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Posts: 572
| While in Ontario I normally don't start fishing until around 8 or 8:30 in the morning. Am I getting too late of a start? Should I be fishing at sunrise?
Is there any particular time a person should be on the lake at sunrise? For example, should one get an early start after a storm in the night or wait until later?
Basically, am I missing out on some of the better muskie fishing at sunrise in August while in Ontario? |
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Posts: 76
Location: New Lenox, Illinois | I have tried early morning many times on Eagle for musky and had verry little luck. My advise sleep in get a good breakfast then pound the heck out of them the rest of the day. We eat dinner early and take a short break then are back on the water for the last 3 hours of daylight. Being rested and ready for the witching hour at sunset is more important than investing time at sunrise!!!! Besides who wants to be up before sunrise on vacation. Drink some Blue and sleep in your not missing much!!!! |
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Posts: 220
| Sometimes on LOTW we do really well on popular spots at sunrise and I mean spots where you know there are always fish there and so does everyone else but I like to be the guy there at 5am not 9 am or if we moved a big fish at sunset I will always be there just before first light. |
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Posts: 1767
Location: Lake Country, Wisconsin | You certainly can bag some nice fish early in the mornings....I personally have had mixed success but I think Dick Pearson is a big sunrise guy on LOTW....I wanna say Herbeck talked it up quite a bit on Eagle and mentioned how a lot of guests will miss fish by a late start
with that being said getting up pre sunrise requires a break in a long summer day, and I have good luck in the middle of afternoons on many bodies of water where one would think it is ideal break time. Try it out a few times and see how it works for you
Edited by Musky Brian 7/24/2014 3:49 PM
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Posts: 203
Location: Germantown, WI | You may be missing out on some great fishing. We always get up at 5am when we are fishing Ontario in the Summer. We're usually on the water by 5:30 and fish until 8am. We then take a break for breakfast and go back at it until midday when we break for Lunch. After that we go back out until 4:30 or 5pm, take a dinner break and then get back out from 7:00 to about 10:00 or so. We have had some great early mornings. It's my favorite time of the day and usually we are the first ones on the water. We typically spend about 12 hours a day on the water when we are fishing in Ontario. That may be a pace that not all people can or want to handle. It's all about what makes you happy. If you are happy with he results you are getting then perhaps you should go right on fishing the same schedule. I don't think getting up early is a silver bullet, but certainly the longer you spend on the water the greater your chances of success if you are fishing the right spots with the right lures and using the right techniques for the given situation. If you wanted to just pick the best times you would do better to focus on Sunrise, Sunset, Moonrise, Moonset, Moon Overhead and Moon Underfoot rather than time of day. |
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Posts: 906
Location: Warroad, Mn | If water temps are high (75+) early morning can be good. At least is was when I was a little younger. Doug Johnson |
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Posts: 247
Location: Uxbridge Ontario | I don't fish NW Ontario but I do fish Sheild lakes in Ontario. Early morning can be awesome, but for me it is usually always on rock and reef spots. |
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Posts: 559
| 4:30 am to 11:am and 5:pm till the skeeters win and a nap in the middle |
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Posts: 921
| From my 14 years of experience on LOTW the muskies don't bite until 11:00 am.
Perhaps that has something to do with us never fishing until 11am. Ha
We like to have beers after a long day on the water and it doesn't get dark until 10:15 when we go so before you know it it's 2 am around the camp fire.
We sleep in and are in the boat at 11am and then fish until dark. We never ever come back to the cabin. Eat sandwiches and snacks in the boat.
I would rather miss a few hours in the morning than a feeding window during the rest of the day by going back to the cabin for a nap or dinner.
Just my opinion.
Edited by MuskyMidget 7/26/2014 9:05 PM
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Posts: 1937
Location: Black Creek, WI | August is PRIME TIME for an early morning bite. If you encounter cool nights that leads to "smoke on the water" in the morning.... that can provide a great shallow/shoreline bite. Great time to target rock walls too. Good Luck! |
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Posts: 688
Location: Northern IL | Muskie Bob - 7/24/2014 1:08 PM
Basically, am I missing out on some of the better muskie fishing at sunrise in August while in Ontario?
In a word yes it is quite possible and it must be checked out.
Fish activity or movements are totally controlled by the weather and water conditions "at the time" and no one can say with certainty when the fish will get active. However a good general guideline to follow no matter where we fish is: In the warmer months we can expect 2 movements to take place in a 24hr period. With good weather conditions "stable" one early and one late. In the colder times or during an unstable period which is common in the area you are fishing, only one activity period may take place.
After a day or two on the water and if you feel you have presented lures at all depths, checked all speeds (on and around productive bottom features, "structure") and saw little or no activity then a different time of the day must be checked, if no change in weather has occurred. Best of luck! |
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Posts: 8782
| I've only fished Eagle, so I can't say with any certainty whether this applies throughout Canada or not. We go up the second week of August. We've had odd feeding windows that don't seem to correspond to any weather or solunar event. Fished new moon, full moon and everything in between. Our most consistent action is after lunch on hot sunny days.
Most mornings have been dead. Hot days, warm nights, stable weather, fish eat at 1:00 pm. There have been a handful of mornings where it seemed like 7:30 - 9:00 was the end of the bite, and that we HAD missed some good action. The only thing that was different there was an evening storm the night before and cooler temps overnight. I judge by Samantha. If she's cold on the way out, it's going to be a good morning.
On another less related note, the days where we had fish activity early, we also caught some good fish around/after sunset, and nothing in between. if the mornings are dead, afternoon is better and evenings suck...
Weird fish they are...
Edited by esoxaddict 7/28/2014 3:09 PM
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Posts: 572
| Thanks for the responses. I see where there are conditions where I should be considering giving early sunrise a try. I will discuss them with my fishing partner to see if he wants to give early sunrise a try. I know I do.
Thanks again for your thoughts.
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Posts: 397
Location: Wisconsin | Mornings have always paid off well for me on Osbourne bay... ill be at it in two weeks and let you know if it works for me again! |
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