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Posts: 103
| I've been trolling at my home lake with lures in the 6"-10" range and haven't had any luck, which is making me think I am either not trolling at the right depth. in the right area, or I'm not using the right lures.
The primary forage in my lake consists of gizzard shad and perch, so I've been using lures around that size and in those colors, but I was thinking maybe I should use bigger lures to stand out more? Instead of an 8 inch slammer, maybe a 12"-15" grandma/jake/liplock/mattlock/headlock would work better? I think my primary issue is probably a matter of location/depth/timing, though. I've been trying to troll around steep drop-offs in the 10'-20' area, especially around points and bottle-necks. |
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Posts: 1319
| Hopefully you have more then one person in the boat or can use more then one rod and try different lures (colors and sizes) in ill you find a pattern. Yes this is harder with Muskies then other fish. |
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Posts: 103
| chuckski - 6/24/2024 10:46 AM
Hopefully you have more then one person in the boat or can use more then one rod and try different lures (colors and sizes) in ill you find a pattern. Yes this is harder with Muskies then other fish.
I can use 3 rods per person in my state. I just don't want to spend that much on a lure if it's going to be too big for most muskie to eat. |
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Posts: 2258
Location: SE, WI. | If you’re struggling to catch fish, I believe downsizing would be the direction I would go. There are some really good running cranks under 5”.
Muskie Inc records for years had the Bagley series as top producers , db3’s, db04’s, monster shads.Other good ones; diesel regular size, 4” slammers, crime and 4.5” boss shads, Adam Lamey in PA. Has his Roadkill 4”, Smuttly dog has a good 1, and many more (small cranks) good ones out there.
Don’t be afraid of running a heavy spinnerbait in 5, 6, or 8 ounce size. They get down nicely in that 10’-20 foot range, pending your speed. JD |
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Posts: 103
| jdsplasher - 7/6/2024 10:28 PM
If you’re struggling to catch fish, I believe downsizing would be the direction I would go. There are some really good running cranks under 5”.
Muskie Inc records for years had the Bagley series as top producers , db3’s, db04’s, monster shads. diesel regular size, 4” slammers, crime and 4.5” boss shads, Adam Lamey in PA. Has his Roadkill 4”, Smuttly dog has a good 1, and many more (small cranks) good ones out there.
Don’t be afraid of running a heavy spinnerbait in 5, 6, or 8 ounce size. They get down nicely in that 10’-20 foot range, pending your speed. JD
8 ounce spinnerbait or bucktail? Heaviest spinnerbair I ever saw was 2 ounces. |
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Posts: 2258
Location: SE, WI. | Yes Sir; Look at them on basement baits forum. Post ; “winter projects”. Page 2 of post a pic of the heavy weights….5,6, 8 oz. no clip in weighting….all 1 piece! JD |
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Location: PA Angler | I’d run a big lure and a smaller lure. Plus you say forage is gizzard shad and perch. I hate to say it but there’s a lot more in there that the Muskie eat. If the lake gets stocked with trout I’d start with trout lures first. Also what does the lake get stocked with. |
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Posts: 103
| Solitario Lupo - 7/7/2024 10:13 AM
I’d run a big lure and a smaller lure. Plus you say forage is gizzard shad and perch. I hate to say it but there’s a lot more in there that the Muskie eat. If the lake gets stocked with trout I’d start with trout lures first. Also what does the lake get stocked with.
It is primarily a bass lake actually, there's just muskie in there. There's no trout stocked in there. There's abundant gizzard shad and panfish with a good number of perch and carp as well. There are some walleye in there, but not a ton. I just figured that the perch and gizzard shad would be the primary forage because I heard muskie don't like spiny baitfish like sunfish and there aren't a ton of carp, walleye, or shiners. |
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Posts: 1319
| It's wise to use a Shad sized lure in a Lake full of Shad, however I've fished with guides who have caught many very large fish and they have tell me that there is no such thing as a lure that is too large for a Muskie if we can cast it they can eat it.
Ever had a Muskie strike your trolling motor? |
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Posts: 2258
Location: SE, WI. | chuckski - 7/8/2024 7:36 AM It's wise to use a Shad sized lure in a Lake full of Shad, however I've fished with guides who have caught many very large fish and they have tell me that there is no such thing as a lure that is too large for a Muskie if we can cast it they can eat it. Ever had a Muskie strike your trolling motor? had several muskies hit trolling motor… mostly Canada fish! |
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Location: Athens, Ohio | Small shad rattle baits work well here in the Spring, but I've caught a 48 inch fish on a 6 inch jerk bait and a 27 inch fish on a Hang 10 Manta, so go figure. m |
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Location: PA Angler | Any baitfish in stress and is an easy meal they will attack and eat it. I see a lot where I fish using any panfish including bluegill. Yes they work.
I’ve heard stories of them even taking catfish off of peoples lines.
Check out phantom softails. |
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Posts: 103
| Never had one attack my trolling motor. I'm really tempted to get a liplock because I just like the action so much, but the body is 13 inches long and thats about as big as a perch/shad gets and most of the musky around me are in the high 30 inch range. |
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Posts: 1253
| Just buy the Shallow Invader dward has in the Buy Sell section, for $17 bucks. Throw it, troll it. Most any predator in your lake will eat it. Save your money. |
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Posts: 32876
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | If it moves, it's food
DJ |
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Posts: 2313
Location: Chisholm, MN | Another thing you should think about is how many muskies are actually living where you fish. Aside from that, it really takes time to figure this game out. How many hours are you putting in? Are you fishing at the right time? Should you be casting instead of trolling? The bait selection is important, but not as important as these other factors. |
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Posts: 103
| Kirby Budrow - 7/10/2024 11:17 AM
Another thing you should think about is how many muskies are actually living where you fish. Aside from that, it really takes time to figure this game out. How many hours are you putting in? Are you fishing at the right time? Should you be casting instead of trolling? The bait selection is important, but not as important as these other factors.
That's another thing that I need to figure out. I'm not sure where they would be. |
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Posts: 2258
Location: SE, WI. | PennsylvaniaMuskie - 7/13/2024 11:18 PM Kirby Budrow - 7/10/2024 11:17 AM Another thing you should think about is how many muskies are actually living where you fish. Aside from that, it really takes time to figure this game out. How many hours are you putting in? Are you fishing at the right time? Should you be casting instead of trolling? The bait selection is important, but not as important as these other factors. That's another thing that I need to figure out. I'm not sure where they would be. Instead of buying a secret lure for your solution …….Then I would suggest hiring a guide. Hire one of the more experienced on that body of water. Can really help in shortening the learning curve. Ask a lot of questions on migration patterns throughout the season. Why fish are set up in certain locations. Idiosyncrasies of baits and colors that produce. Buying a $100 lure of a certain color is a contemplation somewhere further down the road that could be a waste of money Now! JD |
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| JD provides excellent advice. Even after living on a small chain, I hired a guide for half a day to help me with one of the lakes where pretty much all I got was frustrated. I have done much better there since then. |
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Posts: 103
| jdsplasher - 7/14/2024 4:50 AM
PennsylvaniaMuskie - 7/13/2024 11:18 PM Kirby Budrow - 7/10/2024 11:17 AM Another thing you should think about is how many muskies are actually living where you fish. Aside from that, it really takes time to figure this game out. How many hours are you putting in? Are you fishing at the right time? Should you be casting instead of trolling? The bait selection is important, but not as important as these other factors. That's another thing that I need to figure out. I'm not sure where they would be. Instead of buying a secret lure for your solution …….Then I would suggest hiring a guide. Hire one of the more experienced on that body of water. Can really help in shortening the learning curve. Ask a lot of questions on migration patterns throughout the season. Why fish are set up in certain locations. Idiosyncrasies of baits and colors that produce. Buying a $100 lure of a certain color is a contemplation somewhere further down the road that could be a waste of money Now! JD
Thats what I did, have yet to go on the trip. The only thing is my local lake is primarily a bass lake and this is the only guide for the lake. He mostly does bass, but he has encountered muskie, too. I've fished everywhere in the lake heavily except deep open water (40+ feet). I fished jerkbaits, topwaters and bucktails along the shallow weed beds. I fished topwater and bucktails along the shallow northern end of the lake where a creek flows in. I've fished the deep points with jerkbaits and jigs. I fished the open water area with jerk baits, jigs and swimbaits, but not as heavily as the others. I'm just trying to think what's wrong, am I fishing the wrong place, wrong time, wrong lure, or is something else wrong? |
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Posts: 351
Location: Selkirk, Manitoba | ^ Is there other folks catching muskies regularly in this lake? When you say "as much as others" it sounds like there is. When we are fishing LOTW there are vast areas with no musky and you can do everything "right" and because there are no musky you won't encounter them no matter what lure, technique you change to. Need to be muskies where you fish, obviously.
There are no lures that you can cast that are too big for muskies. We regularly catch small pike on the same huge lures we are throwing intending to catch the big musky. We've caught walleye and smallmouth on them as well. They don't match the hatch. Lures are not your issue.
Assuming there are adequate numbers, your issue is probably time and place. Again, we can fish a spot that we know has musky lurking someone nearby, but wrong time and place and we won't see or catch anything. When both these things are optimal (fish on the spot and positive mood), then the third factor is presentation. It is easier when there are several people to vary lure type and cadence, but if solo can be done as well. Fish the really good spots hard and effectively with several lure types and cadences.
Generally folks that fish other species don't fish fast enough or erratic enough for muskies (or pike for that matter). You need to move the lure at speeds when they are in a neutral/slightly positive mood as hard and as fast as you can to get their attention - cat and mouse toy is the game here. You should be throwing big lures and moving them such that you get to a point where you are too tired to throw them anymore. You want muskies to react to your bait, not be able to read the label on it.
Best time to fish is when it is too uncomfortable for other species anglers to fish. When there is wind blowing on these good looking points and so on, muskies will be set up there. When we see a big weather change, it is time to go out, not to back in like the other species anglers. You know the timing is right when other species are feeding hard too.
Places - I am always amazed how skinny the water where we pull big muskies out of - you need to be tight to where the structure touches land - in Cdn Shield water anyway, may not be the case where you are. Musky will locate on the best spots on the lake that are adjacent to their food. Up here our forage is different than yours but consider where the best spots intersect with where the forage will be (where the two can intersect at dusk). |
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Location: Athens, Ohio | May I suggest contacting and possibly joining one of the fine Muskies, Inc chapters in your fine state? Not sure where you are located but check out Chapter 16 in the west and Chapter 50 in the east and 64 Nittany Valley. www.muskiesinc.org
There are no doubt members who fish similar waters to yours, and I've yet to meet an MI member who will not give advice. Some, even good advice. good luck on your journey, m |
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Posts: 103
| mikie - 7/15/2024 8:27 AM
May I suggest contacting and possibly joining one of the fine Muskies, Inc chapters in your fine state? Not sure where you are located but check out Chapter 16 in the west and Chapter 50 in the east and 64 Nittany Valley. www.muskiesinc.org
There are no doubt members who fish similar waters to yours, and I've yet to meet an MI member who will not give advice. Some, even good advice. good luck on your journey, m
I could do that, what all does it entail? |
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