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Posts: 315
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so i decided to ask this question because of what happend to me last friday 8/1 on the final day of the Ontario fishing trip
during the course of the day i had 4 fish hooked and none were landed  all were hooked on a showgirl (dont know if its a deal since only 1 treble) anyway the 2 that bit not on the 8 grabbed the bait and quickly swam toward me, then going airborne and doing the tail dance, both shook the bait loose, the other two that bit in the 8 instantly went verticle next to the boat. one was a decent fish probably in the mid 40's and the other was the biggest fish ive had hooked, i would guess in the low 50's.
so what do yall think? what percentage of fish that strike actually end up in the boat? especially bigger fish that hit during the 8. with all the force they have, thrashing, and going airborne? just wondering....
-ba- |
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Posts: 1767
Location: Lake Country, Wisconsin | From my experiences and others in the boat with me, the key to landing figure 8 fish is to get your rod down in the water to keep their heads underwater, thus hopefully limiting the thrashing and aerial maneuvers. Freespooling can also be a savior as well if they start diving hard under the boat |
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Posts: 605
Location: Marshfield, WI | I've had a pretty bad start with the 8's this year too. I've had 5 hits on the 8 and boated one, a 45" musky. 4 of them totally surprised me, including the 45", and one was at night that went berserk when I set the hook and it got off after a few seconds. I agree about burying the rod. What also helps, but is hard to do, is if the fish hits going to your right, try to set the hook to your left. This helps to bury the hook in the corner of the fishes mouth.
Krishna |
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Posts: 1308
Location: WI | I've had 3 hits on the 8 this year and landed 2 of them. I'm sold on free spooling after they hit. I'm fishing really dark water and never saw any of the fish until after the strike. One of them hit after 2 8's and I was taking the lure out of the water when she came up and took it. |
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Location: Twin Cities | In the last two years, i've lost a lot of fish on showgirls, can't put my finger on why. I've also caught a majority of my fish on them as well. I've lost quite a few in the 8, but i'm definitely to blame for 90% of them.... |
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Posts: 32958
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | I'm probably at about 85% over the years on strikes on the '8' ending up in the Frabill. I think it's mostly luck, and the rest is watching the fish and setting the hook when she turns to head away, then letting her have her head applying only enough pressure with my thumb to keep the lure pinned up. |
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Posts: 133
Location: Lake Tomahawk, Musky Central, USA | I get all the ones I'm not expecting to get.. |
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Posts: 462
Location: Madison Wi. Chain | I have had pretty good success the past two years in the eight. Before that I sucked. Much like a topwater strike I wait until I can feel pressure on the lure then set the hooks in the opposite direction the fish is heading. Sometimes the fish is just nipping or has not closed it's mouth on the bait, that is why I wait despite what my eyes might be telling me. I use the drag and try to keep the rod down. The majority of fish I lose in the eight are when my rod tip is next to the boat and deep when the stike comes. Good Luck and just remember it is musky fishing, you will lose some, also you were doing something right to get the fish to eat in the first place. BG |
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Posts: 86
Location: University of Hartford | All that hit were boated except the one that mattered. i freespool and then pull the bait towards their tail when they start shaking their head, all with the rod tip burried |
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Posts: 69
Location: janesville | this year i've had 4 fish hit on the 8 and only one was landed. last saturday i had three fish eat or try to eat on the 8 and i had a low 40's hooked up that i should of landed but played him to much and he gave a quick head shake and was gone. later in the day i had a 36 just crush the bait on the top of the water and go airborne 3 times. so this year i at about 25% on the 8s
Edited by musky jr 8/5/2008 11:54 AM
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Posts: 13
| It might sound a bit silly but I learned this from my dad who has been musky fishing ever since he was a youngster. When a big fish grabs on the 8, set the hook and push the button on your reel, thumb the spool for enough tention for the fish to go out about ten or twelve feet without getting off, click over and the battle begins. My landing ratio on the 8 went up about 40% after he thaught me that. Give it a try and I promise you wont be sorry. Needless to say, I felt kinda bad for laughing at him.
Edited by muskydrunk 8/5/2008 3:03 PM
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Posts: 1237
Location: South Portsmouth, KY | On my Canada trip a couple weeks ago i was 1 for 3 on figure eights. One of them i would have landed if it wasent for the fish getting the hook caught in the motor prop!! The other one just popped off. Heartbreaker too cause these we big fish. Its all about how you play them at boatside. Tighten then loosen tighten then loosen the drag or just freespool. All the fish i hooked on the 8 all wanted to powerdive under the boat. Its tricky to keep them on when they do that.
Edited by muskie_man 8/5/2008 4:58 PM
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Posts: 315
| im one to admitt when im wrong and i know exactly what i did wrong....i allowed the fish to get airborne.
like someone said "this is muskie fishing" thats so true.....its just too bad the big girl didnt get her picture taken.
-ba- |
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| You don't hook as many in the figure 8 in Minnesota as you do in Canada, that's for sure. I don't get out Muskie fishing a whole lot, as I've had boat issues recently. I do have a good thing going right now though. I've landed every Muskie that I've hooked in the last two years. Sure it's only 14 fish ranging from a sub-legal to a 50.5, but 100% landed is still pretty good. I know of a few guys who seem to lose more fish by using the high speed reels to burn bucktails, but they're also getting more hits by doing it. I think you need to have a little bit of luck in hoping the fish gets enough of the bait in their mouth when using that technique. |
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percentage of figure 8 landed