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Posts: 5
| This is the first summer that I've fished for Muskies on a consistent basis and while I have seen dozens of these monsters I haven't been able to land one. It seems like every time I have a follow and get one near the boat as soon as I start a figure eight they bolt. Am I doing something wrong? What is the proper figure eight technique? I've seen a couple videos on Youtube where the angler is doing a figure eight with about half of their rod in the water yet every time the tip of my rod gets near the water the fish is gone. Can you guys help me out?
Thanks,
Nick |
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Posts: 1086
| Keep plugging away at it. It's only a matter of time until your bait gets bit either away from the boat or on the 8. Not all followers will turn into biters, no matter if you have the perfect figure 8 technique or not. That's just how it goes with muskie fishing. Time on the water will produce more fish over time.... |
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Posts: 1663
Location: Kodiak, AK | One thing I learned about going into the 8 was to not rush it. Initially, I'd almost lunge at the fish and of course she'd see me move and bolt. Now I've learned to take it easy, and slowly move my body into 8 position and not freak out the fish. And it works. Fish aren't afraid of the boat, motor, any of that. But as soon as you jump around and move a sudden movement, they're out of there. Keep your body movement to a minimum and see what happens. But of course, you'll always have fish spook sometimes. It just happens.
Keep it up. Time on the water is everything. |
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Posts: 8844
| Nick, I scared away almost every fish that came in for my first three seasons. Every single one, as soon as I went to make that first turn the fish would bolt. What I was doing wrong:
1. I was never prepared. I'd see that fish coming, at the last second, not expecting it, and my reaction was basically "crap, there's one" and I'd lean down really fast to try to do a figure 8. I never looked, but I wouldn't be surprised if they left a cloud of poop in the water they took off so fast.
2. I was never prepared. I wasn't "setting up" properly during the cast to be ABLE to do a good figure 8, so when I did have a fish follow I couldn't make a decent turn anyway.
3. I was doing these really nice 8's, at the same speed and depth, that were maybe 4 feet across, so when a fish DID want the lure bad anough to follow it around? They couldn't follow it around.
Since then, probably 90% of my fish have been caught right at the boat. I owe most of that to guys like Steve Herbeck and his guides, who "showed me the light" so to speak, but when it comes right down to it you have to just catch fish on the figure 8 and watch how they react to what you do. Every fish that comes in will do SOMETHING you can learn from.
If you're scaring them away? I'm betting that instead of bending your knees, and making a smooth transition into the figure 8, you are probably still having that "oh crap there's one" reaction, and practically jumping in the water when you see them coming at you. |
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Posts: 96
| Put the rod tip in the water by the time the bait gets to the boat and there'll be less chance of spooking those fish. The entire process should be one fluid motion with as little body movement as possible. Another thing to consider to to dress so you match the background. |
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Posts: 12
| Don't forget an 8' or 8-6 rod does wonders on the eight. I agree with esoxaddict...set up is everything! I will usually start running the bait a bit to to the right about three turns out to give a nice smooth sweep into the eight. That depends a bit on the boat angle as well as which direction you are going to turn the eight. |
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Posts: 1296
Location: WI | Keep figure 8'ing even if the fish bolts off. Sometimes they will come back. |
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Posts: 59
Location: Aurora IL | I'm not a pro but-
1.Expect a follow every cast.Watch behind and under your bait.
2.Set up your eight 10' out with a directional turn and a lowering of the bait to keep Mr. Ski looking down instead of at you.
3.Lower at the boat,higher away in the eight.
4.Never slow up the bait.If he wants it,he will get it.
5.Go around several times after one peels off.They will reposition for attack and laser beam in sometimes. |
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Posts: 3913
| I place a Bucher splitring between the leader and the line, I tie to the ring. The ring stops the swivel from going into the top eye while going into the 8, especially helpful at night.
Keep at it and like the rest of us you start having very occassional seasons where 25-50% of your fish are hooked on 8's.
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Posts: 254
Location: In the cabbage | Make those 8's wide, and keep at it! |
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Posts: 203
| biggest thing i've seen with guys in my boat are the broomstick eights with no speed..works everytime to secure no bites.. get the eights or circles out and big.. the greatwhite only gets the seal when the seal makes the mistake of a wide eight.. a long rod will help this immediately.
good luck.
Edited by johnson 9/8/2009 5:17 PM
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Posts: 5
| Thanks for all the tips and advice guys. It looks like I'll be after a new rod (to pass the time ;-)) this winter (currently using a 6 1/2 foot Daiwa and a 6 foot Shimano). You guys will be the first ones to see the pics of the first monster I land. |
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Posts: 64
| NorthStar, Like everyone here has said just keep at it and all of the tops brought up here will help you. The one big thing that helped me that i did not see here was to speed up the bait as soon as you see the fish. Almost try to take the bait away from them and alot of times you wont even have to get her in the 8, they just unload on it. But even if they go in the 8 i usually figure 8 fast and they can't resist. Just do not slow the bait down. You try to feed it to them and they are outta there.
Good Luck Man! |
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Posts: 5
| Muskybug - 9/8/2009 8:35 PM
NorthStar, Like everyone here has said just keep at it and all of the tops brought up here will help you. The one big thing that helped me that i did not see here was to speed up the bait as soon as you see the fish. Almost try to take the bait away from them and alot of times you wont even have to get her in the 8, they just unload on it. But even if they go in the 8 i usually figure 8 fast and they can't resist. Just do not slow the bait down. You try to feed it to them and they are outta there.
Good Luck Man!
That might be the problem. Most of the time my adrenaline starts pumping like crazy when I have a follow and next thing I know I'm picking my jaw up off the floor of the boat as the fish swims away laughing to himself.  |
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Posts: 412
Location: Waukesha, WI | Attempting to trigger (speed change, pause, twitch, direction change, etc depending on bait) them to eat before they reach the boat is just as important as being ready for them in the 8. |
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Posts: 59
Location: Aurora IL | Northstar,Gander Mountain had some nice 8' musky rods (Gander brand)for only $80. |
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Posts: 531
Location: Hugo, MN | Always assume there is a fish following. Don't slam the rod tip into the water at the last second, try to keep the fish's focus on the bait and not on you. Learn to read the fish's attitude. That is something that will take years to perfect, so be patient. Just try to learn from every failed figure 8 attempt, and don't forget that some fish just won't eat. Don't let it get to you. I caught a bunch of fish last year on 8's, and none so far this year. It's one of those things that is streaky at times, just like missing hooksets or losing fish. Keep practicing. |
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Posts: 32935
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Rod tip position and where the lure runs in the water column is important, especially when you go into the 8. |
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| Make sure you wear neutral colored clothing. I saw an Infisheman DVD that mentioned a guide tested different colors and found out that a light blue or gray shirt worked best. He said he doubled his figure eight catches wearing clothing that wasn't to bright or loud.
Just a thought. Good luck! |
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Posts: 136
| I fish heavy stained (algae) water a lot and some lures are hard to see till you get to the leader, I then have a tendency to slow down when I get near the lure until I see it to prevent reeling the swivel into the eyelet before doing my 8, how much effect does this have on any follows I my have but don't see?
Also does boat color make a difference on spooking fish, or just clothing since we are moving around?? |
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Posts: 692
Location: Pelican Rapids, MN | There is a ton of great advice on this thread and I'm sure I'm repeating most of it... But
The longer the rod the better for wide sweeping 8's that start away from the boat to avoid a tight first turn. You always hear about the "L" turn which is right but, the it is a soft "L" your turn should be fluid, sweeping off the straight retrieve. It may sound weird, but it acts a bit more organic when it is "Softer" rather than a hard turn. Below is an example I use in my seminars. Simple, but I hope it explains just a bit better.
Edited by Jsondag 9/10/2009 9:55 AM
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 turn.jpg (13KB - 78 downloads)
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Posts: 692
Location: Pelican Rapids, MN | Not sure if boat color has much to do with it since it is primarily stationary. And I have seen some of the most ugly bright colored boats catch some nice fish! |
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Posts: 1169
Location: New Hope MN | Ranger - 9/8/2009 5:00 PM
I place a Bucher splitring between the leader and the line, I tie to the ring. The ring stops the swivel from going into the top eye while going into the 8, especially helpful at night.
Keep at it and like the rest of us you start having very occassional seasons where 25-50% of your fish are hooked on 8's.
I use a glow in the dark fat bead. Same idea. |
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Posts: 1245
Location: Madtown, WI | check your PM.....
Cory |
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Posts: 720
| Wow,
What a great thread. Some really thoughtful advice given on this. I can't add much to this other than to say, think of your musky fishing like you would bow hunting for deer. First and foremost be prepared. Don't fire a cast if you're not prepared to be totally focused. Remember just like sitting in a deer stand. Watch the woods and not a tree. Don't look at the lure directly but the water around and below your bait. Keep your lure in your vision but not your focus. Finally, my young grasshopper. Don't move !! That is very important. Movement creates sound and sound is what will make a fish break off quicker than a prom dress. Just like sitting in your stand keeping your movements to an absolute bare minimum is essential. Great thread guys. |
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Posts: 68
| I also try to keep the "8" out of my shadow. One less thing that might spook it off. |
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Posts: 8844
| It also helps to think about WHY you figure 8 in the first place. Think about it -- if that fish really wanted that lure, it would have eaten it. You can't reel as fast as they can swim. Think of a following fish as a fish that needs to be convinced. That last 10 yards or so is also a place where you can trigger that fish, BEFORE you risk scaring it away at the boat. Sweep your rod tip to make the lure change direction, speed up reeling, make that lure do something evasive that will hopefully get that fish to commit 30 feet out, or at the very least get it a little fired up so its focused on your lure going into the 8 instead of focusing on you and the boat.
I've also been experimenting with the deeper follows a bit, trying to take the first turn of my 8 down to where the fish is, and doing my figure 8 on my knees. I haven't had much luck doing that, but it stands to reason that if you can get that lure down a few feet and the fish doesn't have to come up for it it might convert a few followers. |
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