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Posts: 459
Location: New Baden IL | Guys and Gals,
Help me out with a problem: I hate the sun! You all know what I'm talking about, those hot flat sunny days where it seems that there are NO muskies anywhere wet!
I mean give me a cloud once in a while.....
My usual plan of attack for sunny days has left me empty-handed the last few outings and I'm looking for some suggestions.
What I usually do is try to beat the sun and get out before daybreak, hoping for a few fish early, then after the sun gets too high and the fish slide deeper, I'll try to follow them casting and then give trolling a try.
What do you do when faced with the dreaded BLUEBIRD???
Rod LaCaze |
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Location: Minnesota | im stumped  |
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Posts: 1764
Location: Ogden, Ut | spinnerbaits |
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Posts: 199
Location: Nebraska | Trolling outside the reefs banging bottom in 12-18' worked for us when it was sunny. Otherwise, I cought a couple on a brown/yellow muskie spinnerbait with gold blades. They wouldn't touch the bait when it was cloudy. Fished shallow in the remaining green weeds. Only one on a figure 8, the rest just hit it. This was last month in the Minaki area, water was still right around 60. |
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Posts: 1916
Location: Greenfield, WI | Welcome to my world! I'm a vampire when it comes to sun.
I try to stay in the windiest parts of the lakes to take advantage of reduced light levels. As the day goes on, I move my presentations deeper to the point of throwing deep diving Slammer Crankbaits and sinking drop belly gliders, weighted suicks and bucktails that can be worked at 5' or deeper.
I also look for downed timber, heavy weeds, oversized docks, and swimming rafts to fish the vicinity of the shadows.
Give me horizontal rain or snow, or a steady rain and I'm a happy camper. All to often those conditions happen when I can't be on the water.
Still the best time to go is when you can, and the only rule is there are no rules!
Edited by Steve Van Lieshout 10/6/2006 9:32 AM
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Posts: 2024
| Shade lines. Money. |
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| Tiger muskies & supertankers on sunny days... At least that's been my experience on some sunny day's |
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Posts: 1168
| I diversify. Fish bodies of water that are actually better on bluebird sky days than overcast, fronts moving in, etc. Or rivers. |
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| Sun triggers fish to turn on depending on conditions. Weeds are still good or sometimes fish move off of primary breaks onto secondary breaks. Docks and shade lines as suggested sometimes hold fish. Deep crank or troll if you don't find them hiding shallow |
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Posts: 617
Location: Clintonville, WI | Ulbian beat me to it................if you have a river system(s) w/musky population near you, GO THERE!!! I've experienced outstanding action/fish boated between 12-3 during bluebird days on rivers.
On lake systems though, I'm with you Rod. Some infrequent common success denominators I've seen in these conditions are smallish bucktails + prism flash + speed. Fishing around hard bottom, mid-lake structure has shown some action in these conditions on one particular clear lake I fish.
I like SVL's wind thoughts and the trolling option........maybe fast trolling around wind blown mid lake hard bottom structure with small prism willow blade bucktails on downriggers is the pattern to seek  |
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Posts: 3242
Location: Racine, Wi | Slop!!!! Get in the thickest junk you can find, and start ripping.
Otherwise this time of year, if the waters clear enough, get yer jigs and Florida Bone fish them.  |
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Posts: 691
Location: nationwide | Either head shallower or deeper and adjust presentations accordingly.
And I too am a hater of the calm bluebird days.
Corey Meyer
Edited by muskymeyer 10/6/2006 3:46 PM
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| www.ontariofishing.net
Click on 'OFN Newsletter' and read the September Article on Clear Water Muskies. I fish clear water a lot. October's issue/newsletter talks about the same deal, except on fall fishing for fish higher in the water. Tough, for sure. |
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Posts: 929
Location: Rhinelander. | The brighter and cleraer the water I go deeper. Don't troll here so I get to jigging for them> Easiet way to keep a bait down deeper in front of them. deeper not meaning just deep water but if in 10 ft. of water I like to get down to the bottom.
Pfeiff |
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| the sun doesn't bother me....about the only time i know it's gonna be tough is post frontal, blue bird with a stiff NE wind...those days you know you might get one shot only, but it could be from a very big one!
I don't change much when it's sunny....fish are usually where you found them the day before...you just gotta trigger them to move on your bait... |
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Posts: 2691
Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin | Some good stuff here. I like to work the slop when the fish seem to be gone. These fish just drop into the weeds and can be caught by triggering them with speed or reaction type strikes. Burning bucktails across areas where they were will catch you fish, you just need to trigger them.
I also like cranks casted in and around the pockets of the outer edges of big weed lines. I can always seem to score a fish or two cranking the weededges.
One other pattern is the secondary breaks like SVL mentioned. Some of these bigger fish will set up on thesae breaks and just hang out while the sun is high and bright. I like to run crank baits down the edges and contact bottom to get some reaction strikes. You have to clean your baits of snails, leaves and weeds from time to time but it catches fish when other patterns don't.
The slop is underfished when the times are tough, I like Joel's idea. Those fish are underfished at this time of year. Most guys are fishing outer edges 90% of the time.
Try shallow, then deep. Speed then bottom contact. I will bet you will come up with something that will pull back if you do your home work on your lake.
Keep a positive attitude at all times and the fish will come. They always do. |
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Posts: 3876
| Slop, especially since waters temps are dropping and fish are moving back shallow to trap forage against breaks. I suspect that bright sun drives as many to stay in the shallow weeds as the ones who drift out and deep in open water.
I forget the name of the guy, but there's a gifted spinner bait maker out there who teaches how to hellio-copter a spinner bait down into holes in weeds. Who is this guy??? Someone please post his sales website, it's well worth a look.
My first humble suggestion...try a medium sized firetiger Johnson Spoon with a white double twister tail in the slop. Those baits drop down such that the spoon wobbles while the trailer's "feet" flutter. You'll need to use less-than-nornal leader weights and lighter line. Get ready to hook the biggest bass of the season.
My second humble suggestion...fish after dark, no matter how cold. |
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Bluebird Sky Blues