|
|
Posts: 1764
Location: Ogden, Ut | After reading about Andy Grimm's 12-day pursuit of a behemoth, I got to thinking about what I might have tried to get a fish like that (or any fish that may have called me out). What lengths would I go to in order to insure a shot at success? I really don't think I have that kind of patience or confidence to stick it out for that amount of time.
I also had a rather interesting match this weekend causing me and my partner to dig further into the bag of tricks than either one of us had ever ventured. We had been experiencing about 45 days of stable, very typical weather out here. Then my match; 2 days prior to the match date, the temps begin to fall from slightly higher than normal to record low daily highs. Daily high temps dropped over 25F in some places. Add to that, the morning of the match, it began to rain (first measurable precip in well over a month). I don't want to turn this into an 'excuse fest', but the catch rate was dramatically altered from what I had gotten used to. Now we've all heard, "If you always do what you always did, you'll always get what you always got". Well, not to sound arrogant, but for a matchfishing day, I'd take that! I had the fish pretty much patterned, and getting a couple had only been a few hours in the morning deal. Then this.
So I started out doing what I always did. Nothing.
Doing what I always did, but slower. Nothing.
Doing what I always did, but faster. Still nothing.
Downsizing. Nothing.
OK, on to the 'unconventional' stuff - and not just one of the 4 lines - all of them.
We put on various sizes of soft plastics and trolled them painfully (for me) slow - 1.7-1.8 mph. We hadn't gone a half hour and we had our first fish on a 6" Castaic minnow in Rainbow trout. Well at least something worked. Could have been a fluke.
We slowly lost confidence in having 4 plastics out and slowly began switching back to hard baits. But previously untested ones. Small Risto Rap, Lightnin' Shad, K-15 Kwikfish, etc. - there was a long stretch that day where we were fishing 4 lures that I had never even heard of getting a muskie - at least not locally.
Well, about 45 minutes later, a 38 incher was resting in the bottom of the net courtesy of the K-15 Kwikfish.
Two fish under tough post-frontal conditions - I'll take it.
I hope I learned a valuable lesson...but just what it is, I'm not quite sure yet.
What is unconventional to you? Has it been repeatable? Are you even willing to spend the time required to find out? With the limited amount of time some of us get to spend on the water, how do you maximize your chances and what risks are you willing to take during that time in experimentation?
(after we quit, we talked to a couple guys at the ramp who also got 2 fish - both fish were caught trolling small jointed shad raps at over 5 mph...go figure)
S.
Edited by sorenson 8/12/2009 2:18 PM
| |
| | |
Posts: 774
Location: South East Wisconsin | Question: How do you maximize your chances and what risks are you willing to take during that time in experimentation?
My Answer: It all comes down to time on the water! For me this year has been tough. So when I do get out there I just do what i've always done. If that doesn't work well then I have to do something else. It's all up to the individual on what you want to risk. Personally I would risk whatever it takes to catch a fish like that.
S.Killips | |
| | |
Location: Des Moines IA | Now that I'm a boat owner again, I will be able to stretch my comfort zone easier. I'm not afraid to try something radical , especially when what I'm currently trying isn't working at all. Catching fish is fun, but I enjoy being out and on the water just as much as catching fish. As Jeremy would say, as we sat back and trolled a few lines during a fishless day , "this sure don't suck"! | |
| | |
Posts: 1169
Location: New Hope MN | I never try anything too off the wall. Call me a chicken i guess. Now, where did i put that radio controlled lure? | |
| | |
Posts: 143
| you were out there on the 8th? i was there from wednesday night till saturday morning, i didn't think it would be possible to not see your boat. and i totally forgot to let you know anyways.
anyways, i caught 5, 4 on a 8" Jake and 1 on a Krusher. trolling all of them, which i'm not really a fan of, but it is kinda nice. i think i got one thursday, 3 friday, and 1 saturday morning. that's not so much outside the comfort zone, but casting out here is. i KNOW they don't want big stuff (double 10s, etc) but it's hard for me to not use that stuff, cause i like em so much. i probably could spend a week casting a double cowgirl on pineview and maybe get one fish to go on reaction, or i could just put on a double showgirl and catch multiple fish per day. if there was a guarantee that the one fish would be 50+, i might just do that, but i don't believe that to be the case. would i chase a monster for as long as i knew it was still there trying to catch it - absolutely. | |
| | |
Posts: 17
Location: West Haven, UT | You did better than me, only one in the boat on the 9th, fishing was tough and cold. One of my personal best days came from trying something new way out of my comfort zone October of last year. When I first started to pursue these fish it was with a fly rod(I dont know what the heck I was thinking). I had tied up two huge rabbit strip flies that were 12" long and had no luck with them. So they ended up in the "when everything else fails box". A cold front had moved in and we fished for hours casting the lures that worked and the lures that hadnt worked and caught nothing. To make a long story short, the flies with about 10 sinkers, twitched about a foot off the bottom was the ticket. It took 4 hours of trying before I found something that worked. Today I can't fish as long as I want to. I get about 5-6 hours a week and I am pot committed even when I am not catching anything. My biggest fish so far this this year came from "when everything else fails box". I would love to chase a huge fish 12 days in a row. | |
| | |
Posts: 999
| Butterwheels, I find it hard to believe those big tigers out there wont eat double tens. The tiny musky's in Wisconsin even eat them! They've worked every place I have ever tried them. Give them more of a shot! (outside the comfort zone, sounds like you haven't tried it much) especially if their eating 8" jakes, they'll pound a double ten.
Edited by Mr Musky 8/13/2009 9:51 PM
| |
| | |
| So you trolled, you trolled fast, slow, normal, soft and hard - thats what she said.
So did the thought of casting every come into mind? I dont care if it the last tech. that works for u - but it never came into play for u.
For me, trollings is the last on the list, but when times are really that bad, I try it.
But u obviously faired out ok, 2 fish. nice work. Cast maybe next time for an hour for S & Gs. | |
| | |
Posts: 1764
Location: Ogden, Ut | Dog - 8/13/2009 11:07 PM
So you trolled, you trolled fast, slow, normal, soft and hard - thats what she said.
So did the thought of casting every come into mind? I dont care if it the last tech. that works for u - but it never came into play for u.
For me, trollings is the last on the list, but when times are really that bad, I try it.
But u obviously faired out ok, 2 fish. nice work. Cast maybe next time for an hour for S & Gs.
Point taken, but I was hoping this thread would be less of an analysis on what else I could have done, but more of an interesting instance of doing something that you (or almost anyone else) never or nearly never do and having it save the day. I cast most of the time, so that is not out of my comfort zone. So yes, the thought of casting came to mind, but my generalized method during matchfishing is trolling due to the simple idea that 2 wet lures/angler are usually better than 1.
| |
| | |
Posts: 143
| Mr Musky - 8/13/2009 8:49 PM
Butterwheels, I find it hard to believe those big tigers out there wont eat double tens. The tiny musky's in Wisconsin even eat them! They've worked every place I have ever tried them. Give them more of a shot! (outside the comfort zone, sounds like you haven't tried it much) especially if their eating 8" jakes, they'll pound a double ten.
i may next spring. right now it's the trolling bite. the 2 i caught on a earlier trip in the year on double showgirls absolutely pounded them, so i know it's definitely something that could work. i think that Jr DCG's will work better than the 10s. it's just like i said, i could spend a few days with a cowgirl and maybe convert 1 or 2 or catch like 5 or 6 with showgirls. numbers are fun out here.
i might have had one lazy follow on a cowgirl last year. i don't remember anymore. | |
| | |
Posts: 8781
| How far out of the comfort zone?
I'll try just about anything, and just about anywhere. Once I've exhausted all the "conventional" approaches like downsizing, slower/faster, more erratic, trying various depths and lures, fishing different types of structure? Anything goes -- fuzzy duzzits, trolling, burning baits at warp speed, ripping crankbaits as fast and hard as I am able, using colors and patterns that I would ordinarily never use... I've even resorted to targeting small pike so I can put one on a quickstrike rig. I've colored blades with a sharpie, I've added weight to bucktails, put rubber trailers on gliders, put blades in front of just about everything, If nothing is working, you've got nothing to lose by trying something else, even when it's something you'd never do ordinarily.
There's also a lot to be said for knowing when the best approach is exactly what you are doing, even if it hasn't shown results yet. I'm certainly not there myself most of the time, but I firmly belive that just because you aren't catching muskies doesn't mean you're not throwing the right lures in the right areas, it just means you are throwing the right lures in the right areas at the wrong time.
When the right time comes, I'd rather have a lure that I know produces on a spot that I know is good.
Edited by esoxaddict 8/14/2009 3:53 PM
| |
| | |
| I've told myself a few times that if my standard Musky lures don't start producing soon then I'm going to try throwing some big Pike spoon and see what happens. I may actually try that eventually.
But I draw the line at being willing to wear a pink, fuzzy hat. | |
| |
|
How far out of the comfort zone will you stray?