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Posts: 8
| like it says im new to fishing for muskie down at my local crik they released some 20 or so years ago and i found a nice population of them so first ill state what area im fishing
the average depth is 2-8 feet max with lots of limestone a few log jams and a few grass patches i seen them holding at the bottom and almost stepped on them i heard guys say they use bass lures to catch them and i had a few chases on topwater so my question is first what set up should i use for that type of water? second what type of baits and overall size of baits should i use? i will be wading like usual and the area is pretty snag happy so should i use lighter weight baits? any advice would be great because there are some pushing 45"+
Edited by egall816 2/9/2013 11:38 AM
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Posts: 1360
Location: Lake "y" cause lake"x" got over fished | OK.. Let me start by saying I don't fish river systems. BUT. For some starter gear.
Rod: somthing in the 8' - 9' range MH, H or XH, either st. croix or TI both are great companies.
Reel: Abu Garcia Revo Toro Nacl 5.4:1 or the high gear 6.4:1. Also another great optino is the Curado 300ej, or any a Shimano CalcuttaD
Crank baits: 10" jointed believer, 8" jakes, Shallow Invader, Krisco Jr's... (somthing witha strong divers lip so you can bang against rocks on your way in)
Jerk baits: Muskie Treats, Phantoms, Suicks (weighted) warlock...
Bucktails: YES, get a few. Black skirt/nicle blades.... then choose some other colors....
Soft Plastic: Hard to say with how much currant there is, but I love Shadzillas (the shallow version would work well for your situation) Possible Mini Medussas would work well.
topwaters: Pacemaker, Big Mama Dirty B or Twist'd sist'r, Top raider, Stomper, Some type of walk the dog bait.
uhhhh... I think thats all I got. keep in mind I never have fished a river system so I could be way off with my selections. But that is what I would do to start
Edited by FAT-SKI 2/9/2013 3:58 PM
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Posts: 40
| I would say that 80 lb braided line should be minimum especially with snags. Also make sure you get long pliers and keep them in the water as much as possible. Generally the larger the fish the more stress it has by being caught and needs lots of oxygen so get camera ready and unhook fish while fish is in water. If creek is pretty narrow and fishing around trees and such, a shorter rod might be in order maybe 7 footer or so. Shallow crank baited twitched around structure have worked best for me.
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Posts: 2894
Location: Yahara River Chain | If you are going be wading, I'd stay away from carrying many baits with me. 6 - 12 lures max.
I would also use more spinnerbais as they are little more forgiving in snags than bucktails.
Make sure you can cast accurately as well. Sometimes they won't venture far from their hiding places and you may have to land it on their nose.
I would stay away from real big stuff, since you'll need to carry it and they won't worry too much about size, they'll just have time to see it and decide whether to chase it or not. If the stream is narrow, I would get a rod that is 6 1/2 or 7 1/2 ft max. As was said above, long rods are nice, but your area may be limited. Do get 80# braid as you need to muscle them away out of those snags quickly or they will hang you up.
I'd also stay away from jerkbaits like a suick, but rather get ones that work side to side like baby jerkos/sqiurkos and small phantoms. Dive and rise won't work well in a current as you'll be throwing upstream or quartering up. I would get big husky jerks for minnow baits. Might have to beef up the split rings and hooks, if you need you yank some bigger ones out of cover.
As for topwaters, i love them. Tails baits (like TopRaiders & pacemakers) are good, but I wouldn't have them along with any current. I'd get a creeper or hawg wobbler instead. They will work better as you can move them slower and still have decent action.
Your place sounds like a fun place to fish. Good luck. |
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Posts: 8
| thanks for the advice i noticed early morning and right around sun set when im chasing smallmouth i see them slowly coming up to the surface popping there heads out of water is that normal? and what colors would you say for spinnerbaits and for the other baits like the soft plastic what sizes should i get because in summer the current is very little to none and lastly how should i retrieve these in my situation since it is mainly shallow fast retrieve? |
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Posts: 8
| i met a few guys who throw some of those bps swimbaits too but other guys i talked to throw floating raplas and other bass cranks and jerkbaits and have successes with those but yeah my baits will be limited i keep my tackle bag on the bank but usually take out a few baits at a time |
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Posts: 682
Location: Sycamore, IL | I do some wading and have been using a back pack to cart around a plano box or two of lures. Like was stated earlier if your creek has alot of over hanging branches you might want a shorter rod. I use an old St.croix 7'6" MH rod for this type of fishing and have it paired with a revo toro 50 size reel with 80lb braid. If the fish are truly reaching mid forty inches then you will not want to go much lighter. I like to throw shallow running cranks, gliders, topwaters and spinner baits the majority of the time. I feel a good set-up would be a grim reaper spinner bait, shallow cisco kid, 6" baby squirko and a topraider. You should be able to cover just about every situation with these baits. If you are going to downsize to bass baits make sure you change out your split rings and hooks as they will get straightened out. Bass baits will not perform very well on a true muskie set-up but work great on a heavy flippin stick/swimbait rod and a bass reel with 40-50lb braid. You can still work most fish effectively with this set-up. If you are thinking of trying some deeper presentations try taking the front treble hook off of the bait to minimize snags. It doesn't effect the hookup ratio that much but will save you from going swimming for your bait.
The most important aspect of wade fishing is having a plan for how to handle a muskie when you have finally caught one...especially if fishing by yourself. I keep my pliers and hook cutters with in reach(not buried in my back pack) and generally just unhook the fish in the water. It gets real crazy fast when you've got a muskie with a face full of treble hooks thrashing around your legs and you are trying to get a photo set up...kinda takes the fun out of the whole experience. If you have a partner this is a non-issue. Good luck with your hunt!
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Posts: 8
| thanks for the advice i mean there are some huge ones down there and some smaller ones the issue is the rapid depth changes due to the huge limestone slabs so top water would be a big choice and so would be spinnerbaits in the deeper water i seen quite a few in the 30-40" range but one i saw my jaw dropped cause he was in no more then 8" of water and thought he was a carp but the guys i talked to whove caught them there say they throw a lot of the bps bass swimbaits the 8" one so i guess the huge 14" baits are a huge need for me but is a heldon zara spook too small? |
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| Newbie,
Don't listen to anyone who says an 8" Jake for a river or creed with 2-8 feet of depth. That lure will go down 20" on the troll; 12" on the cast.
For your rod and reel the question is how much money do you want to spend? I would say a 6'6" to 7' rod would be fine; and a Shimano Cardif will do the job of the reel. Truly, an Abu Garcia 6500c3 would be adequate. Line: I don't think you need anything heavier than 50-60 lb. superbraid.
Lures: Stay away from anything that goes deep. You'll lose it. Single hood spinnerbaits like the Pearson Grinder would be worth looking at. A Double Showgirl will stay up too. I'd be very careful with standard treble hook bucktails.
I'd throw 6" crank or minnow baits to start. A 6" Jake with size 1 hooks; a 6" grandma, etc. Even a 6" Bomber Long A (but get rid of the silver hooks). The largest thing I'd throw would be the 7.5" Grandma. (That's what will get your lunker.)
You need a stiff-tipped rod for jerk baits. I would try the 7" Suick in slower pools.
I've seen video of a guy having success with the standard Bucher TopRaider on the Susquenanna River near Williamsport, PA. Prabably similar water.
If you're not moving around too much, I'd take a big net you can handle with one hand. This will help. Take gloves. Take 8" long-nose pliers. |
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Posts: 8
| thanks i talked to a few guys who throw swimbaits and they say they curve the hooks inward and crank em just below the surface but any good rods that can handle slighty heavy weight in the 7ft region like a heavy action? and i was looking at the different muskie spinnerbaits and decided that those will be apart of the lures and im still trying to find other baits that i will not be trying to unsnag or loose a lot |
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Posts: 371
Location: Dixon, IL | 6 inch Grandma is great lure and many nice Largemouth Bass on this lure, too! I carry few lures (grandma, bucktail ane small jerkbait), longnose piler, few wires leaders, sicccer to cut the line and a camera! I like large pool with good depth, mouth of inlet creek and islands. If I pick one lure then it would be 6 inch Grandma! |
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| I fish rivers alot and I mainly throw bucktails, spinnerbaits, and crankbaits. Topwaters are great too the only problem is if you're fishing around wood, topwaters with treble hooks tend to get hung. As far as colors and lure retreval goes, thats something you have to figure out for yourself. If water is gin clear I would go with more natural colors and if its stained I would throw brighter colors. Get a variety of colors to cover any water clarity. |
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Posts: 1660
Location: central Wisconsin | The Swan gives you good advice. I fish rivers a lot in shallow stumpfields. I am either throwing a bucktail running it just below the surface or I am throwing slow moving topwaters such as Hawg Wobbler or a Creeper. I keep my lure selection very simple, do not want to be hanging up lures or you have to go disturb the area you are fishing to unsnag them. I also run 6" Bucher shallowraiders just below the surface.
Jeff |
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Posts: 8
| thanks guys for all the advice ill have to keep them in mind |
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| I meant to put this in my other post but I would definatly bet that there are pools signigicantly deeper than 2-8 ft in your river if there are fish in the mid 40s. These deeper holes are a great place to target if you can find them. |
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Posts: 8
| acutally there isnt im fishing a creek not a river and there are both tiger musky and regular musky this is the deepest water im basing it off the summer time water levels which are lower then now with the rain and snow we have had but the area they hold in is max 8ft i waded it everyday in the summer and i stand at 6ft i noticed they lay on the bottom or right infront of big boulders or near the one bridge pilings which are extremely shallow but a highway for fish |
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Posts: 833
| I want him to post a video of his first figure 8 fish caught wading. Not sure how the mechanics of that would work, but I bet it will unreal on film. |
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Posts: 2894
Location: Yahara River Chain | Brad P - 2/11/2013 12:00 PM
I want him to post a video of his first figure 8 fish caught wading. Not sure how the mechanics of that would work, but I bet it will unreal on film.
Another reason I wouldnt use a real long rod. Muskies rarely dig prey out of the mud/sand and it would also be hard on the tip digging into the bottom. Its a little different than fishing from the boat. Rather than a "8" I would just do a "spin" :7D |
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Posts: 833
| HA!
Instead of fatigue, the major limitation on his 8 would be how long it takes him to get dizzy. |
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Posts: 8
| from what i heard from guys who fish the same area they say they just crank in swimbaits right below the surface they cast a little past where they saw them popping their heads out of the water and not burn it but not retrieve slow like a medium tempo past them i was thinking about a larger swim jig a topwater and maybe a swimbait and maybe a few husky raps not a huge assortment since i dont have 30 for one lure and also the area i dont wanna loose major money in lures |
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Location: Minneapolis | Had luck on a 10 inch believer in the river this year. Jake takes 2nd place but doesnt handle the rocks as well. With a believer I can drag that thing right across the bottom and rarely gets hung up. |
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