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Posts: 366
| Well for about the last six months a couple of things have been bothering me. Since all I can do is ponder them right now I might as well research them.
#1 A few years back, about 5 or 6, there were quite a few articles about figure eighting fish (M.I. and M.H. which at the time were really all that was out there, but also include the Infish videos) and how the best in the business were great Fig-8 magicians and would often boat upwards of 40% of their muskies on their 8 or oval maneuver. I recall one Infish video were Doug Stange stated how Mark Windels was one of the greats at this and was very successful at turning a looker into a boated fish. Well this was fairly early in my career and I put alot of faith into the importance of the 8. The season following much of this education I was very successful and did boat about 40% of my muskies on the eight. Unfortunately most of this was done on a Can. Sheild lake where results tend to be slightly askew. Since that season as I've fished many other bodies of water I've been very faithful to the 8, but with each passing year my results have dwindled to nil. So my question is to those of you that are considered the greats or that feel you do a good job of it, do you still see good results with an eight or oval percentage wise, and if so what type of water determines your success. Can you do it on overcrowded home water or just on less pressured systems. Also big skis vs 40" types.
#2 What is a realistic percentage of catching a return to fish. I don't mean tell me about the one time it worked and how big it was. No offense. But day in day out, for those that are blessed with a good amount of time on the water, how do you feel your chances are on the return. I realize it varies with every fish, and I would like to hear your opinions on returning to a slightly cold fish vs the hot ones that you do everything you can to keep it off your bait. Which are more likely to follow again, which seem to hit without a follow, or which you don't even see again. Also I would like to know about water type, but also the wait period after the original sighting.
Are times changing on these tactics or do I need to get out and fish and quit thinking to much?
Thanks Ryan
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Posts: 1936
Location: Eau Claire, WI | Ryan,
Great questions.
Two years ago I had a fair amount of fish 8-10 that came on 8's. Last season I had 2 maybe 3 but yet I boated more fish. I don't really have anything to attribute this to but I do consistently do my 8's and think it important for others to as well.
As far as going back on fish I do believe many of these fish are catchable but it may take waiting for an environmental change (wind,clouds, dusk, etc.) to turn make the fish a little more active. The one thing you can hope for is that other anglers don't pound the spot and "condition" the fish in the meantime. With increasing number of boats on the water today this can become a concern.
Good luck to you...keep doin your 8's. |
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Posts: 1996
Location: Pelican Lake/Three Lakes Chain | Great question. I still catch a fair percentage of my fish every year at boatside. Some baits are much better figure eight baits however. I catch very few on jerks, gliders, or twitchbaits on the figure eight, while topwater and bucktails I catch quite a few. I think it has a lot to do with change of direction and speed triggers. With jerkbaits and twitchbaits, they are constantly showing the fish changes in direction and speed, if they haven't been triggered by those during the retrieve, its gonna be hard to do it boatside.
With bucktails and topwater sometimes the first change of direction the fish sees is when you start the 8. This is where the majority of my hits come, in the initial turn at the side of the boat. I find that the more laps the fish takes behind the bait the less likely it is to hit.
Returning to fish is a tactic I use quite successfully. A large portion of the fish I catch every year are fish I come back on. Like Curly said, the best time to come back at them is during an environmental change. Obviously the best odds at come backers are the ones that were charging hard the first time. If I have a real aggresive follow during the day, I feel my chances of getting that fish to eat later on an environmental change is pretty high (25-50%?) If all I get out of a fish is a lazy follow the odds drop tremendously (1-5%) All of these rules go out the window however if there is a large amount of pressure.
Just wanted to add that I do not consider myself one of the greats so take this information with that disclaimer  |
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