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Posts: 133
| Where do most of you start to fish on the opener? Here in NW WI, as most of you know, it is at the end of May. Are they in the shallows or along deep drops or weeds? Any help will be appreciated. |
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Posts: 3242
Location: Racine, Wi | It kind of depends on how the spring has been, and what kind of lake you are fishing. In general, the smaller males seem to stay shallow a bit longer than the mama's, but obviously that's not always the case. The easiest way to find fish in the spring is look to their spawning areas. Big flats in bays with weeds are a good starting point. Find a couple of areas like that. Then look for some good new weeds coming up. If you find some, fish them good. You can start shallow and if you aren't seeing or catching anything, slide out a cast or two and work the flat. If nothing is going on there, then slide out to the first break line and work that area.
The fish will be in the area, you just have to find out where they are in their spawning activities (pre, spawning, or post), then slide in or out accordingly. Don't be afraid to fish for suspendos right outside of those areas as well. Early in the year, you don't have to fish deep down over open water many times, however it does take some confidence since you're not throwing at any visual structure.
Hopefully that gets ya started. I'm sure others will chime in and you'll get some good info. |
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Posts: 774
Location: South East Wisconsin | What about rocks? They warm up the fastest if the sun is out. |
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| I find fish where I want to, IF what I want to do provides the results I am expecting. If my results do not match my expectations, I start doing what I didn't want to do initially. Sometimes this works. Sometimes I end up "paying my dues".
I got several friends who do some really "off the wall" stuff, and some days,
their reports and pictures show me how little I know and how little I am willing to accept.
The fish make the rules. if there actually are any rules. All we can do is accept/adapt as we are willing. |
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Posts: 1030
Location: APPLETON, WI | tuffy1 - 4/22/2010 8:44 PM ...Early in the year, you don't have to fish deep down over open water many times, however it does take some confidence since you're not throwing at any visual structure. This is probably my biggest issue. Mainly as you mentioned, the lack of confidence and mind games it begins playing on me. I feel like I'm casting out somewhere into the deep blue sea with no set structure that I'm actually casting to... when in actuality, there may be suspended fish. I always feel like I'm wasting my time though. I guess I've not really "adapted" well in this category. |
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Posts: 3242
Location: Racine, Wi | Esox-Hunter - 4/22/2010 8:52 PM
What about rocks? They warm up the fastest if the sun is out.
Rocks can be really good early on. That's where some good pre season scouting comes in. Before the weeds (at least down by us) start growing over the rocks, you can find some gold mines. Not only early on, but during the season once you know where they are under the weeds. Don't overlook rocks and mud too. If you have an incoming creek in the area, even better.
I think Ebenezer hit it right. If you can adapt, you'll score. I think too many people get stuck in a rut. If you're not seeing fish doing what you're doing, don't be afraid to move. I think the bigger fish tend to vacate spawning areas and hold in deeper water or on the first structural elements outside of spawning areas faster than the males do for the most part. If you can keep that in mind and move out of your comfort zone up shallow, you can hit some fish that are unpressured by many people. |
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Posts: 968
Location: N.FIB | what I like to do is make some cast on the other side of the boat,spring time and fall I normally have suckers out,I feel that all I have to do is get them close to the boat.So many times I`ve made a cast and while the lure is in the air my sucker rods going off,I`ve learned to figure 8 a little longer because of that.I would rather catch the fish on lures,but suckers work well on alot of lakes and help you put more fish in the net. |
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| Downed timber.
Twitching minnowbaits in the downed timber is my number one tactic early in the season. |
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Posts: 425
| tuffy1 - 4/23/2010 7:09 AM Esox-Hunter - 4/22/2010 8:52 PM What about rocks? They warm up the fastest if the sun is out. That's where some good pre season scouting comes in. Before the weeds (at least down by us ) start growing over the rocks, you can find some gold mines. Not only early on, but during the season once you know where they are under the weeds. I saw this last year on Pewaukee, early in the season, you can see where all the rock spots are before the weeds come in and hide them on you. Later in the season when you can't see a single rock (because of ALL that milfoil), you still know that there is rock in some sertain locations, there just buried under the weeds. Even though they are under the weeds and you can't see them, they are still a GREAT fish holding location and you can't pass it up. Jake
Edited by 50"skie 4/23/2010 8:36 AM
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Posts: 2089
| Find the food, find the muskies. Simple as that. Learn the "habits" etc. of the baitfish in a particular system. No matter where muskies swim, they have to eat. They can be especially hungry after sex,er, spawn. |
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Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | rivers + stumps = tadpoles + smallies & muskies |
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Posts: 425
| Later on in the season (summer and fall) you all know, at least for the most part, you want to focus on the wind blown areas. Well....early in the season, for the most part, you don't want to focus on the wind blown stuff. These fish are trying to find the warmest water possible. So, those wind pertected weedy bays are ideal for early season, simply because of the warm water. Except South winds, since these winds are "warm winds". There can be a lot said on this fact, but, I kinda just tryed to keep it simple. Jake
Edited by 50"skie 4/23/2010 8:49 AM
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| huh? wind blown areas in the spring can be just as good too as the surface water that is the warmest is then blown to the wind blown side. Wind any time of year can be something to key on.
muskies can be anywhere, anytime, but in the spring I key in on depths of 7 feet or less, whether that is 7 fow or 7 fow over 50 feet. |
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Posts: 2088
| 50"skie - 4/23/2010 8:48 AM
Later on in the season (summer and fall) you all know, at least for the most part, you want to focus on the wind blown areas. Well....early in the season, for the most part, you don't want to focus on the wind blown stuff. These fish are trying to find the warmest water possible. So, those wind pertected weedy bays are ideal for early season, simply because of the warm water. Except South winds, since these winds are "warm winds". There can be a lot said on this fact, but, I kinda just tryed to keep it simple. Jake
Well since there is a lot more to say, please enlighten us - because i agree with very little you have typed so far. |
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Posts: 1202
Location: Money, PA | Early on, I look for the areas where the water temp. is the warmest first. However, over the years, I have developed a general knowledge of where the most productive waters are at what time of the season on the lakes where I fish. To best answer your Q and according to what works best for me, I'd say two things are main factors early in the spring....warmer water and structure around the warmer water. |
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Posts: 968
Location: N.FIB | sometimes early season I think they are in the trees,my bait ends up there more early season than any other time of year.I haven`t caught one yet there,but I`m sure I will keep on trying once in awhile.the lake is much better for action though |
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Posts: 425
| I just think that they key in on the warmest water in early season when water temps are still low. And if you check the water temperatures in a bay that has been getting pounded by wind all day, then check the water temps on the same lake that day in a bay that has been protected, the bay that has been protected all day from the wind is warmer water temps. Unless... it is a warm wind moving in and pushes warm water into the bay. Or...if the prior day was flat sunny and hot, then the next days wind would push that warm surface temps to the wind blown area. And what I meant by, "there is more on this statement" is that there is a lot to go into finding the warmer water. You could add in the sun light....the bay that has sun shining on it during the day time will (obviously) have warmer water then the bay that has been covered by shadow all day. And weed growth is also key in early season and the weeds will develop much faster on the wind protected, sunlit areas. OK, I'm definitely not a professional expert or anything. Just trying to get what I think, may be, "true" out there. And it is perfectly fine if some don't agree. It has been said before, "this forum would be really boring if we all agreed with each other all the time". Right ( : Jake Heuer
Edited by 50"skie 4/23/2010 3:22 PM
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| he's like 17, give the kid a break!  |
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Posts: 667
Location: Roscoe IL | I pick up right where I left off at the end of the year. Drop a sucker and set up on the breaks casting at the shallow weeds or rocks. Beat the crap out of the structure and let your lure hit everything if you can. Sometime the suckers show you a pattern (low and slow) and sometimes they are tight to cover up shallow, and you need to grind them out. Seems to me it's different each day and you have to let them tell you what they want. change up until you get the resulst your looking for. Fun stuff! |
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Posts: 425
| 16 actually.
But hey, Thanks "guest". Appreciate it! |
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Posts: 1168
| Lakes or rivers. The bathtub isn't too productive until at least July. |
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| Since it's a 'flowage' lake, the laydowns and stump fields produce Musky at the opener and all year long. So I take up pretty much where I left off in the Fall---except without the Suckers. |
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| North side bay mouth edges. After spawn they head to [first] rock outside the soft bays. |
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Where do you find the fish in early season?