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Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | what do you key in on while searching for bait piles in open water and how do you set-up your strategy?
sandgrass??? icons/mapping ...??
loons??? moving bait piles??
deepwater structure ... humps/spines??
or just chuck n wind and hope for the best??
when searching for spawning spots, we found the shorelines are often lined with eagles that are staged and ready.
how do you approach this kind of fishing???? |
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Location: Northern Wisconsin | Last year I spent a week on a small lake and my go to tactic for open water fishing was to find the loons. Once I found the loons I noticed big balls of minnows and shortly after started to catch some muskies. |
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Posts: 1169
Location: New Hope MN | I used to net whitefish with my dad when i was a kid. Spawning locations are the rubble flats/reef with deep water near by. Find these shelves and you'll find bait. The spawn kicks into overdrive when water temps are in the 40's during the full moon. Usually full moon in November. The spawn can last past ice up. |
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Posts: 419
Location: Appleton, WI | Hopefully my brother Travis can chime in here since he's spent a lot of time in no man's water. But for what it's worth I'll give you a couple points that I know about suspended musky fishing.
Although it's nice to see on the graph, clouds of baitfish. Don't get too hung up on it that you need it to show up on the graph in order to have a musky nearby. Many times the baitfish is either too far off from the sonar's cone. Or they are traveling much higher in the water column that isn't being picked up by sonar. We've caught a bunch of fish where there wasn't even blip of baitfish registering on the graph.
Muskies will hold near deep water structure and sometimes no structure at all. If you want to start near deep water structure first and gradual move off it casting to gain confidence in open water fishing. Then by all means do this in order to gain confidence in suspended musky fishing. Remember to spend as much time targeting muskies on open water as you would if you were fishing structure fish. To give it fair shake, you need to be allotting the same amount of time doing this as the structure fishing. We all know that muskies have their preferred feeding windows. The expectation of seeing fish immediately needs to be tempered especially with suspended fish.
Although you may have follows like shallower muskies, it's not nearly as prevalent. Those fish that are hanging out in deeper water are totally different animals. You need to be moving your baits erratically to trigger a strike and need to take your time. Suspendos are looking for an easy meal. That's part of the game when hanging out in the deep water. Muskies are looking for that easy meal and don't need to ambush as weed/ structure fish.
After spending an adequate amount of time targeting suspended fish you'll know which areas of the basin are more productive than others. It also changes throughout the years. I guess my best advice on this is just put the time in to find out where those spots are. But once you find them, keep a mental note and try to keep those spots in the battle chest.
Paul Klein, Travis Kopke and Tony Rizzo are some of the people that consistently catch fish over open water. Hopefully they'll chime in here. |
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| the last three years I have moved to deep water, due to slow years for me on the weed edges and shallows. This has helped with side sonar imag. this allows me to see more in the water. and what I look for is bait balls being attacked by more then one fish. Trolling to these spots stop and cast. The follows in deep are different, the fish is comming from deep so you will see white belly sometimes before any thing else. I do at least two 8's because these fish are following father back. For me I have had follows in 30'-80' casting and trolling ( I do 8's when reelling up on troll) But this can be done all season not just Fall. This season I have 6 fish in 35'-55' and follows in 75' water with only two fish trolling. Rubber lures work best but have seen top water work also, which makes me think you just have to get your hooks over the fish not in front of there nose. One benefit with deep water fishing you see less fisherman on your favorite spots. Enjoy your time on the water. |
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Posts: 999
| Krappie, dont plan on reading anymore posts from Travis on this site as he is done posting on MuskieFirst.
We like to watch the loons and see where they are feeding late in the fall, that generally gives you the best idea on where the baitfish (ciscos) are located, usually it is close to their spawning areas. I like the Eagle thing, I bet that is money!
Mr Musky
Edited by Mr Musky 7/28/2011 11:13 AM
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Posts: 426
Location: Perryville, MO | I'll take your favorite lure...Steve might just let it be so that I can have your lure.  |
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| Travis took his ball and went home? awww poor lil fella! |
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Posts: 444
| Bummer, Travis provided some good info....hopefully he posts elsewhere... |
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| mr musky just wondering why he left? just doesnt like the site or what? |
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Posts: 45
| Did it have anything to do with a post the on High Water Temps topic? |
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Keys to Fall Open Water Fishing ...