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Posts: 138
Location: Utah | Out here in Utah you're not allowed to use live bait to fish for Tiger Muskies. You can use only a 1" square piece of Perch and that's it.
We each have a 2-pole limit and work 4 lines when we fish.
As the water temp cools the bite falls way off. We/ve trolled fast/slow (3.5-1.5MPH) and also cast. Bait pods are almost non-existent. Pineview reservoir has no real submerged structure to speak of. Only a few sand bar points, a few saddles between sand bars... some submerged sandbars going into the deeper water, and a couple of areas with steep sides with significant water drop-off.
We've worked all water depths and open water with little success for larger TMs. We've boated smaller ones but where are the larger ones? How do you get the big'ns to bite when the water is cooler?
Water temp is hovering between 45-49* but that isn't going to last long with the cold snap coming in this weekend.
I've inserted a graph so you can get an idea of the water temps I'm talking about and the # of fish we've caught at various temps. As you can see 65-up to 80*...it's fish on. We just want to know how to up our odds in cooler water temps when we can't use live bait.
Thanks in advance for any advice you can impart our way.
Edited by k2muskie 11/12/2009 2:10 PM
(Water Temp Vs TM Caught.JPG)
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 Water Temp Vs TM Caught.JPG (125KB - 162 downloads)
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Posts: 149
| That graph is pretty meaningless without knowing how much effort (trips or even hours fished) you spent fishing for muskies in each of those water temps. Hours per fish at each temperature range would be a far more telling statistic.
My graph would be similar, with most fish caught in the 60 - 80 degree water temps. It's also true that the great majority of my fishing time is spent fishing in 60 - 80 degree water temps, so I would expect the majority of my catches to be during those times.
That said, fish are cold blooded. Their metabolism and movement will slow down considerably as the water cools. Find where the baitfish are during the cold water period and you'll find the muskies.
Edited by esoxcpr 11/12/2009 2:26 PM
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Posts: 101
| Guys don't use live bait on Green Bay, and look at the huge fish caught there each fall. I would keep trolling, keep the speed slow, and vary your spread with larger and smaller lures till you find something that works. If you just want to cast, I would put on some deep diving cranks or a bulldawg. Have to get down to where the fish are at.
Another thing with tigers is they sometimes act more like pike. In the fall pike usually go a bit deeper, and definatly slow down on their movements. Good luck!
~Dawg |
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Posts: 138
Location: Utah | We fish on average 2 times a week anywhere from 8-9 hours at a time. This will start once ice is off. Unfortunately our records we haven't been logging the time on and off the water including the days of total skunks. Plan on doing that come the 2010 season. I know the chart isn't as staticially accurate as I'd like but it's the best I could do based on the data we've logged over 3 years.
Now for lures: we're trolling 7" Ciscos, Baby and Standard Depth Raiders, Li'l Ernies jointed and straight along with Squirrely Ernies, Slamrs...we've also worked a variety of smaller lures i.e. J-13 Rapalas, 5/8 - 1 oz spoons, and #5 spinners and larger Musky killer spinners.
So when you say 'smaller' lures what does that mean exactly? Are the lures I mentioned above in the 'smaller' category?
We're using Mikes trolling depths to get out lures down. Including at times we've added a couple of ounces of weights when going over deeper open water.
We'll continue the hunt and also keep trying to find bait pods.
Again thanks for the advise. |
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Posts: 4343
Location: Smith Creek | In my experience pike fishing the big lake (Superior) the hawgs are shallow in the cold water periods and (suspended) deep in the warm water periods. 3/4 oz cleos or daredevils and #13 rapalas are the way to go. Wind is also a big factor. They seem to follow the trout up on to shallow wind blown rocks or weeds when the temps drop below 50.
Edited by Flambeauski 11/12/2009 3:46 PM
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Posts: 1169
Location: New Hope MN | I know what Steve is going to write... Creatures. |
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| Esoxcpr ... he's obviously putting in effort during the cold water periods or he wouldn't ask the question. The chart isn't meaningless.
Nobody here will have the answer because nobody here has experienced great success at cold water tigers, I'd guess. Maybe there is a person or two?
I'd say keep experimenting until something works. Make a chart of variables and slowly check off each scenario.
I, too, would guess that cold = shallow. Have you tried casting shallow? If they're still suspending, maybe you need planer boards with shallow running baits. Or even topwater? You're pioneering something here so you'll have to throw out all preconceived notions.
If you always do what you've always done you'll always get what you've always gotten.
Good luck! Time on the water doing many different things will yield an answer. |
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| I catch them in cold water trolling--slow--2.6---2.8 mph when water is around 50--as water cools I slow down also---I would fish the sand bar areas and I would also fish them shallow in those areas----4--7 ft of water---when the sun is out even BETTER and still shallow.... Smaller crankbaits than you might think---try 6 -7 inch baits that will troll shallow. |
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Posts: 2312
Location: SE, WI. | I know when pewaukee had many tiger musky we would rip weeds with a jig and fandango. Caught many tigers on fandango's..Creatures are great baits for tigers. Pike also love jig and plastic. Tigers are half Pike (right).  Rig up some jig and creatures on and around those sand bars...and don't be afraid to rip them fast off the bottom. Hit will come on the drop!!! |
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