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Posts: 15
| A friend of mine took me out on LOTW yesterday for an evening of musky fishing. We were on the water from 2:30pm-10:00pm. The winds were changing directions frequently from a SW to a W to a NW wind and it was dark and cloudy. We covered areas heavily wind blown, mild "walleye" chop and calm bays. We fished thick cabbage and junk weeds, just cabbage, rocks and weeds and just rocks. We fished complex structures, points, flats and everything in between. We managed to raise a few fish in a more complex structure that was being exposed to a slight chop and another off a rock point with a small saddle near deep water. We also had some blow ups on a Top Raider in a large bay with cabbage and rock piles. I managed to hook up on one in this bay on a Top Raider and it ended up being a fiesty little Pike. Here's the catch. There had been two major storms go through. One the night before and one a few days earlier. There was 70mph winds, tornado's, etc. They were nasty storms. What would have been your approach in finding these fish. We started putting a few things together with presentation and some location factors and it started to show little signs of life but it was to little to late. Another piece of information is the predominant wind direction for the past week was a S to SW wind. This was a good learning experience for us but I don't want it to stop there, I would like to hear more thoughts on what was happening under the surface.
Thanks,
Mike | |
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Posts: 32954
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | The fish react to weather, that's for sure, but complex systems of low pressure like the one you described muddy up the 'front' concept and how to fish one. When there is a major cold front coming through, that's easy, but a series of low pressure systems make things tough to guage.
If the wind remained south, believe it or not I usually go shallow, into the slop or other good cover until dusk, then hit the tips of the rubble piles on the bars and saddles. Once a high moves in, I'm back to working all the patterns that match the light penetration any time during the day. | |
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Posts: 688
Location: Northern IL | In order to know what is happening below the surface at the time we are on the water we CAN'T limit our fishing. We must check "ALL" reachable depths and then check different speeds until we make contact.
Of the "Complex Structures" described the saddle area is the only area I "May" have spent time on.
Admittedly You were under a very difficult weather condition! and you may have done as well as possible. However if greater depths and different speeds were explored the results may have been different, we'll never know.
If we only spend our time presenting lures in the shallows or spend all of our time thinking about "thick cabbage, junk weeds,,,,, ect. then we would miss a huge piece of the puzzle and we are limiting our success.
If you don't like what you see,, fish deeper!
Good luck in your future study,
Jerry Borst
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