited by bigfoot 12/3/2015 8:14 PM
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Posts: 143
| BNelson - 12/2/2015 11:11 AM
I made 2 trips to MN, ~132 hrs on the water in ~11.5 days... 22 in net, 8 over 50" to 53"... sure hope you guys know how good you have it over there! ;)
Can I fish with you next year? |
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Posts: 386
| Certainly not a banner year for me, but it wasn't my worst either. I know my plan for next year is to become best friends with Nelson....can't argue with those stats. Honestly, it was a case of "you should have been here yesterday" for me this year. Only took 2 trips to Leech this year and fished local the rest of the year, so my odds of getting into upper 40's was pretty dismal. By far the highlight of the year was my fiance getting her first fish, followed by her second and third within 30 minutes. Big fish this year was a 48" but she had a 25" girth and was SOLID all the way through. I put a nice pattern together in August and ended with 13 fish in 3 days...nothing big but top water after dark is fun regardless and you can't pick which fish eats your bait. Overall a good and safe year for me with 41 in the boat and the usual whoopsies. I quite the muskie season short on our grouse/woodcock opener as this was my black labs last year hunting and don't regret it one minute, this was the best year for birds I've ever seen. Now I just need to buy a new boat for next year. |
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| Best year in about 4 for numbers in my boat...back in triple digits. Average was crazy small for mn. Well under 40! Only 6 over 50...probably because my personal fishing time was entirely with fly rod. Had a blast with that...10 for me and a few more for the boat..including one noteworthy one;) Another great year in MN...important lesson for the year: Get a go pro (or similar) and keep it running! You'll catch some amazing stuff! Even lost fish become important if the footage is good! |
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Posts: 51
Location: Mound, MN | I spent more time on the water this summer than ever before, and in many ways it was my best season yet. I met or exceeded all of my goals and had my best year numbers-wise, both for fish caught personally and for total fish in the boat.
Some highlights (all happened to be in the metro):
--Espy (from this board) caught the biggest fish I've ever had in the boat in July (52.25"),
--I managed 2 personal bests in less than 24 hours from 2 different lakes this November, and
--The last day of the year I was able fish with my dad I put him on a really nice 49".
More generally, I made huge strides this year in meeting and fishing with new people, trying new and different patterns and consistently staying on fish throughout the season. I stopped worrying so much about catching a fish each time out and starting going into each trip with one thing I wanted to learn (new spot, new technique, fishing a favorite spot a different way, etc.). Obviously not everything new I tried worked as well as I would have liked, but I feel like in the long run this put more fish in the boat.
There were still many frustrating times when nothing seemed to work, but I feel a lot better now about my ability to consistently find and catch muskies than I did a year ago. I'm already thinking of ways to do better next season. June can't come soon enough. |
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Posts: 284
Location: Eagan, MN | My pre-season fishing for bass, walleyes, and crappies was nothing short of spectacular. Example: On the bass opener, my son and I caught 36 bass up to about 4.5lbs in the morning, then switched to walleyes and caught 36 walleyes in the evening, with three over 26". The fishing for other species was so good that I didn't even put a musky rod in the boat until July 5th, where I lucked out and caught a biggie on my first spot, not three minutes into the musky season. The summer musky bite was insane, with multiple fish days the norm and all sizes represented. That bite fizzled for us in the early fall, so I switched back to bass, walleye, and crappies in order to spend time fishing with my son, who steadfastly refuses to fish for musky - too much effort and too much pain for his liking. In reality, I targeted muskies for only two months during the summer, except for one fall trip to Vermilion that was a complete bust from a results standpoint. That's the least amount of musky fishing I've done in the last 25 years, but the boat numbers were on par with historical season averages, with three over 50" and a couple of PB's for my guests. Except for that one poor fall trip, it was a great open water season. Now, if the ice would only get here...
Edited by BrianF. 12/6/2015 7:07 AM
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Posts: 200
Location: Twin Cities | BrianF. - 12/6/2015 7:06 AM
My pre-season fishing for bass, walleyes, and crappies was nothing short of spectacular. Example: On the bass opener, my son and I caught 36 bass up to about 4.5lbs in the morning, then switched to walleyes and caught 36 walleyes in the evening, with three over 26". The fishing for other species was so good that I didn't even put a musky rod in the boat until July 5th, where I lucked out and caught a biggie on my first spot, not three minutes into the musky season. The summer musky bite was insane, with multiple fish days the norm and all sizes represented. That bite fizzled for us in the early fall, so I switched back to bass, walleye, and crappies in order to spend time fishing with my son, who steadfastly refuses to fish for musky - too much effort and too much pain for his liking. In reality, I targeted muskies for only two months during the summer, except for one fall trip to Vermilion that was a complete bust from a results standpoint. That's the least amount of musky fishing I've done in the last 25 years, but the boat numbers were on par with historical season averages, with three over 50" and a couple of PB's for my guests. Except for that one poor fall trip, it was a great open water season. Now, if the ice would only get here...
Was this in your private fishing pond? Nice work-some of you guys seem to not have any problems catching these things |
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Posts: 304
Location: Lino Lakes, MN | I had a decent year. We put 3 over 50 in the boat. Fished with several new guy's. Had some incredible nights on the water- fishing wise- not catching (saw some incredible northern lights, fished in almost black out conditions with the only sounds of my topwater bait coming in) scary but growing on me every year.
I got into a good topwater bite that was a lot of fun for a short period.
Was in the boat for a 70" sturgeon on the Rainy River that was gigantic.
Good times on the water with friends and family.
Steve
Noy you need to throw more topwater. |
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Posts: 51
Location: Mound, MN | Sorgy - 12/7/2015 10:06 AM
Noy you need to throw more topwater.
And potentially give up my title as "World's Worst Topwater Fisherman"? No chance. |
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Posts: 323
Location: Elk River, MN | I've seen him in action, he's got the top water gift. |
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Posts: 441
| Numbers were up. A lot of small fish, this year.
Got my personal best, a 54 incher. |
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Posts: 1144
Location: Minnesota. | bucknuts - 12/8/2015 8:24 AM
Numbers were up. A lot of small fish, this year.
Got my personal best, a 54 incher.
Congrats John. I got one of those last year myself, not far from where I've seen you in the past. Had an awesome season.
This year ... zero fish boated all season, including 3 full wks. on the "V".! (Appreciate that, it takes some guts to admit it!!!) Dang... |
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Location: Contrarian Island | 3 weeks? I'd switch lakes next season! or quit... |
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Posts: 441
| The Big V can be a stingy b!+ch when she wants to be, for sure!
Edited by bucknuts 12/9/2015 4:03 PM
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Posts: 200
Location: Twin Cities | 2 in one night and that was it for me and I spent a lot of time on the water. Lots to learn or maybe I am just no good at this |
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Posts: 155
| Ben Olsen - 12/5/2015 9:59 PM
Best year in about 4 for numbers in my boat...back in triple digits. Average was crazy small for mn. Well under 40! Only 6 over 50...probably because my personal fishing time was entirely with fly rod. Had a blast with that...10 for me and a few more for the boat..including one noteworthy one;) Another great year in MN...important lesson for the year: Get a go pro (or similar) and keep it running! You'll catch some amazing stuff! Even lost fish become important if the footage is good!
Ben, I'm actually happy you caught a lot of smaller fish in MN. Means the fishery is in good shape for my kids when they are ready to start slinging baits! |
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| TC-me too!!! At least 16 tagged fish caught out there!!! The new, every year stocking plan should help going forward! |
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Posts: 155
| As far as my season goes, it was very good. Caught some nice fish, and lost a few too. Like others, overall size was a bit down and plenty of smaller fish caught as well. Boated around 30 fish in the metro area, and had a few trips up north that were excellent including my new PB, 53" hog!!!
I'm already looking forward to next season! |
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Posts: 117
| Finished this highlight video the other night....thought I could toss it on here for you guys to check out if you get bored.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfxnKDanus0
TP |
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Posts: 1039
Location: North St. Paul, MN |
WORD! Great musky porn! Loved the "I'm snagged on a rock..." Dressed in all "whites" is a definite highlight, too!
Edited by muskyroller 12/22/2015 2:42 PM
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| Tim=pimp! Lots of familiar faces!! I especially liked that last still!! |
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Posts: 2024
| Can't wait for the sequel, "Return of the Cheese Curds!" Good watch Timmy. Wish my highlights were more than a minute. |
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Posts: 117
| Thanks for the positive feedback! |
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Posts: 25
| Finally found my body of water! |
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Posts: 315
| I felt this season was excellent for both my clients and myself. Catch rates were somewhere around 90% for all guide trips and I got to slide the net under numerous firsts. I absolutely love sharing the thrill of catching muskies with people for their first time. The good news is that during guide trips it was mostly the clients catching the fish.
As Ben and TC stated there are a lot of nice young fish coming up the ranks as well as a lot of larger fish showing up. I caught my largest metro fish ever at 55 inches so that was a major highlight of the season.
It was our first year fishing the PMTT and I would say we made a great showing finishing in 4th place at Lake Vermilion and 3rd place at the PMTT Championship on Lake Wissota. The brand new Ranger slipped right out of our hands when my partner lost a fish that looked to be about 40 on day 2 of the tourney. The best part of not catching the fish was seeing a couple of great guys that did not own a boat receive a boat for their hard work...congratulations!
As always I reflect on my season to look at the things I did right and the things I did wrong and try to learn from everything. It was a great year and I can not wait to see what 2016 has in store.
Andy Hutter
apexpredatorfishing.com |
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