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Posts: 1529
| how many guys believe we overthink the musky hunt.
i wish i shoulda coulda during the days fishin |
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Posts: 1141
Location: NorthCentral WI | I like to have my own plan when I hit the water based on personal experience and theories I believe to be true. Too many people clip on a Double Cowgirl or a Mag Bulldawg and expect fish to jump in the boat.
I believe there are many important details that help put fish in the boat that a lot of people overlook. Some people may call it overthinking. There are times when I've asked fishing buddies what they thought about _________ and they look at me like I am speaking a different language. To each thier own. |
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Posts: 192
| Location
Lures action based on location
Weather
Time of day
Those are the strategies i follow those are the ones that matter |
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Posts: 8780
| Short answer - yes. But its fun to try to figure out where the fish are, and what they want today. Far better to overthink than to just go out there and throw the same lure at the same spot where you caught a fish once and go home empty handed and telling yourself that they just weren't biting today. |
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Posts: 190
Location: Savage, MN | esoxaddict - 4/16/2013 1:02 PM
Short answer - yes. But its fun to try to figure out where the fish are, and what they want today. Far better to overthink than to just go out there and throw the same lure at the same spot where you caught a fish once and go home empty handed and telling yourself that they just weren't biting today.
x2, Perfectly put! |
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Posts: 157
| esoxaddict - 4/16/2013 1:02 PM
.... Far better to overthink than to just go out there and throw the same lure at the same spot where you caught a fish once and go home empty handed and telling yourself that they just weren't biting today.
This sums up my stragtegy pretty well. |
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| I like to launch the boat and then decide where I want to start fishing. After I fish a few sports I like to compare the spots and think about what I was throwing, what I saw, if I caught anything, and how big the fish were that I saw or caught. I find it hard to develop a pattern unless you have a full cycle of results followed by another cycle.
The more spots I fish the more it seems there are fish everywhere. |
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Posts: 556
| Yes -- I think we do overthink things at times. After many years of fishing for JUST MUSKY---I started to just GO FISHING 3 years ago----I re-discovered why I like to fish and just how relaxing it is. Now -- I also--don't even think about spots that I am going to start fishing until I reach the lake. Kinda get a feel for it and the wind and weather / weed growth -- and only then do I proceed to what I think may be a good starting point....I also try to bring several different types of BAIT and artificial set ups and go with what might work best under the current conditions... I have no Idea if this actually helps me----BUT I really do enjoy the Multi-species aspect of JUST FISHING !!! I seem to catch almost as many MUSKY by ACCIDENT as I do by actually targeting them. I do sometimes run across and active fish that I may spot and then I will try and target it. has worked great for me the last 3 seasons and I plan on continuing this approach from now on-----I still LOVE THE SKIs---but with the right equipment and set -up I enjoy it all. |
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Posts: 1168
| With advancements in technology I think we can get into a habit of underthinking at times. Just fire up your GPS and go from waypoint to waypoint. Instead of looking at potential changes in conditions our eyes are glued to a screen. Ran into this a few years back with a guy who's boat I hopped into. Right around turnover and he was stuck on his GPS and going back to waypoints dropped in early July.
One of the most knowledgeable anglers I'll ever know doesn't have a GPS, rarely turns his graph on, and hardly gets his trolling motor wet. He just drifts with the wind and does very well doing so. Lines his drifts up with landmarks so that he will pass over the area he wants to. Instead of an identical milk run he's hitting structure at different angles and picking up more and more information each time out as he learns new dynamics of an area that you don't get if you follow the same drift or contour each time out.
There's no substitute for time on the water. Even paying attention to the way water runs down your driveway as the snow melts can teach you a lot about current. I used to have a set itinerary of where I would go before hitting the water regardless of conditions. Now it is 99% dictated by wind patterns and predicting where different water temps will be found. |
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Location: SE Wisconsin | I base most of my decisions on the water on weather patterns over the last few days and the day I'm hitting the pond. Experience year in and year out chasing theories through trial and error eventually leads to some positive knowledge that ultimately improves the value of your predictions on where to start. When you're out there, you already know why you are where you are, doing what you're doing, and you'll put your time into it because you believe in the strategy you've proven out time after time.
I truly feel it becomes innate to a serious musky fisherman as to where they stear their boat and drop the trolling motor because in the back of their mind they know which way the wind has been blowing most consistently and at what speeds over the course of the last few days. They know if it's been high pressure days or low. These same folks know how that weather affected the forage muskies should be chasing for that time of year and how their migrating and that knowledge is what ultimately leads to the best decisions on the water in order to best use the time they have to fish.
As far as thinking too much... well, that's how you learn in this world, especially musky fishing. It's one thing, however, to "think", and it's another to put those thoughts into action and fail over and over again to cross some stuff off your list and add the successes to your aresenal.
Edited by Sam Ubl 4/18/2013 8:27 AM
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Posts: 833
| Great Post Sam. That is the sort of stuff I've been thinking about this offseason. I plan to poke around in the open water areas more this season. The big thing I'm worried about is "how do I know I've put enough time in to say it is a bust?" Frankly, knowing it was successful is a lot easier, I saw fish, caught fish, etc. Knowing a theory is a bad is tougher: Did I have the wrong idea or was I just there at the incorrect time? Should be a fun adventure for sure. |
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Posts: 1937
Location: Black Creek, WI | I guess my take on this is that you are only OVER thinking things if it hurts your confidence. If you start to second guess yourself and the decisions you've made.... and begin to lose your confidence that the next cast will get bit.... then you may as well trailer up and head to the tavern. I try to to turn that evil around and think my way out of such a funk. Dream up a theory and sell it to yourself... so you BELIEVE it will work... and then go do it with confidence. If your thinking degrades your confidence... punt the ball and go home. Whether confidence breeds success.... or success breeds confidence.... thinking is still required in either case. How much is too much... well... that's gonna be different for everyone. |
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Posts: 2687
Location: Hayward, WI | Cutler - 4/17/2013 5:06 PM
I like to launch the boat and then decide where I want to start fishing. After I fish a few sports I like to compare the spots and think about what I was throwing, what I saw, if I caught anything, and how big the fish were that I saw or caught. I find it hard to develop a pattern unless you have a full cycle of results followed by another cycle.
The more spots I fish the more it seems there are fish everywhere.
You must have something figured out. It seems the more spots I fish the more it seems there are fish nowhere! 
I've been accused of overthinking while hunting and fishing. I don't feel that I am, but I guess that's just my personality. I'd rather have some kind of strategy or plan. If nothing else it makes it feel like you were "right" when successful. Otherwise wouldn't it all seem like luck if you never thought about strategy? |
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Location: SE Wisconsin | <p>.</p>
Edited by Sam Ubl 4/18/2013 11:29 AM
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Posts: 1220
| I try to be friendly on the water and not show the degree to which it bothers me when I don't connect, but it bothers me. If overthinking my strategy is a "real" subject you could look up in the "Funk&Wagnals," my picture would be right there with it. I'm competitive, can't help it, don't think it's any great attribute...just is! So, the whole way home from the lake, I am churning it every which way in my head to figure what I did wrong. The good attribute I have is not at all admitting that it was me who did the wrong. So, I spent the winter going to seminars and reading books written by anglers I think are better than me so I can now overthink that stuff as I incorporate it into my routine. Sadly, I am not into "relaxation." I want to get better at this. I'll admit you are better than me but I'll say, "He's better now."
I'm addicted, and overthinking the strategy....and I accept it! Marty Forman |
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Posts: 2024
| I get 7 days to fish this year. So, I have been looking at maps and marking spots to optimize my time on the water. All of that won't matter depending on where I find the fishies. I do plan on branching out from weeds to main lake basins though. I just have to do it at night when the wind typically dies down. I don't see that as overthinking it. If I had more time on the water I would probably be much more relaxed with where I decide to go.
Edited by ARmuskyaddict 4/18/2013 12:13 PM
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Posts: 833
| I am firmly in the over thinking camp!
Just my mileage, but I find on a large body of water it is much easier to get caught on the over thinking band wagon than a smaller one. I fish a lake that is just under 1K acres with about 8 or 10 spots. On that lake one can try all kinds of stuff without compromising too much. Compare vs. Tonka at 14,000 acreas and a vast array of locations, water clarities, etc. Vert different nuts to crack IMO. |
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Posts: 8780
| I think it all comes down to paying attention to what's going on out there, and taking something away from your day on the water. Over time you develop instincts, a lot of which I believe are subconscious. Some people just go out and cast and either catch fish or not. Other go out and cast and try to figure out why they caught fish that day, what they did, where the fish were and why they might have been there. It becomes automatic after so many years. When you hit the water, you may not be thinking "hmm, it was a day just like this three years ago when we caught a fish over there!' But there's still something in the back of your mind that tells you "go fish over there!"
I can't tell you how many times we've pulled up to a spot and before I even threw a cast I thought "#*#*. Not feeling it"... I've been stupid enough to still fish those areas anyway because I don't trust my instincts, but when I feel like that before I even cast, I always come up empty. Couldn't tell you what doesn't look right or why, but sometimes a spot where I've seen and caught fish just doesn't feel right. The other side of the coin is when you pull up to a spot, and as you're getting ready to cast you're just... buzzing. Like you KNOW there's a fish in there and you're going to catch it. More often than not? There's one there.
I'm sure it sounds crazy to most. It sounds crazy to me, but I've experienced it too many times for it to be total BS. |
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Posts: 670
Location: Otsego, MN | With life being busier with kids there days I have learned to make the most of my time. Ill wait for good conditions and most of the time. Years off keeping a accurate fishing log are paying off big time. I fish a lot less do to life changes but catch more fish and bigger fish than in years past. Time on the water and tracking that has paid off big time.
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Location: North Metro, MN | Pretty good posts peeps! Its interesting to see the different ways & approaches people take to start their day. .and the similarities that can apply to water all over. Kinda funny seeing the different views of "theories" and "ideas" yet somehow, many times here in the Metro everyone ends up the same places and just rotate spots. Seems like it keeps getting harder to keep little spots from the masses and just a matter of time before someone is parked on it. Maybe their theories and ideas led them there, maybe they just saw a boat there and had to check it out.... or perhaps I discovered a little spot that someone much older and wiser than I has been fishing longer than I've been alive??
Got me thinkin about my typical start out... I usually have a few "must checks" that I go to first based upon the water temps for that time of year, wind, and if anyone is nearby. I try to have them be different types of spots like shallow w/ little weeds, medium w/ good weeds, and a good weed edge out deeper. I believe it was the late great Buck Perry that said "the fish are either shallow, deep, or somewhere in between" (please correct me if wrong). Such a knowledgable and "look up to" kind of man that I have have learned a lot from.
Having the different types of spots and different tools (bait types) to cover the water, combined with my finstincts then allows me to adapt accordingly, fish confidently while enjoying it all & putting it all together (trying)... then making the best of the precious time spent on the water. |
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Posts: 173
Location: Green Bay, Titletown, WI | esoxaddict - 4/16/2013 1:02 PM
Short answer - yes. But its fun to try to figure out where the fish are, and what they want today. Far better to overthink than to just go out there and throw the same lure at the same spot where you caught a fish once and go home empty handed and telling yourself that they just weren't biting today.
I've actually had good luck with this method. That's what I did when I first started fishing muskie specifically. My rookie knowledge actually paid off and I have found 5-6 spots on 2 lakes that consistently have fish on them. Now that I've "graduated" some, I work a lot of different areas trying to figure out the fish, but after searching and not finding, it's nice to go to my honey holes and at least get a follow. |
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Location: North Metro, MN | I agree w/ esoxaddict for sure. Yes, I do overthink sometimes(especially if they're not snappin like I hope) and I'm sure non fish addicts think I do for sure, but it is fun to try and figure out the fish for that day & what they want. Thats just what my obsession has led me to do each outing. Paying attention helps forsure, just make sure not to think urself crazy! Just enjoy casting and every moment out there. By not fishing as much as I used to (sometimes twice a day) It really put things in perspective and make me not take things for granted... just have fun and enjoy every moment |
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Posts: 241
| Each morning before I go fishing I look at my girlfriend.
If she is sleeping on her right side, I fish right side of the lake.
If she is sleeping on her left side, I fish the left side if the lake.
If she is sleeping on her back....well, I don't go fishing at all. 
Backdraft |
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Posts: 688
Location: Northern IL | Desire is the key to motivation, but it's the determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence, that will enable you to attain the success you seek.
Mario Andretti
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Posts: 8780
| backdraft - 4/18/2013 8:37 PM
Each morning before I go fishing I look at my girlfriend.
If she is sleeping on her right side, I fish right side of the lake.
If she is sleeping on her left side, I fish the left side if the lake.
If she is sleeping on her back....well, I don't go fishing at all.
Backdraft
What if she's sleeping on her stomach? Oh, nevermind! |
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Posts: 300
| I know for a fact I over think musky fishing. I would love to know exactly where the fish are and when they are going to eat. Today it is so easy to get information that it can become detrimental. There are so many different great anglers that fish completely different, but still catch fish. I think we all get wrapped up in the search for the "magic" bait or presentation that the muskies will fall for. I know this time of year I get antsy to try all the new baits and techniques I've picked up over winter. I know it sounds so simple, but to put fish in the boat, all we have to do is be there on the fish when it is ready to eat. It sounds simple, but it is hard to have the patience to wait a fish out, or find where the active fish are going to be. I wish I could turn the over analytical part of my brain off and accept the fact that not every time I go, will be productive. There is no secret bait or presentation that is a guarantee. Now to just get that to sink in, and have the patience to wait for the fish to be ready, and be there when they are ready. |
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Posts: 833
| I will proudly state that I am a card carry member of the over analysis club of Musky Fisherman. It probably doesn't help that I do anaylsis all do for work too. Here is a basic truth for me on this front: I know there are guys that put in time similar to my own that have double or triple my catch total. At the very least, that says I have more to learn.
On top of this, if you fish in high pressure like the metro, it can pay to invest in trying to discover new patterns/locations/ the next big thing. You fail a lot, but to me this is really a great test (and reward) for an angler. You challenge the unknown. In that respect, over analysis can pay dividends in perhaps shortening your learning curve or ruling out various factors.
I think the big thing for me is that I generally enjoy things that are challenging, ie puzzles, and Muskies are certainly a giant puzzle. For me that is the aspect of the sport that really keeps me coming back for more. There are great rewards, many unknown factors, and as such part of this fishing isn't science, it is an art. Analysis, good or bad, can be helpful to narrow the controllables.
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Posts: 11
| I agree, while still in the truck driving to the boat launch I am already running through my head certain variables (wind, time, water temp), then when I get there I usually have a few baits already in my mind that I want to cycle through a certain spots. Once I run through those spots and baits I look at what action or inaction I've had and compare it to past experiences and go from there. Sounds like a process but its more of a routine. I think that if you are serious about musky hunting you need to do your homework before going out and blindly fishing..............even though a blind squirrel does find a nut every once in awhile!!! |
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| I like to strategically move my boat parallel to the shoreline at a slow speed with my trolling motor while I cast my lure as close to shore as possible.
I also like to cast weed beds from all angles. |
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| One thing i have began doing is making sure i take every lure off my rods and put in the box BEFORE the next time i fish, even if its between a morning and afternoon outing. This way I have to kind of go through a mental checklist of where i am going to fish and how i want to do that.
I also generally like to make sure i am checking current patterns and not resting on the past. One lake in particular has a sporadic reed bite, it is never consistant put at various times of the year the fish are in them and you need to take some time to check.
But it is easy to overthink. I see a lot of people who quickly lose confidence in an area they are fishing and they start thinking about the next area. I like Dick Pearsons version of if you are going to fish a spot, take the time and fish it right, so many times it is a small detail you miss.
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Posts: 1529
| the night before head on pillow i vision the lake color and wind directions instead of sheep counting. then i wake before the alarm goes off. |
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Posts: 87
Location: Red Wing, Minnesota | esoxaddict - 4/18/2013 1:37 PM
I think it all comes down to paying attention to what's going on out there, and taking something away from your day on the water. Over time you develop instincts, a lot of which I believe are subconscious. Some people just go out and cast and either catch fish or not. Other go out and cast and try to figure out why they caught fish that day, what they did, where the fish were and why they might have been there. It becomes automatic after so many years. When you hit the water, you may not be thinking "hmm, it was a day just like this three years ago when we caught a fish over there!' But there's still something in the back of your mind that tells you "go fish over there!"
I can't tell you how many times we've pulled up to a spot and before I even threw a cast I thought "#*#*. Not feeling it"... I've been stupid enough to still fish those areas anyway because I don't trust my instincts, but when I feel like that before I even cast, I always come up empty. Couldn't tell you what doesn't look right or why, but sometimes a spot where I've seen and caught fish just doesn't feel right. The other side of the coin is when you pull up to a spot, and as you're getting ready to cast you're just... buzzing. Like you KNOW there's a fish in there and you're going to catch it. More often than not? There's one there.
I'm sure it sounds crazy to most. It sounds crazy to me, but I've experienced it too many times for it to be total BS.
Doesn't sound crazy to me at all. I have felt exactly what you are describing.
The subconscious mind at work. |
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