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| So, 158 guys spend nearly all day on Vermilion and catch 8 muskies on Day 1. That is about a 5% success rate.
Put another way: If you are a really good stick, the chances of you fishing nearly all day and getting skunked on one of the best lakes in North America (Vermilion) were about 95% yesterday.
A 5% success rate each day actually isn't bad. Just goes to show you how tough muskies are to put in the boat on any particular day.
You hear so much hype around these days, but the truth is that, no matter where you are or who you are, muskies are just flat out tough to catch!
BrianF.
Twin Cities
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Posts: 32958
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | If one looks at all the muskie tournaments out there and averaged the success rate through the event, one would find an average of between 10 and 15% when comparing total boats to total registered legal fish. Yesterday was a tough weather day out there, and there were still some very impressive fish caught. Many boats had 'lost fish' accounts, including herbie, who lost two. It will be interesting to see what happens now that the wind has dropped and skies have cleared up. |
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Posts: 96
Location: Eden Prairie, Mn. |
The Big V can be feast or famine, much of it weather pattern dependant. One can fish for 2-3 days and not see a scale.
Then on the next day you will have a dozen follows, 3-5 strikes/blow-ups and boat 2-3 fish and the trip a success.
The lake offers so much structure, coupled with it's size, makes it very difficult to change/alter presentations and what
forms of structure to concentrate on.
What I don't get is all the reported 'lost' fish by some of the best anglers with the best equipment and preparation one
could have ? Horsing in fish ? Too much 'Zero stretch line' at ultra high tests ( no give ) ? Too many 'pool cues' or
ultra fast hi modulus grahite rods with poor 'loading' capability through out the entire rod length to handle violent
shakes, boatside thrashing or tail stands ?
Curious, Any feed back welcomed
Mother |
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Posts: 8
Location: Champlin, MN | Maybe the 4' rollers that were previously mentioned had something to do with Netability.
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Posts: 2515
Location: Waukesha & Land O Lakes, WI | That's the reason why I love fishing Gators and fishing Tournaments......difficulty factor of about a 9 on a scale of 10, a 10 being fly fishing for them. |
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| Not much charter on the radio today, strong west winds made for a tough day on the east end |
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Posts: 32958
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Most of the fish that I heard about coming unpinned were headshakes or strikes at boatside, without getting good steel in the big girl's face. Luck of the draw, and believe me, it happens to everyone. |
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Posts: 20281
Location: oswego, il | There was a tournament the weekend we went up in august. The kids tourny had 0 fish caught and the grownups fared only slightly better. I think it's been a tough year overall up there, they realy never had a summer. |
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Posts: 155
Location: North Metro | Well said Brian. Muskie fishing is a game of throwing stones at narrow windows of time. There are some really respectable people fishing this tourney and the Big "V" can be humbling for just about anyone. |
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Posts: 699
Location: Hugo, MN | Oh Boy is this Great!!! With apologies to those who are up there this is just like watching the U.S. Open seeing the big boys struggle like the rest of us is comforting. |
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| Day 2: Reality check. 7 fish boated by 158 fisherpeople today...in "better" weather conditions. Like I said...musky fishing ain't easy...even when you're a great musky fisherman...and even if your on a great lake. >95% failure rate today by a great field of musky fishermen.
These, and other tournament results, are an illustration of how difficult it is to catch a musky on any given day.
BrianF.
Twin Cities
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Posts: 96
Location: Eden Prairie, Mn. |
I hope some teams are going deep into the East side - too much good structure to not fish because it's windy. Wind turns the east on and I would be highly disappointed if many teams did not spend at least a half day working the dozens of quality spots, many of
which can hold multiple fish when the wind blows.
With so many of the teams running 18-21 ft. top-shelf boats it would be negligent of them not to tough it out and work what every pro preaches - work the wind - it elimnates half the lake and tells you where to fish. Wind has hardly the affect on the west side as it does on the east. A team thats struggling in the weedy west could easily make the cut or vault into the lead by making the long run to work the much less pressured, by the way it sounds, waters.
Mother |
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| to quote Brett Favre in a certain commercial...
"i would have double-bagged it." |
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| Curious to know the start/end time the participants are working with?
Just wondering if they have a chance to fish the evening bite, seems that these fish are on at first light or just as the sun goes down. At least for me anyway.
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Posts: 155
Location: North Metro | The tourney hours are 7:00 am to 3:30-4:00 pm depending on which flight leaves the blast-off area first or last. These guys are fishing right after sun-up through mid-day and not even having a shot at the first/last dark fish that can be dynamite up there. It is still feasible though to nail big fish up there any time during mid-day however. Especially this time of year with the water temps up there near turnover. Interesting note about the five solunar fish that were caught yesterday. It will be fun to see how many fish caught during this event were hooked at a time of a major solunar event or other environmental change. I've noticed an uncanny correlation on the "V" to the solunar tables. |
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Posts: 1939
Location: Black Creek, WI | BrianF makes a good point, however.......
BigV may have a 95% failure rate, but when 95% of the fish you contact up there are 45 inches or better how can you complain? That lake is pure heaven&hell. I've fished LOTW for 7 years and have NOT caught a 50 incher there. I fished the BigV three times this year and caught a 50+ on each trip. An absolutely amazing fishery if you ask me!!!! Its a tough lake to fish but the rewards are remarkable.
If I just want to catch a fish, Wisconsin will do. If I want to catch a BIG fish, I think I'll be driving to Minnesota.
jlong |
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| He's back!!
Hey, Jason, I sent you a personal email. Hope you got it.
Agree w/ you 100% on the big fish potential of Lake Vermilion. It's my favorite place in the world to fish, bar none. Probably no better place to get a 50 anywhere in the world right now.
Point is: many "Average Joes" hear about the great fishery (and it is) and go up expecting to catch 50"ers. They get skunked or maybe catch one shorty in 7 days of fishing and think they are somehow cursed or the lake is overhyped...when neither are true. It's a matter of expectations.
Not to take anything away from the awesome fishery or the great fishermen assembled there, only that tournaments are a good reality check for us all.
BrianF.
Twin Cities |
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Posts: 1185
Location: Wishin I Was Fishin' | I think the weather for the tourney was just plain bad for a good bite.
If we would have better conditions, I'm sure the catch would have made the Lake very famous.....The 50 is the tourney might have done it anyways.
I have had 2 days of 5 pre fishing on the water with 12 different fish up both days and chances at a few. with 25% of those 4ft +. I caught 2) 44" fish. Lost a 4ft+.
I can't believe We didn't boat a legal in 3 days...that's how good I feel about the water. |
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Location: Contrarian Island | I would agree, the weather was brutal.
I think the lake could have put out HUGE numbers with right weather conditions. My partner pre-fished it a few weeks back and he and another guy ended up with 4 I believe.all 40+, with tons of other fish spotted.
I am still a bit in shock we couldn't get one 40+ to bite...Hats off to the guys who got them to eat! I had a heart attack though Friday morning on a spot I had a 46" twice opening morning..crankin a jointed D raider off some rocks, POW..fish on...I knew something wasn't right from the hookset...ended up being the biggest smallie I have ever caught...5lber...
I am looking forward to getting back up there!
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