River Muskies
PeyRey8
Posted 8/20/2019 1:50 PM (#945643)
Subject: River Muskies




Posts: 3


I'm new to river musky fishing and there is a river about 30 minutes from where I live that is hardly ever fished for muskies and has some decent sized fish in it. Just wondering if there are any tips or tricks for a first time river musky fisherman? I'm usually fishing from shore or a kayak.

Thanks
Nomadmusky
Posted 8/20/2019 9:39 PM (#945667 - in reply to #945643)
Subject: Re: River Muskies




Posts: 176


I've fished rivers a lot from a canoe, wading with traditional tackle, and with a fly rod on occasion. What type of tackle do you plan to use? When I started Muskie fishing rivers, I just upsized my small mouth tackle, I would use larger Beetle Spin type of lures, and that is still one of my favorite "go to" river baits to this day. Simply a large Hair pin spinner, with a piece of plastic like a 5" Magambo curly tail or Reaper tail and any number of various blades. You can cast those with your existing tackle or with Muskie tackle, with spinner tackle or bait casting tackle. You can work them through rocks, weeds, wood and with the single hook you are far less likely to get snagged.

Nomad
true tiger tamer
Posted 8/20/2019 9:42 PM (#945668 - in reply to #945643)
Subject: Re: River Muskies




Posts: 343


I've done really well with tailspin topwater lures. My favorite is a Rumbler, a Whopper Plopper 190 is another good choice. I like loud deeper sounding tailspinners. I'd start there plus the strikes are awesome. Just be sure to set the hook when you feel weight, not at the sound. It is very hard to do especially at night, which is also one of the best times to be throwing a topwater. unfortunately it is the quickest way to catch the muskie fishing disease, plus you often become addicted to wanting to throw topwaters all the time. So beware.
mikie
Posted 8/21/2019 6:52 AM (#945673 - in reply to #945643)
Subject: Re: River Muskies





Location: Athens, Ohio
For your first time, I recommend fishing from the bank. If you can get ahold of a recent copy of Muskie Inc's Muskie magazine, there's an excellent article on how to rig a kayak for muskies.
Use shallow running baits from the bank. those that have a good 'reverse gear' work well to keep you off near-shore snags. Have a good plan on how to capture and release the fish so you both go away from the battle uninjured.
There are several threads on this topic which give a lot more detail, take the time to browse this forum a bit for your answers and ideas. m
ToddC
Posted 8/21/2019 7:39 AM (#945674 - in reply to #945643)
Subject: Re: River Muskies




Posts: 323


If you can, fish below a dam. If there are muskies in the river there will always a nice population below the dam. Fish those slack water eddies in the early mornings or evenings. Topwaters, spinners, jerks, twitch baits, and plastic will all work. After you catch a few and get some experience then begin exploring the rest of the system. Welcome to the board, this is a great place for help and advice. We are all always learning something about these fish. Good luck and let us know how you do!
PeyRey8
Posted 8/21/2019 10:29 AM (#945682 - in reply to #945674)
Subject: Re: River Muskies




Posts: 3


I have been serious muskie fishing for about 3 years now and have a decent setup of gear. Two muskie rods and a bass rod I use for lighter lures. I have a decent variety of lures as well blades, rubber, crankbaits, topwater, etc.

There is a dam at the spot of river that is the closest to my house. With all of this new information you guys have given me I think I'll hit that pretty hard this fall and then explore the rest of the system next summer. The only trouble is navigating around all the catfish fisherman around the dam! Thanks everyone for the tips.

Edited by PeyRey8 8/21/2019 10:55 AM
ulbian
Posted 8/28/2019 5:50 PM (#946080 - in reply to #945643)
Subject: Re: River Muskies




Posts: 1168


Rivers are awesome. One very important thing that doesn't appear to be touched on is how fast you fish. On lakes you do a drift, work through an area at a reasonable pace and move on. On rivers you slow way, way down. Beat the living heck out of a spot. Place casts closer together. Camp on something that looks good. I've camped on a good river spot and dropped casts in a 10 foot circle for 5 hours nonstop. Sounds boring but it's not when the fish are there. When a muskie slides off of those good spots another one will move into it. Unlike a lake you are not casting at the same fish over and over. On rivers those fish will cycle through....so when you find one of these areas, camp on it.