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Posts: 1245
Location: Madtown, WI | OK....I am new to the Cisco lake fishing in the fall...up till now I focused all my efforts on the sucker based lakes in Southern WI. But here is my question...come Oct, do we still have a lot of suspendos?? I know as it gets later the ciscos will start to ball up off the drops of the spawning grounds but what about say in two weeks in Northern WI?? I am assuming they are still out cruising and the muskies will be out after them...
Any thoughts on patterns that have worked as fall progresses on these gin bottles? I know working the cranks and plastics on the steep breaks...but supsended?? Travis you out there?? Others??
Cory
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| 90% of my year round fishing is on water with cicso. lake trout and in some cases rainbow base. They follow cicsos around year round, biggest fish are never far away. (Same goes for the walleyes, pike, smallmouth and lake trout). Ciscos will spawn a lot shallower than most realize too, as little as 3-4 feet of water. Mainly at night. I think even though it doesn't as much press as the summer version, night fishing during herring peak could score huge. They get all dopey when they're doing their thing, you can dip ciscos some nights, easy pickins. Not uncommon to mark and catch fish 35-55 feet down during the day, tighter late in the day. Ciscos are a pelagic fish, they're always mid/high, rarely on the bottom. Warm nights April-June they'll break surface. Probably nothing new info-wise Cory. I won't be surprised if that lake produces your heaviest muskie of the year. Small heads, short bodies and all muscle in the cisco water up here. Feast or famine, finding bait often means finding well-fed and selctive muskies when there's that much prime food all over the place. But those tankers will be there, no question. Never far away. Get big pike and lakers fishing cisco schools in May. |
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Posts: 1906
Location: Oconto Falls, WI | The suspendos are still out there in the fall, but I haven't hit them quite as good as other times of the year. I caught a few last October that were true suspendos, and saw perhaps the heaviest fish of the year over 60' of water chasing in a bulldawg a foot below the surface! I'm after that fish this fall for sure!
Anyway, as mentioned baitfish can be key in the fall for the suspendos. Since the fish are looking to feed heavy look the muskies will be around the cisco/whitefish/trout schools. That may mean suspendos, or fishing structure as the ciscos will be closer to structural elements like sharp breaks and humps.
Good luck!
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Posts: 1939
Location: Black Creek, WI | Unfortunately, muskies still suspend post-turnover on those glorious cisco-based gin bottles. The reason I say unfortunately is because now the fish can be at ANY depth. Thus, I usually work my lures down a little deeper and give them even a longer pause now and then thinking the fish may potentially need to travel even further to contact your lure. Definitely check the breaklines... but on a 400 acre WI lake.... the fish can be in the middle of the basin and STILL be "close" to structure. Thus, some of my best mid-season suspendo drifts are also my most productive in Oct. and Nov. The good news is that despite the infinite forage your competing against, those big green muskies are feeding more frequently this time of year.... increasing your odds of a hook-up.
This is a low numbers game, but the stakes are HIGH. Best chance at a legitimate 40 pounder all year! Good luck to all who try it.
jlong |
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