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Posts: 13
| Hey guys!
I'm fairly new to the whole muskie fishing scene. My interest was sparked at the end of last summer when I went with a friend and saw him and another bring in two huge fish. I wanted to try right away however I didn't have a set up for it. So sure enough I went out and got one. I have an Abu Garcia C4 and a 10 foot Gander Mountain heavy action rod. I have 80 lb braided test on this reel.
I went out a few times last year with no success. I don't have a boat and just fish on the local city lakes from shore. We would use live bait, Large Suckers, with a big float. We would just hook it right below the dorsal fin with a single hook and throw it out there and just wait for something to come up and start eating it.
I've been reading and hearing how fishing for muskie with live bait is controversial because it can easily lead to killing the fish if done wrong. I'm curious as to what's the best rig or way to hook a large sucker minnow to fish for muskie? I'm putting an order together on amazon here and will throw a few things in the cart that I need to be successful and safe this summer fishing for muskie.
Also any other tips or baits (lures) you'd recommend to me and how to be successful with them from shore would be a great help!
Thanks much in advance!
~DanOpi |
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Posts: 2333
Location: Chisholm, MN | Hey, glad you came here to ask these questions. First, I would never use a single hook for live baiting muskies just because you basically need to let the fish swallow the hook to land it. This will kill the fish. There are misconceptions about hooks dissolving in fish's mouths or in their stomachs. They may eventually dissolve, but but it will kill the fish.
There are many different kind of quickstrike rigs out there that have different purposes. Some for trolling, some for under bobbers. A Bigtooth quickstike rig that is meant for ice fishing would actually work well under a bobber because it positions the sucker horizontally in a natural presentation. Joe Bucher makes good ones as well. These will all have multiple hooks to rig to the sucker. The point here is to set the hook almost immediately after the fish takes it. That is important so the fish doesn't swallow the hooks and become injured.
Also, another thing about fishing from shore is that it's important to have a net so that you aren't dragging the fish on shore and removing it's protective slime. |
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Posts: 345
Location: Poynette WI. | I would invest in some releasing tools as well. Long nose pliers and a good hook cutter, a small piece of hook that can pass through a fish's gills is a lot better than leaving a hook in the fishes mouth. I also second Kirby about coming to this site for feedback and advice. There are a ton of die hard musky anglers on here with years of experience that have always been more than willing to help out. One other bit of advice is to try and fish where you know musky hang out and if you've only been out a few times with out any sucess for someone who is just getting into musky fishing is not out of the ordinary. Some of us who musky fish a lot more than that and with a boat have are own fishless stretches. Spend a some time each week reading up on musky fishing and you will be very surprised with how much information is out there and how much you learn. Good luck this year and keep at it. |
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Posts: 13
| Hey guys!
Thanks for the quick reply!
I looked at the two quick strike rigs you referred to and understand the concept. Pretty much two treble hooks. One through the front of the dorsal fin and one through the other side of the dorsal fin? That way it sits horizontal. I tried to find these on Amazon however didn't. I was hoping to buy a tackle back pack that's on amazon so it would of worked well to get it all from one place. Is there a good site to buy from where I can find these? Also what size of hook should I be looking for?
Also I have a big net that I got for a decent price at Wal-Mart. Hook cutters I don't have yet.
As for setting the hook, when i watched other people get strikes it wasn't necessarily a sudden or sharp shoot down of the bobber. It was more like the fish had the bait and was swimming with it. Will it be different with this type of rig or how will i know when to set the hook? (Sounds like I've never fished...Just confused haha)
Thanks much!
Edited by DanOpi 5/7/2014 7:57 PM
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Posts: 2097
| Depending on where you are, go to a muskie shop. |
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Location: Oswego, IL | Maybe some instructional videos, or Utube may give you the "hands on, but not hands on" experience if you know what i mean. Start watching the muskie shows on TV if you don't already though 99.9% are done from boat, I don't know if i can name them on this site, but there are a few out there. Heck someone just posted a video of a muskie caught from a car... so there you have it.
Also any questions you may have, it is always best to to a search on the forums first to see if its been said before, pretty much everything and anything has been done, talked about, argued about, and a million best of opinions from line to tools. Take it as such, opinions some are great and completely informal.
Shore fishing can work, not great, if you don't have a boat and really want to fish id maybe suggest finding a river that you can wade in that way you have flexibility and can hit "spots" at angles instead of one.. Id do that over bobber fishing from shore any day...
Edited by muskiewhored 5/7/2014 8:20 PM
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Posts: 13
| Any experienced members from the Twin Cities area that know of a good muskie shop? And it is what it is. I'm close to some city lakes so it's convenient for me to fish from shore and I enjoy being out whether it be boat, no boat, shore, river, etc. |
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Posts: 42
| Thorne Brothers in Blaine |
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Posts: 70
| Attach a cross lock to your single hook, 4inch 150lb wire, cross lock w/#7 treble. Hook your single hook thru the mouth of the sucker, take a rubber band and attach around the sucker hook behind the first set of fins or belly. with the two hooks flat up against the sucker. Weedless rig 85-90 % hook up! Just set hard! ( your not jerking walleye)
Or if you want to sell your single hook rigs pm me and buy a pre- made quick strike rig.
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Posts: 2333
Location: Chisholm, MN | Yeah go check out Thorne Bros. Those guys can hook you up with everything you need. |
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Location: MN | I think most of the non-motor lakes in the metro have canoe rentals for pretty cheap. That would allow you to cover more water. Once you hook up have the other guy in the canoe beach the boat as quick as possible for a safe landing. Also join the metro muskie inc chapter and you can probably find some guys to take you out and you will learn a ton. Shore fishing can be fun and productive but you are pretty limited how you can fish and where you can fish which makes it tough to have consistent success. |
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Posts: 13
| I'm still at school however finals are coming up and i'll be coming home soon. I'll head up to Blaine to check out Thome Bros and grab a rig for suckers and maybe a new lure. They also have the backpack I was looking at so it works out perfectly. And what exactly is the Metro Muskie Inc Chapter? A forum/group?
Thanks again guys! |
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Posts: 1000
| +1 on Thorne Bros
Yeah there's a regular on Calhoun who I suspect kills a lot of fish between the single hook and his lack of release tools. I love 28 Weeks Later, but can't watch the carnage of that guy. I always get there too late.
Edited by tolle141 5/8/2014 12:33 PM
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Posts: 1638
Location: Minnesota | There are a couple musky inc in the twin cities where do you live?
Thorn bros is the place to go in the twin cities |
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Posts: 13
| I'm in Richfield. Just a few minutes from Nikomis, Calhoun, and Harriet. Sounds like Throne Bros is where i'll be headed then. |
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Posts: 2333
Location: Chisholm, MN | Muskies Inc is a club that supports muskie fishing and the fishery...kind of like Ducks Unlimited. There are many local chapters throughout the country including a few in the metro. |
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Posts: 39
| I do a lot of musky fishing out of a float tube. Cheaper than a boat, easier to haul, and it works great. It really helps to have a lip grip tool of some kind. I've had the knockoff of the Boga Grip. I think it's made by Berkeley. The only downside is it doesn't spin, so if a musky spins, you have to let go of it (so you have to have it tied to your wrist.) I got a real boga for Christmas, but I haven't tried it yet. With a float tube, you can't run and gun, but you can be very stealthy and cover a spot well. For this reason I fish lures that don't work as fast (since I'm not moving in a hurry.) I've had a lot of success with phantom glide baits. I have an Outcast float tube, and really love it. You sit higher in the water in it than in some tubes, and it's super durable. Enjoy your new sport! |
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Posts: 3869
| Welcome Dan. Heroin was safer path, but you're here now. If you come out the other side you'll know where the critters were, where they are now, where they'll be, and why. You'll have learned to how to make agreements with spirits. As an outdoorsman you'll be able to apply this skill set in almost any environment.
Ha! I'm foolin but not. |
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