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Posts: 30
Location: England | Hello lads & lasses,
In the UK most Pike anglers fish lures during the warmer months & i think its fair to say we expect to catch plenty of Pike but fewer big ones. In the winter we tend to switch to fishing free swimming livebaits & legered deadbaits. We probably catch fewer fish but many more big gals & a much higher average weight.
Was wondering how this compares to Pike/Muskie fishing in the US. Do you fish lures year round or do you switch to bait fishing too? |
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Posts: 1335
Location: Chicago, Beverly | Personally I fish lures 90% of the time. In the fall several guys I fish with like to fish Suckers along with many other Musky Fisherman. |
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Posts: 30
Location: England | Thanks Kevin,
I'm guessing a 'sucker' is a fish used as a livebait? In the UK we'd usually rig a livebait with two trebles on about 18" of wire, either free swimming beneath a float or paternostered if we wanted them to stay in one place, beside a snag for example. How does that compare to the way people fish them in the states?
Cheers |
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Posts: 2089
| Mick,
Most muskie anglers use some form of a quick strike rig.No waiting for the fish to swallow the bait.Rigs do vary, but most incorporate a treble or 2.I love fishing live bait in the fall.It's an art.The rigs also incorporate a longer leader.There is much debate now about the use of flouro for rigs and leaders.Ok for a 100 fish, then 1 mishap.Hmmm. Steve |
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Posts: 30
Location: England | Thanks Steve, Same here for Pike fishing in GB, the hooks are set within seconds of a take registering, though you do get occasional idiots who wait for an age. I agree with you about livebait fishing being an art, especially drifting them with the wind using floating braid. However these days, I actually do more fishing with dead fish baits legered on the lake/river bed. This produces a higher average size of Pike. Do Musky anglers ever use deadbait in this way?
Having never seen the inside of a Muskys mouth (i imagine it would be pretty similar to a Pike?) i can't comment about flouro rigs however i would never use one for Pike. People try using extra heavy mono for Pike, they may get away with it once but not twice. I once removed a rusty treble & bitten off mono trace from the throat of the 20lbs+ Pike i'd just landed on wire! Someone lost a big 'un & it wasn't me!
All the best. |
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Lure or Bait ?