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| I have not spent much time fishing mid lake suspended fish here because of the no trolling regs. I know there are folks out there who simply go to the basin and cast all over the place with deep divers, paying little attention to baitfish or other signals.
What are your keys to successful suspended muskie fishing, especially if you cannot troll??? |
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| There are 2 KEYS
1. Do NOT fish too deep. (lure depth)
2. Do NOT fish too deep. (lure depth)
What is "too deep", is for me to know and you to find out.
MUSKY ILLINI
"Johny Deeper, Johny Deeper"[:sun:] |
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| That was the idea of the question, so I could find out. I will assume the depth fished should be the top 1/2 to 1/3 of the water column. Anyone willing to talk about this?
Hey Chuck, chime in on this one when you see this thread, OK? |
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| Hi Steve check out the current Musky Hunter, Jim Saric wrote an excellent article on open water fishing. I haven't caught anything or I'm not experienced in this area but have read some stuff on it they say to stay above the fish don't get beneath them and to fish above the thermocline. If you haven't read that Jim Saric article you should read it. He always does a pretty good job with his articles and pretty easy to understand for me. |
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| Thanks, I will look it up!!
I am aware of the above the fish rule, and know many anglers who use topwater out there alot. My main concern is locating the fish in the basin area, as some of the water I fish has literally thousands of basin acres. |
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| Very good question steve. As in my other thread, I talked to a couple of experienced guides out of whitefish and Saskabong bays. From what I understand is that if there is plenty of deep water, the muskies will use it in the summer. One guide told me that while trout fishing at 100 feet down, he hit a 39 inch muskie. Phil from the pro shop in Nester falls told me that he took a couple guys out jigging for muskies in Saskabong and cought two fish. One was a fat 49 incher and another that I can't remember. Both fish died from being brought up from 67 feet. I am guessing that some of the muskies come up form the deep to feed on some of the open water baitfish and thats why you find them there. Whould be interested on hearing more about this.
Cory Toker |
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| No expert Stever but I have hooked a couple while rockfishing that got off in deep water. I was fishing around schools of shad + the fish were between 18-25ft. On occasion I'll hear of peeps hooking a ski in this manner, fishing in the same way. the vast majority of them were in the upper 15 ft. or so when hooked. I no longer fish in the lakes during the warmest part of the summer here as fish mortality is daggone near 100%. Deep points, islands + along channel breaks is where I fish most often, even when no bait is present...but if I can find shad, that is where I'll fish every chance I get. Unless I'm food fishing I never fish below 30-35 ft, especially in warm water as the fish are at or just above the thermocline the vast majority of time. I'd say you'll score from 20ft to the surface! |
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| My best luck has been fishing areas off structures that produce earlier in the season, usually 100 to 150 yards off the structure. The lakes I have had success on are clear water lakes that develop a thermocline at around 22'. Key basin areas for me seem to have a bottom that isnt tapering and maintains a consistent depth. I never seem to see the open water baitfish on tapering structure but maybe that has something to do with the bottom content. Best luck with water temps 74 to 80 deg. and lures running 10' to 17'. Best depths for me 34 to 38'. I always troll but if I had to cast a basin I would definitely do it on a windy day where I could cover water faster. Casting would be tough for me because you have to have the perserverance to fish for open water fish. Trolling just makes it alot easier to fish longer and more time on the water equals more muskies.
later,
toddb |
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| Hey Steve, I had Doc Esox (Brian) out today and we put two in the boat a 36in and a 46 1/2in. In our back yard, 23 to 36ft seems to be the KEY DEPTH. baits that run from 10 to 15ft are getting the most attention. I've been fishing suspended for the last 5 1/2 weeks now, my boat has taken 5 fish over twenty-five pounds and one pig at 36lbs suspended. A lot of people are having problems taking any fish right now because there fishing to SHALLOW. I believe that under 5% fish for suspended fish over deep water at any given time and this is their problem. I don't mind posting this info (LIKE SOME) because most won't fish it anyway. Take Care my Friend. [;)] |
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| Steve,
I try to find schools of baitfish and/or look for mid lake humps and structure changes. I generally cast Lil' Ernies, Ernies and Depthraider type stuff. I am currently experimenting with Bulldawgs and Hawgseekers this year as well...
In past years I have found the fish in 25 to as much as 60+ feet of water. The bait fish and Muskies are usually in the 15-25 foot range.. What I believe is key here is that their depth is generally just at or slightly above the thermocline....
I look for the thermocline on my sonar (I can find it plain as day on a Garmin 240) and generally start to fish at that depth and work my way up in the water column if necessary.
Paul Klien from over in your neck of the woods, our fellow Tuffy and Frabill guy... look him up...he is expert at suspendos...I have his number at home if you need it...
Good luck....
Mark
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| Steve, I have fished with Paul twice and persue suspendos myself the majority of the time. What everybody else says holds true. I must add, however, to work your baits very erratic. Lots of twitching, and reel very slow. I would start at your favorite rock hump, island, or point and move away from it a few hundred feet. I have tried fishing suspendos on Pelican in the past without any success, but that won't stop me from continuing to do it in the future. I just need to find the right combination for that lake.
If you wanna come out in my stomping grounds (Eagle River area) for suspended fish I'll gladly show you what I know and get you started. |
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| Steve,We just got back from N.Wi./U.P area and we put 5 legals in the boat(1 25#`er) all suspendo`s!I did`nt even try to follow the bait fish around,just fished the deepest holes and drifted with the wind!We found that if your bait was running deeper then 10` we were fishing under the fish and not moving anything.Thermocline still seemed high where we were.The big fish and one other came on figure 8`s in excess of 45` of water,big fun!The best part was NO OTHER BOATS OUT THERE IN THREE DAYS OF FISHING!Everyone pounding the shores got zippo!Awhile back on a old post Chuck Altamore wrote a one word reply that was Suspendo`s and I took note as others must not of? Oh well,Chuck you be the MAN!Here`s our short trip stat`s= 5 caught,5 hooked & lost,18 other fish followed,so will be back on them next week.By the way bait choice/color was the least of importance,it was all running depth! Hope everyone elses season is going so well! Good luck,Jeff |
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| I have had some great action on suspended fish, when moving from one spot to the next I always keep an eye on the depthfinder if I see a cloud of baitfish I will always stop and fish the cloud as if it were structure and Musky Illini stated do not fish to deep in other words do not fish below the baitfish, I have had some great walleye action with this method as well it's always a plesant suprise when you think you have a small ski but it turns out to be a 26 inch or better walleye
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| Steve,
Always a subject I like to talk about. The "last frontier" so to speak. Without letting ALL the cats out of the bag...........as general rules, I like to troll 10 feet above the thermocline in the summer months, closer to the surface in the spring and late evenings, any depth can be fair game in the fall. The other general rule is, let the bait fish tell you how deep to fish, I fish at or 10 feet over that level. Also, there is something magic about baits running at the 14 to 16 foot levels in most waters (damn, can't believe I said that), try it, you'll like it. [:0] |
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| I agree with Joel. Let the depth of the forage give you an idea where to start. I have had great success positioning my boat a couple cast lengths off the structure and run your baits parallel to the structure. It seems that fish will intercept my baits more easily than potioning off structure and casting toward it. Having confidence plays a big role in success. Don't give up. I spent 10
hours doing this today and boated five fish, Largest was 46" and hit on the figure 8. One thing I have noticed for sure is that these suspendos as you call them come for killing. No monkey bussiness. They are there to feed. NOt like the pigs in digestive mode in shallow water that just like to tease. |
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| Worrall how did that suspendo bite pay off for you on Pelican?
I know many anglers did very well in August fishing suspendos this year. Twitching cranks over schools of bait was the key. |
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| My formula for success when casting for suspendos is:
ERRATIC, EFFICIENT, and ENTHUSIASM
Keep your confidence (so you can put in your time), cover water effectively without wasting time, and offer up a presentation that can get noticed from long distances (flash or speed) and provides an opportunity to get eaten (pause).
Its as simple as that. Once you found a basin or area that fish like to suspend... it often keeps pumping out fish no matter what the baitfish and thermocline are doing. Thus, you can often learn the location element to this technique through trial and error.
jlong
P.S. The TripleD works great with the TripleE formula (sorry, couldn't resist)[:halo:] |
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| I fish for suspendos quite a bit. Probably 70% of my time is spent over 35' and deeper water. I agree with jlong on this one.
Some of my favorite lures in deep water are topwaters (jackpots and hawg wobblers), pull baits like the Big T and suicks, and death twitching depth raiders....big ones and the baby DR. Super erratic retrive on these cranks seem to call 'em in.
I know it may sound weird, but I'd throw a Jackpot in 100' of water if it was the first time fishing the basin. Suspended fish can be down in the water column....but more than likely, they are just a few feet down. And never, ever under-estimate the fishing catching ability of a mag. bulldawg for suspended fish...this is a good search bait because the lure can be used to fish any depth. |
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| 2003 will by 19th season casting for these open water, "related to nothing but fat, oily cisco" muskies. About 90% of my time is spent fishing this way. I've always considered fishing for suspended muskies easier than fishing structure related fish. Generally, I never have to worry about boat control or precision fishing a spot. I've caught them anywhere from on the surface to suspended 25 ft down, from 50 ft off a steep break to 1 mile from the nearest structural element, and on all types of lures...bucktails, surface baits, crankbaits and jerk baits. If I was limited to only two lures it would include a surface bait and a crankbait.
Steve H, I agree with you on the jackpot. It cannot be beat. And it is something else to see a 45" musky get a run on the lure from 8-10 ft down and completely clear the water like a Trident missile. This can "shake up" occupants of pleasure boats when they see this while passing by you in the middle of nowhere. [;)] |
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