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Posts: 199
Location: Nebraska | Searched, but came up pretty empty. I've been going to Minaki for the last 16-17 years but we have always gone in September. This year I won't be able to go with the regular group in September due to a conflict so I'm thinking about going a different time of the year. That said, my ONLY muskie fishing experience is September so I have a very limited pool of information to draw from. Can anyone shed any light on normal conditions in June or July? Even the Ontario MNR website doesn't list the 2011 dates and the 2010 dates don't show up any more, so I don't know when the opener is.
What about fishing pressure, bugs, muskie activity, that time of year? Not looking for spots or anything, just some background to see if that is a good time to go.
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Posts: 734
Location: Watertown, MN | Stein it will all depend on the weather. 2 years ago we were up there and 2 week of july and it was tough, fish were still beat up from spawn, the year before on fire. Those weeks of Mid June to early july depend on the how warm the spring was. Our chapter runs a trip there every yeat 2nd or 3rd week of July and it is a pretty popular trip, plenty of water to fish pressure not to much of a issue.
Troy | |
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Posts: 2069
| Stein - 12/8/2010 7:14 PM
Even the Ontario MNR website doesn't list the 2011 dates and the 2010 dates don't show up any more, so I don't know when the opener is.
NW Ontario muskie opener is always the third Sat. in June | |
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Posts: 50
| June 18 2011 is opener. July is a great time. | |
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Posts: 581
| Stein, throughout the the mid to late '90's, and early '00's, I went to Minaki on an annual basis with a group of walleye guys. We were always up there the week of the muskie opener. Success will depend on weather, but with that said, muskie location is pretty predictable. Find the spawning bays and fish will be on nearby structure. Downsized baits can be quite effective. Afternoons and evenings were best. I never had the opportunity to concentrate solely on muskies, but still had fair amount of success during the warmer weather years, including some big fish...there were a few trips where air temps were below normal and muskie activity was spotty.
Some years, the bugs were terrible. Some years, not bad at all. Fishing pressure for muskies was pretty light this early in the year.
I wouldn't recommend against going so early in the year, but you might be at the mercy of the weather. There are some great big fish in Big Sand, and it's pretty simple to find 'em, since the spawning bays are more limited and pretty obvious to locate. (That's generally true of Little Sand and Rough Rock, too, of course).
Good luck. | |
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Posts: 199
Location: Nebraska | Thanks for the info all. Based on the above comments, I'm thinking maybe the first or second week of July instead of June and hope for a bit better weather. | |
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Posts: 378
Location: On the River | second or third week of July usually good. | |
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Minaki in June or July?