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Posts: 194
| For you folks out ther who have done quite a bit of site fishing. Over the last few seasons I have spotted a few fish in the shallows. I tried all kinds of presentations on these fish and nothing. My question is if anyone has noticed a certain type of body posture that the fish had when they ended up catching one they spotted first? For example would a fish be sitting with a curve in it's body? All the fish I never caught but new were sitting in the shallows were sitting on bottom and still and straight postured. Would a noticably moving fish possibly be on the prowl and easier to catch and a fish just laying there worth the effort, but the odds are? Thanks |
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Location: Northern Wisconsin | while fishing on a river in the UP of michigan i explored some small inlet creeks that led to some weedy shallow ponds. This little creeks was only 3 or 4 feet deep and the weeds came up thick up to a couple feet below the surface. while motoring up the creek we saw a couple musky dart from the boat as we approached. i saw one dart away and go up really shallow so i stopped and made a quick cast with the bucktail i had on and within a couple cranks of the reel it came charging the bait and ate it. this is the only musky i have caught sight fishing so im not sure if theres a way to tell if theyll eat but it sure was cool/fun. |
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| A lot of the time when muskie are up shallow like that they are digesting. They are usually hard or impossible to catch in this situation. The warmer water of the shallows helps increase the water temp, which increases body temp, which increases the rate of digestion. I would guess the fish that are shallow are probably on sand bottom? Maybe a dark muddy bottom? If you want to cast to them, I would try a finesse technique. Anything quiet that will sit right in front of their nose. Your best chance is to piss em off. Tiger Tubes or some of the bass stuff might be your best chance. Good Luck. |
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Posts: 507
| Small Creatures. I've done really well with them sight fishing Muskies. |
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Posts: 2325
Location: SE, WI. | Paddle tail creatures work well for sight fishing. I like a stand up jig head, and when I pour the paddles tail creatures, I put cork in the tail so jig and tail stand vertical in front of their nose!  |
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Posts: 3242
Location: Racine, Wi | I don't think there is a body posture per say that you will see, but you'll know right away if they are catchable or not. Like Steve and Jim said above, all we throw at them are jigs. I like the paddle tails or the reapers for the most part. Black seems to work the best.
When you cast, throw 10-15' AWAY from the fish. Don't try to smack it in the mellon. Once that jig hits the bottom, let it sit and shake it. Right then, you'll usually get one of 3 reactions from the fish. They'll turn or do something to acknowledge that the jig is there. That's what you want to see. If they do that, it's a catchable fish. If they just sit there and don't move or acknowledge your bait, you MIGHT be able to get them to go, but I would probably take 1 or 2 casts and if nothing move on and come back later. (those fish sitting there will usually be there for a while so you can come back and see if their attitude changed). The third reaction is the fish just taking off and getting out of there. I usually leave those alone as well, but try back later as they will usually go back to the same spot or very close.
Sight fishing is a BLAST to do with jigs or even flies and the fish are very catchable. You just have to read and get used to the reactions the fish give you. |
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Posts: 531
Location: Hugo, MN | One thing to remember that might help is to react to the fish's reaction. If when you wiggle the jig at first, the musky responds, your bait should attempt to flee. You want to react as quickly as possible. This would be a normal baitfish reaction. Sometimes it's all you can do to trigger the less neutral fish. Worst case scenario, you get to practice a few times and see what works and what doesn't. |
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Posts: 3242
Location: Racine, Wi | Very true. Just like with anything, the more you do it, the more you learn. Once you see a few fish react to certain triggers, you'll start to figure out what trips their triggers. It's very fun to watch some of these fish do some pretty crazy things around your jig. |
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Posts: 194
| Thanks guys. We'll see how it goes. I'm definately gonna have a rig set up for this stuff this year. |
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Posts: 1767
Location: Lake Country, Wisconsin | I have had success with weighted bulldawgs in clear lakes that have sandy bottoms that attract fish during mid day time periods. |
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