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Posts: 4
| I'm a long time lurker of the forums and have learned a lot from ya'll.
I have been fly fishing for musky for a couple years and have caught two, 30 minutes apart. That same day I had another bite and had a fish miss my fly at the kayak. Apart from that day, I've had a few other follows, that I saw, and had a fish bite my fly but miss the hooks in the L turn. One of the fish that followed me in was enormous.
It's possible that I am getting more follows but just not seeing them since I am low to the water. Fishing out of a kayak is certainly a handicap. I'm about to buy a car that can tow and will be buying a boat shortly, which should help. I also cover less ground in the yak, which also doesn't help.
What am I doing wrong?
I do an oval after every cast, have read a ton about musky's, musky location, by season, musky movements, moon phases, etc. I'm on my best spots during majors, minors, sun events, etc. My fly's move really well in the water. They are smaller than some of the baits ya'll throw; 8-11 inches typically.
What advice do you have to shorten the learning curve?
I live in the twin cities and apparently our lakes are in decline, which seems likely based on heavily reduced stocking. There aren't any real numbers lakes here in MN that I know about. I have thought about spending as much time as possible on numbers lakes in Wisconsin so I can get more feedback from the fish and be able to dial things in more.
What has helped you catch more fish and crack the code, so to speak? These fish are bastards.
Thanks everyone.
Edited by NickM95 9/9/2024 9:41 PM
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Posts: 2015
| Do you ever use conventional baitcast gear? Even if you used it just to locate fish , no hooks and then switch to a fly …the ole “bait and switch “ could lead to more opportunities? Blind casting to muskies with a fly rod on lakes is tough, I’ve done it some and its not easy to throw a 10wt for 6 -8 hours only to watch your fly, really helps to know a fish is there, like sight fishing opportunities … if you love big fish on the fly save your pennies and do some Canadian pike trips, catching 20 , 36”+ pike a day on a fly is really good practice for when a muskie presents an opportunity, good luck! |
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Posts: 205
| I have a nice 11 weight set up with either sinking or intermediate lines, flies to match etc. but rarely use it. Unfortunately fly presentations are by nature shallow presentation's. IMO these are best suited to rivers' and streams where the fish tend to be restricted to shallower water. Virtually every musky fly fishing video you see is produced on a river or stream. There are some excellent rivers to choose from in MN & WI. IMO river fish can be more active, productive water can be more readily identified due to current and are confined to shallower water. WI DNR rates all musky waters including rivers and identifies the river stretches by county. |
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Posts: 4
| Yeah, I think fishing rivers more often is probably a good bet. The fly guys I've talked to say the fish are in more predictable locations. I use a full sinking line most of the time but my flies are large and have a lot of bucktail in them, which is very buoyant. If i tie with materials that absorb water I can't cast the #*^@ thing.
There a lot more musky lakes close to the twin cities than rivers but I don't mind traveling for em.
If I use a smaller fly, I can get down 15-20 feet. However, when the fish are shallow, I should still be catching more fish. At least I think I should.
Edited by NickM95 9/9/2024 10:15 PM
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Posts: 6
| Fellow fly fisher here. As mentioned, try to spend some time on rivers, especially in the beginning to catch a few and find flies you have confidence in. The river is like a conveyor belt, you're bound to run into a few. Downed trees are always a great thing to look for, the gnarlier the better. They will also hold in front of or behind boulders. And as always weed lines. Rivers are good as a fly fisherman because fishing deep can be tedious and tiring and river musky seem pretty content from 2'-4'. You can fish lakes effectively, but must get it a little deeper usually. I'd recommend getting yourself a 2 hand, 10 or 11 wt rod and heavy grain sink line. That will really help you chuck em with little effort. You can throw those huge flies much easier. And yes, fly fishing for Northerns is a blast and good practice. Good luck! |
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Posts: 6
| And do get yourself a boat of some kind. A 14' ish Jon boat with a small outboard and trolling motor would be great for rivers around the Midwest. Then you can see follows, use the figure 8, and see strikes. Make/ buy one with a clean casting deck. Nothing sucks worse than snagging your fly line on the deck when your nice fish takes a run. |
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Posts: 2325
Location: Chisholm, MN | Figure 8 every cast. And put the fly rod away. |
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Posts: 4
| Putting the fly rod away would definitely help. Unfortunately, I've done it all my life and love it. I refuse to give up on consistently catching em' on the fly. |
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Posts: 159
| Kirby Budrow - 9/10/2024 8:13 AM
Figure 8 every cast. And put the fly rod away.
I agree.
Targeting periods of higher liklihood would also help. Sunrise, sunset, major feeding windows, and cloudy or rainy days instead of bluebird sun. |
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Posts: 2325
Location: Chisholm, MN | NickM95 - 9/10/2024 12:33 PM
Putting the fly rod away would definitely help. Unfortunately, I've done it all my life and love it. I refuse to give up on consistently catching em' on the fly.
Totally cool if that's what you're into. You just can't expect a lot of muskies making it to the net if that's how you want to do it. Learning the triggers would be harder. Starting out conventionally would teach you to catch them. Then switching to a fly rod after you know what you're doing would be the best way. |
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| Don't have first hand knowledge of fly fishing for musky but can tell you what I have seen on the chain where I live. Couple times a year, guy with a double end row boat like you would see drifting a river will have clients in bow and stern, casting large streamers for musky. They get right in the lily pads, casting to open pockets in the pads and also the inside edge. Those areas would be tough with conventional tackle. I don't know about their success but assume since they have been doing it for at least a few years, they must have some success.
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Posts: 1396
Location: Brighton CO. | There's a guy here in Colorado Barry Reynolds who is a world class fly fishermen used to kick our butts catching Tiger Muskies here in Colorado on his fly rod. He wrote a book pike On The Fly and many others witch would be a big help, Robert S. Tomes also has a Fly fishing book "Muskie On The Fly" And Bill Sherer of Boulder Junction has a DVD on muskie Fly fishing and I think a fly shop to boot. Or if you are in the Eagle River area talk to George Langley at Eagle Sports. When the muskie get up real shallow you can throw a fly on them and not spook them. |
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Posts: 4
| I’m gunna hit the Apple river tomorrow and then this weekend I’m gunna head to the jump, flambeau, or chip. Try some more rivers
I have Barry Reynolds book but haven’t read it yet. I’ve done a lot of pike fishing on the fly. Got a 44 last year. Thought it was my first musky |
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Posts: 7039
Location: Northwest Chicago Burbs | DON"T get out of the kayak because you think it's hurting your chances. Not sure if you can stand in yours but PERSONALLY, I figure 8 BETTER being so close to the water. Instead of having to lean over all day like you would on a boat, you can actually do a BIGGER figure 8 and even go basically all around your kayak if you want to and never take the bait out of the water by just tracing patterns.
BUT, the 'yak will limit your ability to go distances. I'm sure you know this but play the wind (and get an anchor if you dont have one) to maximize your casting time. Stay on the move. Lots of kayak guys I see seem to park in one place, fish fish fish, then move 100 yards and fish fish fish.
If you CAN stand and cast, then stand. You will probably fall in more (it happens) but your catching chases will go up exponentially. If you already do....well, keep at it! 
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Posts: 7039
Location: Northwest Chicago Burbs | NickM95 - 9/10/2024 5:59 PM
I’m gunna hit the Apple river tomorrow and then this weekend I’m gunna head to the jump, flambeau, or chip. Try some more rivers
Kayak rivers, boat lakes. Seriously I thought I'd be able to kayak lakes more than I can, but even with a pedal drive I find myself hating myself when I have to go more than a mile. |
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Posts: 6
| I've been grinding too and totally get the frustration. One thing that really helped me was focusing on my figure-8 technique and experimenting with different fly sizes. Bigger waters can be tough, but consistency is key. Trying Wisconsin numbers lakes could give better feedback. Stay patient—it’ll click!  |
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Location: Athens, Ohio | I fished for three years for muskie with 21 different people - a few more than once - before Mike Koepp trolled up my first one for me. Keep at them . Hire a guide, join Muskies, Inc. m |
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Posts: 1279
| Many of the tiger lakes in the Twin Cities are small, and good for a kayak. Some of them are more numbers oriented, as well. I've caught a ton of tigers in extremely shallow water in the metro. The rivers you mentioned are a good idea. Also, don't sleep on the upper stretches of the Mississippi. |
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Posts: 1716
Location: Mt. Zion, IL | Kirby is correct, ditch the flies and get some bucktails and twitch baits. |
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Posts: 186
| Musky fishing is hard, flying fishing for muskie is even harder. Goodluck! |
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Posts: 6
| Sounds like you’re doing a lot right! Getting a boat will definitely help with visibility and covering water. For now, try upsizing your flies to match bigger musky baits, and maybe experiment with varying retrieves. Wisconsin numbers lakes could give you more action and learning opportunities too. Tight lines! |
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Location: PA Angler | I fly fish and yes it’s a little it harder but having the right fly works. My flies I tie mimic smaller bait fish. Mostly a lot of trout patterns. They are a slow sink. For them absorbing a lot of water and can’t cast I would recommend another cast and that’s on your back cast using the water so you can get some more distance without throwing your arm out. So when you cast you let the fly hit the water and sit for a sec on the back cast then let it load as you cast forward.
I mainly stick to 5 to about 8 in flies.
As for the yak if you get a follow see which way it came from. Then if you can or just pull over on shore and fish from there if you think the fish are in the area. Also from the yak you can troll your flies. All a fly is, is another lure. Whatever you flash and Buck tail colors your using can matter. |
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| On Friday I was part of group kayaking on the Wis. River, below the Willow Flowage. Ran into a guy in a drift type boat, with an outboard, fly fishing for small mouth bass. He had a big net and said that he had it because of the number of musky he hooked while fishing for smallies. Was using a streamer, maybe 3"?
I was a little surprised, the river is shallow and has a pretty good flow there. The small mouth I was aware of, one of our group often brings a rod and while he has to make quick casts and move on because of the current, usually picks up a couple. But wasn't aware of the musky. That would be a great stretch to kayak and cast for musky. Virtually no motor boats, lots of snags, sweepers that could hold fish. Probably need a peddle yak or an anchor system. Put in a park, float down to a landing with a boat launch 9 miles down stream. Just need someone to help with commute. I'm too old, or I would sure try it. |
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Posts: 1396
Location: Brighton CO. | Earlier in this post I wrote of a guy who kicked our butts with a fly rod will all his fish (Tigers) were caught a small fly to mimic Spot Tail Sinners. 2"-3" inches long. |
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Having Trouble Catching Musky