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Posts: 4080
Location: Elko - Lake Vermilion | What are some ways you "Old School" guys read the water??
For example: If I see water spiders on the water where I'm fishing MOST of the time I won't see any fish,... Loons in the area can be a good thing ,...Or bad.
Sea gulls diving at bait fish are usually a good sign.
If you couldn't rely on any electronics, or buddies on Cell phones to tell you where to fish,.. What would you do???
I think Nature around you can tell you a lot of things on how to fish that particular day...... So how do some of you OLD Crusty Pros Read the water, without your High Tech Crap ? You don't have to be 60yrs. old to know how to read water,... just some time on the water and experience.
Do you fish the warmest water in the spring ,and the coolest water at the peak of summer?? Why ? Weeds, Rocks,... when,..why?
Jerome |
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Posts: 313
Location: Bemidji, Lake Vermilion | I have buddies who swear by livestock Jerome. If its laying down, not moving, not doing anything they swear fish are not moving either. If the birds/beasts are moving around, flying about fish will be moving. |
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Posts: 1530
| depends on the waterbody your on. . yes reading water equals experience. here we look for bait mudline breaks, water temps water color for lure colors. winds can influence your whole day fishing also. too many variables. |
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| Having spend a good amount of time diving under the water, I also feel there is much that can be gained by just observing the fishes moods. Goes a long way in not wasting time on fish that are not interested. BR |
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Posts: 2361
| I have found that if there are clouds or sun reflecting on water in any way, it is a good day to fish.
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Posts: 132
| I've heard (in the winter anyway) that if you go into a bait store, and all the bait is schooled up together in one corner of the tank (or your bait bucket) and not moving much, might as well go home. But if they're swimming all around, it's gonna be a good day. Not sure if this relates to muskies or not, but why won't it? |
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Posts: 32935
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | SVL's Observations:
The best time to go Muskie fishing?
When you can.
The only rule is...
There are no rules. |
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Posts: 76
| Firstsixfeet you made my day! Still laughing!! I always say you can't catch them if you aren't out there. |
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Posts: 1169
Location: New Hope MN | When I was a kid I used to fish bass way before season opened...
When the frogs first started chirping, you could maul the monster bass off the spawning beds. They would hit anything... spoons, spinners, worms or whatever. |
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Posts: 4080
Location: Elko - Lake Vermilion | I've seen several Eagles(6-7) swoop down and catch whitefish in open water (for several days in a row), so I figured that there must be muskies near by,.. But I got nothing.. (end of summer 77* water temp, sunny) Was that a bad read or do I just suck?
I mostly fish wind blown bays as opposed to the opposite.... or wind blown shorelines
What do you look for,..? ..or avoid, ?
Nelson, where's your words of Wisdom ? |
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Posts: 4343
Location: Smith Creek | Popple bloom = crappie spawn
When the water gets too hard I put my muskie gear away and fish walleyes. |
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Posts: 321
| I disagree that it is always a good time to go fishing. If things are not in your favor, there are so many other fun activities to enjoy. Fishing is better and more enjoyable if the odds are in your favor. H |
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Posts: 121
Location: Plymouth IA | Homer - 5/17/2012 11:34 AM
I disagree that it is always a good time to go fishing. If things are not in your favor, there are so many other fun activities to enjoy. Fishing is better and more enjoyable if the odds are in your favor. H
 What? something other than fishing?
If the poplar trees leaves are bottom side up fish tend to be more aggressive. At least in this old guys opinion. Bright sun = up in the weeds or real deep cloudy but sometimes on some waters i swear muskies sun themselves like third river.
Like Steve W. said no rules or the old man used to say get out of your rut because a rut is just a grave with both ends kicked out |
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Posts: 210
| I dunno. When things don't "look good", I use the time to: lay out spots; learn to interpret what my electronics are showing me; look at new spots; laern how to work baits to my liking; investigate accesses I may not use; investigate new to me eateries on the water. Sometimes I even get a curly hair stuck somewhere and get determined to see/catch a fish no matter how bad the conditions seem to be. I catch more when they are going; I learn more when they are not going. |
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Posts: 440
| IF the blue herons are butt deep in the water and feeding it will be good. Especially if they stand their ground and not fly away when approached. If they are on the bank with their head tucked in you might want tighten the belt a little it is going to be tough. Also two of my best muskie days the loons were very actively feeding. When chasing bass a mayfly hatch is absolutely worth calling in sick over. That being said, any day fishing is a good day.
Edited by ChadG 5/18/2012 9:30 AM
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Posts: 1040
| I always go to northern Wisconsin for the walleye opener. If I see deer running around the woods on the way to the lake in the morning, that is always a good sign. This year we saw an albino deer. Got our limit in like two hours.
Muskie Fishing? That's a little different. Sometimes I look at the gills around the pier. If none are around, I know I'll have to go deep and fish slow. If they are around and moving pretty good, I'll fish weedlines as usual. |
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Posts: 415
| Walleyedoctor - 5/17/2012 8:11 AM
Firstsixfeet you made my day! Still laughing!! I always say you can't catch them if you aren't out there.
Yeah, he's hilarious. Really helpful also. *
*extreme sarcasm |
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| An old saying: "white water in the morning" |
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Posts: 3508
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | Hiya,
If there is some wind, I will always look for areas of small rock wall, where the wind is hitting the wall directly and creating a huge area of turbulent water in front of the wall with waves not only coming into the wall, but also in the opposite direction... If a fish is there...it should be active....VERY active....
Steve |
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| In the late fall if I see swans feeding I know they're in an area that still has healthy weeds |
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Posts: 86
Location: colorado | when i have aching joints when i go to bed the night before,going to be a good day on the water. |
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Reading the Water