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Posts: 566
| don't forget 20 mph winds . got to love this global warming. several guys in our crew are just staying in today. tired from 4 straight days of getting pounded by winds. this sport is brutally unfair. water temps are now at or below 60 degrees on the manitou . we have had the misfortune of 3 years in a row of bad weather for our fishing week. Our crew are mainly caster's, having to troll stinks. Enough crying for now  MD |
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Posts: 1767
Location: Lake Country, Wisconsin | Wow, that's brutal....I have been complaining all summer about how it stinks to not have my first Canadian trip of '09 until July 25th, but from the sounds of it maybe I planned it right by accident |
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Posts: 2010
| Get on the backside of mainlake points and islands (better boatcontrol and seiche effect) - I would throw a DDD trying to make contact with rock and then pause the bait. It will be slow - but I rarely can throw a DDD all day in Canada without putting a fish in the boat.
Edited by IAJustin 7/16/2009 10:26 AM
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Posts: 2361
| Of course, you could be back here in KY instead...? |
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Location: Illinois | Go back to the drawing board
Although it is hard, it's times just like this that you can improve and learn
Of course a good bite would be nice. Yeah, we all like to catch em casting. My advice is to "troll with the punches". I bet if a trolling pattern emerges you'd be very happy you reacted to adversity by adjusting your tactics rather than sticking to "what you prefer". Remember, it's always about what the muskies want, not YOU.
Not speaking as an expert, but as a motivational speaker, like my fictional hero: Matt Foley |
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Posts: 5161
| Had a high of 50 once in July years back.Got 4 that day and lost a fifth on a reef hawg.Go get em you never know with those #*^@ muskies!b |
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Posts: 97
| I would either fish slop or slow down with cranks and fish off the structure a little more. Sounds like your trip is winding down, but if you have a couple boats in your group, maybe have each boat try a specific tactic and stick with it for a 1/2-full day and go with whatever pattern wins out.
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Posts: 97
| We have all had trips where the weather doesn't cooperate. The one thing to focus on is that sometimes 1 cast can make all the difference. Keep pluggin' away. |
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Posts: 311
Location: Ontario | The weather over most of the Province has been a wash this year basically since the first week in May. I've had a lot of tough trips saved by trolling. You keep your baits wet 100% of the time and can pick a depth and stay on it, two things I think are very important. In bad weather like big wind and/or cold I think it's the best way to stay efficient and focused on the best basic depths, areas and speeds. BUT, trolling can be pretty hard to do correctly if you're not a troller and when you don't know the structure intimatley. Casting might be the way to go simply because you're probably a good caster already and tough times are NOT the time for reimventing yourself or starting from scratch, but thats just my opinion. You're comfortable casting, so maybe just roll a couple of your #1 baits and keep them wet. Good luck and welcome to the ONT Crappy Weather Club. This wknd's gonna be junk once again too. |
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Posts: 331
Location: Stevens Point, Wisconsin | Dan,
I hear ya dude.
Just waved buy to a couple buds as they left the NW Angle a day early. All the advice is great advice but 20-30 MPH winds, rain, mist, cold water and air temps, dropping water levels and dirty water 3 days in a row can break a mans spirit. Thank God I have the chance to stay up here all summer and wait for summer to show up. Not every July that in 3 weeks the water temps have stayed the same. Looks like better weather this week and I bet the fish really start going.
Would have been a terrible vacation week this week. Some big fish are being caught so there is hope.
Well time to head out on LOTW and gather in the crab pots!
Yes, it's that bad!
Ed |
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Posts: 566
| forgot to mention the good news , the few that are being caught are of good size, 47 , 48.5 and 2 49's. but no numbers at all. thats with 12-14 guys fishing for 5 days so far. pattern has been no fish all day, action between 8-10pm . 3 of the 4 good ones were post dinner. DCG's or black buchertail 700's. It is tough when most of this crew gets 1 week a year here. MD |
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Posts: 331
Location: Stevens Point, Wisconsin | That seems to be the productive time frame on the woods as well. (6-9 pm) |
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Posts: 1504
Location: Oregon | I hate it when a fishing vacation is ruined by the weather!!
A hundred degrees here today in Oregon
RM |
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Posts: 566
| the last day produced another 49 and a 48 as well--all the big ones caught trolling , more out necessity than preference. total of 22 ski's boated , we had 14-16 guys in camp for 6.5 days . some time was lost staying in due to weather. we usually boat above 30 for the week. MD |
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Posts: 332
Location: Michigan | I would say you guys came away with a pretty good trip, considering the bad weather conditions and being on trout water. Nice job! |
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Posts: 566
| several of the "rookies" were thrilled --4 guys got their PB . One of my worst years ever , but hey ' thats muskie fishing. We ended up our friendly invitational with a 3 way tie for biggest fish. 3 49's. 1st time in 13 years we have had a 3 way tie. MD |
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Posts: 829
Location: Maple Grove, MN | I was fishing a northern MN lake this past weekend. Saturday morning was at 49 degrees, water temps were at 63 degrees, and it was windy and cold. However, the fish were still catchable.
We found that down-sizing the lures and getting right into the weed cover produced strikes. The best baits were small Muskie size spinner baits casted right over the weeds and allowed to drop into the weed pockets. While the small CJs spinner baits were working well, a few other smaller spinner baits also produced results. Unfortunately, I missed the hook set on the largest fish that was well into the 50 inch class. But that is fishing.
A few things that proved true for us:
1. One has to be on the water to catch fish.
2. Smaller baits often work much, much better than larger baits.
3. Fish will bite in adverse conditions.
4. Perseverance is often much more important than skill.
5. Fancy, cool looking baits are often just that.
Good luck all.
Edited by Herb_b 7/21/2009 9:55 AM
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Posts: 566
| Herb --good point about the smaller lures -- seemed to be true that week for us also on canadain waters |
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Posts: 2894
Location: Yahara River Chain | Drill baby Drill!!!!!!!!! |
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Posts: 1
| I just returned from Lake of the Woods, and we had the same high winds and sudden drop in air and water temps. My cousin and I both landed 36" muskies, while my rookie girlfriend got a 47" fish that scared her silly. Her fish came after dark, at 11:30, under the July 4th full moon. She was casting a "pretty" clown magnum x-rap, and it hit only 15 minutes into our vacation. I told her she has 9980 casts to go to get her next one!! We saw muskies all but 2 days of our trip, but could only connect on dozens of nice pike between 28" and 39 1/2". The cold snap didn't seem to affect the pike, but we just couldn't get the muskies to hit. We tried casting everything we had, trolled on occassion, fished in the huge waves, behind the islands, at night, and all day. It was the most action I've seen in the 29 years of fishing in Canada. I only wish I would have brought my Under-Armor. |
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