|
|
Posts: 91
| Hi Guys,
I have a question for you. It seems like I happen to get out more times than I would like under Post Frontal situations. I know it's beautiful and relaxing for fishing, but brutal fishing for muskies!
What suggestions would you have to increase my success level, fishing under these conditions? What are your go to baits and presentations? Thanks! |
|
| |
|
Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | rip in the salad ... |
|
| |
|
Posts: 7
| Slower more erratic baits like a swim bait or Super D are my go to baits when the fish aren't co-operating under any conditions. The more erratic the action of the bait the more response I get from the fish under those conditions. Also if you've been mostly fishing shallower structure with no luck try finding deeper structure in the same area. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 723
| My best presentation for a post frontal day is a Jmac jig/salt shaker tail. I tend to stick with 2 colors, a walleye or firetiger.
that should work for any water you fish. Make sure you put a single trailer 5/0 hook on it. Jig fishing can be painstakingly slow, you rip lots of weeds as you SLOWLY reel, bump into them, then rip upwards, let jig fall. Even if you're not contacting weeds all the time, VERY SLOWLY reel, and occasionally just stop reeling, give a 2-3 second count, and start reeling again. repeat, repeat, repeat. Use a single strand 140# wire leader as when you rip the jig free of weeds, this will cut weeds unlike a fluro will just mate with the weeds, and you'll give up soon there after.
you really have to train yourself to keep in contact with weeds, meaning let the jig fall a lot if you're deeper, crawl it thru,
keep making noise down there... If you don't see action using a jig on the toughest days you fish, you didn't try hard enough.  hands down one of the best presentations to tick mr musky off, it's an "in your face" tactic, and yet, very subtle in size and vibration, which I feel is HUGE when they just binged the last couple days, and are not looking for a large,loud,gawdy meal....
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 1828
| dogboy - 7/9/2015 8:51 AM
hands down one of the best presentations to tick mr musky off, it's an "in your face" tactic,
To have this effect, you'd have to really, really slow down your fishing, right? I don't mean your retrieve (you covered that), but your boat handling. Do you pretty much just camp on a spot and cast every few feet to make sure you really cover the weed beds?
I'm interested in this style of fishing because of those days that nothing else seems to get their attention. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1168
| Not all lakes are the same. Some seem to be better in post frontal periods than they are pre-frontal. Figure out which ones are better and fish those. Or fish a river. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 2017
| definitely depends on the lake! post frontal you REALLY need to fish where they are... duh! you always need to fish where they are, right? I'm talking more about getting your presentation in their face! Bluebird days (post-frontal) most lakes are tough. Slow down and pick good stuff apart and visualize a fish not moving far to chase your presentation. How many guys keep throwing DBL-10's and 8's in all conditions? If a fish is laying in 10-15' feet of water (many lakes fish slide deeper post front) and it's fairly inactive good luck buzzing bucktails 2-4' deep.. you are looking at a skunk day square in the face! Bondy?, Twitch a depthraider , or maybe hop a jig/creature by its face, you have a chance!
Then there are lakes like mille lacs when sometimes the fish are inactive in 2 feet of water and the only way to trigger is a small tail doing Mach 10 ..6" in front of them...part of what makes muskie fishing fun.. putting the pieces together every day is a new day!
Edited by IAJustin 7/9/2015 11:35 AM
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 723
| As ulbian stated, yes, some lakes are post frontal lakes. so going to the extreme of slowing way down when you should be fishing fast and covering water can be counter-productive. Know your waters and when they're "off"
Jaultman- yes, I am really slowing down boat control, not necessarily camping, but thoroughly fishing areas I know hold fish.
the tactic takes lots of patience, but we're musky anglers, if you have none, well, you will end up with what you put into it. just my experience. Really try to concentrate on some spots you know "well" in your mind, how the weed edge is defined,
corners, points, aprons with different weeds than those from the top of the primary break, the fish sink into that stuff, and typically won't come up for an offering, but if you put it on their nose. BUMP!
so, this tactic is relatively a deeper tactic vs the targeting the shallow slop, it does work in shallower water, but find my success to be on the deeper side of things, all relative to the weed depth obviously.
get a couple different sizes, 3/8 & 5/8 oz. use the lighter one up shallower, it swims a lot better, slower fall to it,
but the 5/8 is my go-to for anything over 7ft deep. You want that jig to plunge into where that fish is sitting. something heavier will get thru that conopy and start creating a ruckus. You can do similar approach as Dick Pearson outlined with "grinding" spinnerbaits.
example: my boat and another buddies boat were on same lake. it was post frontal, bluebird, fairly calm, nothing moving.
buddies boat, him and his partner tossed everything under the sun of their typical favorite baits, presentations. they saw zero all day.
my dad and I started the day off pitching the feel good stuff. after 2 hrs of nothing, we both put jigs on, landed 2, lost 2, and saw 4 other fish. coincidence?
almost forgot important tip:
I typically use foregrip for this tactic, point your rod straight at the jig for your slow retrieve, I'll actually use my index finger as a line indicator ( you can feel a bump thru the line) as you let the jig fall, really pay attention to your line, you may feel a slight bump, or watch your line actually jump left or right. set hooks!!!
I don't like palming the reel because you're really setting the hook a lot through out the day to clean the jig of weeds. using the foregrip you make a faster, clean rip IMO.
Edited by dogboy 7/9/2015 12:22 PM
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 1828
| dogboy - 7/9/2015 11:27 AM
coincidence?
No.
Great response, I really appreciate it.
What about cold fronts on rocky lakes with minimal or no weeds? Just deeper, slower, tighter to cover? |
|
| |
|
Posts: 2691
Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin | Bottom contact on lakes without cover. Breaks or transition areas are your structure. If weeds are there I grind through them with spinnerbaits or jigs. If not crank baits get me my fish.
The more irratic the better. Your looking for reaction strikes. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 91
| Great stuff!!! Thanks guys! |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1300
| Very good info. Confirms some of what I've been doing for awhile, and gives some new ideas as well. I talk to the bass guys at the landing, all the time. They are often griping, or at least commenting that they keep seeing or hooking muskies. So I just started "bass fishing" with bigger, heavier jigs. Tossing docks and other shallow structure that is usually pretty weed choked. It's been effective, especially on those calm, sunny days. I haven't gone to the deeper side of the weeds though, so I look forward to giving that a go. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 59
Location: Fifield | thick weeds. spinnerbaits. cast into the thickest stuff you can find, point your rod tip at the bait and grind it out. |
|
| |
|
Location: Contrarian Island | success in post frontal: punt and go get pizza and beers! |
|
| |
|
Posts: 633
Location: Madison, WI | I love how everyone always says just cast spinnerbaits and grind through the weeds, if I ever find a spinner that works through the milfoil and slime maybe I would. I'd buy a bunch |
|
| |
|
| danmuskyman - 7/12/2015 9:50 PM I love how everyone always says just cast spinnerbaits and grind through the weeds, if I ever find a spinner that works through the milfoil and slime maybe I would. I'd buy a bunch Save some for me! Those techniques may work on cabbage and maybe coontail, but not milfoil. If the fish go deep in the milfoil we have around here, I haven't found a way to fish through it, and I have to stick just to the edges. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | sharpen the lips of a baby depth raider ... throw it in there and rip the bejesus out of it. it will cut through if you rip hard enough and will give some pretty cool action too. |
|
| |
|
| Chemi - 7/12/2015 9:35 PM
danmuskyman - 7/12/2015 9:50 PM I love how everyone always says just cast spinnerbaits and grind through the weeds, if I ever find a spinner that works through the milfoil and slime maybe I would. I'd buy a bunch Save some for me! Those techniques may work on cabbage and maybe coontail, but not milfoil. If the fish go deep in the milfoil we have around here, I haven't found a way to fish through it, and I have to stick just to the edges.
I got me a low 40's this morning in the heaviest of slop. A big storm rolled through over night and raised the water level maybe 2" or just enough to get my topwater over the milf Without too many hangups. Between the fish and weed mass, I ended up reeling in over a hundred pounds. |
|
| |
|
| slop fishing sucks but they are in there. Some biggies too at times. If nothing else is working, give it a try.
Edited by mnmusky 7/13/2015 5:59 PM
Attachments
----------------
 20150713_072118.jpg (52KB - 429 downloads)
|
|
| |
