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Posts: 1023
| Go easy on the guy - he is just sharing his frustrations (and yes they are trivial)
Everyone is right - it is just fishing but man can we get intense about it eh? (can you tell I am Canadian).
My buddy almost always outfishes me - from the back of the boat:)
It never bugs me - I consider musky fishing a team sport and if he gets one then I feel as though my boat control... played a part in his success. My time will come.
Don't get me wrong - I love catchin' them and last fall was a slow one for me.
I tend to be a streaky fisherman anyways. Couple seasons ago, I was on fire. I just seemed to pick the right days to go fishing and it all came together. Last year - seemed to pick the wrong days to fish and made the wrong choices I guess, but it was still an enjoyable year. I am pretty hardcore so I have been forcing myself to actually relax, stop and eat (before I am ill) and enjoy how lucky I am to own a boat and live in Ontario.
Having said that - I do believe confidence plays a big role in fishing success.
And on a side note - people who groan or curse under their breath when I get another one on a good day DON'T get invited out again. I despise that and have had it happen a few times.
Landry
Edited by Landry 5/30/2011 7:12 PM
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Posts: 1425
Location: St. Lawrence River | edalz - 5/30/2011 10:01 AM
Maybe hire an experienced guide and fish a day with him but in your boat. Ask him to watch your boat control, figure 8's and give you some honest feedback.
pretty good idea. To be completely honest i didn't realize there were so many Dr. Phil's on muskiefirst lol.....
Edited by JakeStCroixSkis 5/30/2011 7:38 PM
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Posts: 1030
Location: APPLETON, WI | I feel your pain and can completely empathize. Unfortunately, I don't even have the privilege of owning a boat so it sounds like you've already got 1-up on me. It's musky fishing... it ain't musky catching. I try and value each and everyday I get out on the water. Take the entire experience in and let it humble you. Appreciate everything you see before you and just enjoy yourself. I know it sounds hokey but I think a lot of us get cabin fever (at least here in Wisconsin) over the winter... so February comes around and the musky shows start up and we all think we're gonna go out there and pound the water with our new fancy lures and gear. And it's almost like we EXPECT to have musky jumpin' in the boat. I think a lot of us get out on the water and take for granted everything else. Went trolling with a buddy of mine today and didn't even get a fish in the net... but we had bluebird skies and darn near 90 degree weather and quite frankly, I still had a blast. Been a while since I've felt the sun on my face like that and hey, it isn't too often the words "zombie apocalypse" comes up on a musky fishing trip... so another bonus! Don't ask. In a nutshell, don't put so much friggin' pressure on yourself. It ain't worth it and there's no reason for it. Chill, relax, chuck some big baits and get your confidence back up. Have confidence in what you're doing. |
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Posts: 227
Location: Southeast Wisconsin | Tough year for everyone, everywhere for the most part. It all depends on the weather and this spring has been nothing short of twisted in that department.
keep your head up! If you stay focused on the bad your going to miss out on the good when its your turn again.
#1, HAVE FUN! if your not having fun than do something different with your time. Dont forget, Its not a job, its your hobby!! |
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| sounds like muskie fishing to me... everybody wants to catch big darm fish but nobody wants to put 100s of hours in to get one
maybe u should switch to bass fishing lol lil more action there |
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Posts: 797
Location: North Central IL USA | Guest - 5/30/2011 11:22 PM
maybe u should switch to bass fishing lol lil more action there
For sure!! I do both. Definitely more fish per casts! |
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Posts: 152
| good advice today boys and ill use it . If you were to pick just 10 baits what would they be ? I had a major hit in my collection as of recently so this wont be so hard. Heres my 10 tell me what you think
1 808 crane in green perch
2. mag dawg/ rubber harry
3 Hellhound
4 suick
5 bob
6 double 10 musky chime marabou
7 double 8 musky chime hair
8 double 10 tinsel
9 spinner bait safety pin
10 triple d |
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Posts: 395
Location: NW WI | musky chimes - 5/31/2011 3:44 AM
good advice today boys and ill use it . If you were to pick just 10 baits what would they be ? I had a major hit in my collection as of recently so this wont be so hard. Heres my 10 tell me what you think
1 808 crane in green perch
2. mag dawg/ rubber harry
3 Hellhound
4 suick
5 bob
6 double 10 musky chime marabou
7 double 8 musky chime hair
8 double 10 tinsel
9 spinner bait safety pin
10 triple d
No surface bait? (I've heard of a Hellhound but not sure what it is) |
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Posts: 32958
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | chimes,
Another issue you may need to look closely to is cast placement. Not sure if you are number 1,2,or3 to cast to clean water.
Definitely add a surface bait to the mix. |
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Posts: 1906
Location: Oconto Falls, WI | So I read your first post, and now your top 10. Have you thought about what you have done different the last few years compared to when you were successful? Did you throw double tails several years ago when you were putting fish in the boat? Is your top 10 baits bow the same as before?
Sometimes we over analyze things and get out of what we were good at. No need to change what you were doing just because it is the new hot craze going. Perhaps you just need to go back to your basics, and keep your confidence up. Nothing worse in this game than when you second guess everything you are doing which just adds to the lack of success in my opinion.
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Posts: 278
Location: WV | I'm in a musky slump myself. Like others said, I believe its in my head. I have been treating my fishing as a business and not enjoying being out there. I was talking to a buddy yesterday and we discussed getting back to basics so I am going to forget the lakes for a while and start hitting the small streams again. These are often a great confidence builders. The fish may be small but but 3 or 4 27"ers sure sound like fun when you havn't caught a musky in a while.
Another way I have been looking at it as that the good Lord is keeping those 35"ers away for a while so I will really appreciate the 50 that I am about to catch!!
Good luck |
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Posts: 209
| When I get in a rut, I go to a action lake to get a little stink on my hands... It holds me over while I stuggle after the bigger fish. The weather this year has the fish acting VERY odd. If you don't just enjoy being out there - take a break.
Jeff
Edited by Trollindad 5/31/2011 9:48 AM
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Posts: 899
| Start bringing a few beers in the boat with you! Two years ago I went 0 for 11 in June on fish I had hooked...started bringing beer in the boat to relax a bit and fish started getting in the net. |
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Posts: 183
Location: Grand Forks ND | Telling someone to "relax" and "enjoy the experience" does not help matters at all. Sure there are other things to worry about, but what bothers you bothers you. I know a lot of people who have their day ruined from a bad round of golf too....thats just the way it is. Sure there are other people with worse issues...but those "issues" are not my nor his issues and really of little importance to anyone else. So, for those who have the attitude of "you should walk in my shoes"....get over YOURSELVES as well!
Now to the real question (can you believe a question about muskys on a musky forum), their is no doubt confidence plays an important role...not that the fish can tell, but to give you the confidence to fish a certain way, spot or bait and to have the confidence and awareness of what is happening. You expect a fish and you are ready for it at any moment. I also think this super large bait transformation has also contributed to some of the problems. You may catch bigger fish on larger bait (or may not), but your smaller fish percentages probably go down a lot. Perhaps get back to some smaller stuff and try to just catch some smaller fish to get your mojo back, and you will likely catch a monster in the process.
Good luck. |
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Posts: 393
Location: Hopefully on the water | After reading all the posts and your here is a couple of thoughts that i may see. I have been in the slump before and was just flat out overthinking everything. go back to the simple things that worked for you in the past. Stick with your hand full of baits that you have confidence in. Try not to get ung up what on what the other person in the boat is doing. I would suggest finding a different partner that shares the same passion as you do. You mentioned the guys you fish with take it as a competition and ego status. Switch partners to someone that enjoys the TEAM aspect of it. That is why I backed way off of tourney's. I tried to compare my results with everyone else that placed. We swtiched our mentality to having fun and what ever happens with the fish happens. We got out of the slump a lot quicker. My one buddy said if I let him talk during the day it goes much faster and more enjoyable. One other thing that has helped me not care as much as my results is taking my sons out and putting more effort on the kids getting fish. To me I have more excitement when they have a follow or catch one. overall my suggestion would be to over think things. Keep it simple and enjoyable. Take time to talk with your partners and see what they think of why or what you are doing. Putting a plan together from your fishing partners is much easier if you both agree on spot, style, location versus we are fishing here and this is how we are going to fish it. It also can be for razing them later out of fun if you fish a spot they want to and it doens't produce (visa versa also). But you may also learn a new spot or technique along the way. Good luck on getting out of the slump and rember it is only a slump. Majority of all slumps come to a end. |
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Posts: 1202
Location: Money, PA | These are the realities of fishing. Accepting what you cannot control and taking care of the things you know you can control are key. Have Faith and confidence in what you know to be true to you and what you put into the sport. Also keep a positive attitude....remember that the odds are in your favor at this point, so go out and hit 'er hard this year. With all this said....HAVE FUN! If you are no loner having fun muskie fishing, try fishing for some other species as well to take some of the pressure off. This is what I had to do years back when I was putting WAY too much pressure on myself....especially with the #s thing....I got too caught up in making sure I outdid myself or other guys in our club to try to get ahead....It became an obsession that went beyond enjoying what I loved and it was not enjoyable to me as much anymore. Now I take the kids out and newbies and educate....catching fish is just a bonus for because I'm back to having fun with muskie fishing.
"I dont think im better than anyone at anything because im not that kinda guy. I fish musky because i love the chase and the being on the water."
You may want to re-think what you're doing, because this statement cannot possibly hold true with the effect this slump seems to have on you. Just sayin'
Edited by ShutUpNFish 5/31/2011 11:36 AM
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Posts: 1030
Location: APPLETON, WI | One other thing I forgot to mention... are your buddies the competitive kind of one-uppers who make everything into a competition? If you call up your fishing buddy and tell them about the 43" you just hooked on Lake X... does he say "Oh yeah? I bet it wasn't as big as the 44 I pulled outta there last month!"
If so, these are the kind of people you DON'T want to have in the boat with you. A little friendly competition is one thing... but to have the constant one-upper looming over you like a black cloud is enough to get anyone stirred up. |
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Posts: 4342
Location: Smith Creek | I agree with Whynot... ease off the energy drinks, pick up a sixer of High Life, leave your ego at the landing and go out and have fun. I think a lot of people will agree that the more you get hung up on numbers and size the harder it is to have a good time. If you're not having fun you won't catch as many, and you'll be harder on yourself. |
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Posts: 7115
Location: Northwest Chicago Burbs | Another idea: take some time off from fishing. Do the "honey dos", play with the kids, clean out the garage....basically give it a little time so that you miss the things other than the catching part. I learned long ago that if you cant enjoy the being out there fishing part of it, you wont be happy with the little bits of catching we do with muskie fishing.
And, it's just a fish. If going out and doing something that is supposed to be fun and it becomes that furstrating, it might be time to reassess. |
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Posts: 726
Location: Eau Claire, WI | Stop over thinking it. Forget about the past. Get back to basics. Cast, retrieve, repeat.
Your top 10 list of lures have a lot of secondary lures for the water around here. Heavy on jerk baits. Heavy on larger sized lures. They all have their place and I've caught fish around here on nearly all that you mention but I don't think even 25% of what you have on your list are what I'd consider my "go to" baits in this area. I'll have to keep that in mind this year, I must be missing something.
In other words, I wouldn't try to bust my slump with a cowgirl and a bull dawg on the local lakes I fish. You must fish different lakes than me around here.
What would I do? Get a bucktail, and a top raider. go to my best "action" lake. cast only those lures, leave all others behind.
Bucktails and top waters are probably the most consistently productive lures this time of year. add a suick, reef hawg, or glider to the mix. You can go a long ways through an entire season and do well with this very short list.
Many moons ago, I decided that I was going to fish the way I wanted to fish so I was off throwing goofy things in goofy places on lakes that didn't support the locations and presentations I decided I was going to throw. Somewhere along the line I went from experimenting to "by god, this is the way I'm going to do it". My numbers suffered for it.
Luckily I didn't totally lose my mind. I recognized the issue, I went back to the basics and things got better. Sounds like you may be in a similar situation because you are forcing your will on the lake "I always fish this way" vs. changing it up and letting the lake tell you. Being a good muskie fisherman includes adaptation, you are learning that now. Ahh the zen of muskie fishing.
Sounds like you are a hard charger so taking time off may not be a good option for your addiction. In my opinion your best option is more time on the water but strip it down to the basics and rebuild from there. Fish the lakes you know well and only fish the "prime" spots. Avoid any experimentation in new lakes, locations, lures. Get out on your own too so you don't feel the need to prove yourself to everyone including you! Reading between your lines...there is a lot of pride in there. Pride can hurt you, get it out of the way.
And above all else just remember somedays these fish are hateful. LOL.
Good luck.
Jono
Edited by Jono 5/31/2011 3:09 PM
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Posts: 1169
Location: New Hope MN | Let your buddies captain and you cast off the back. Less to think about. I prefer that when the guys knows what he is doing. |
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Posts: 225
Location: Nordeast Minneapolis | Just by the sheer # of responses to this, it's obvious you're not alone. I went through a pretty good slump two years ago... to the point where it was absolutely not fun fishing, but I went out again and again, trying to FORCE one into the boat. As I was sitting by myself in the boat on a cold, dark, rainy October night, with nothing to show for it, I said to myself "WTF?!?! This is so far beyond not fun it's stupid!". And I went home. It was pride, messing with me. Not love of the outdoors, or fishing, or anything noble. I was out for pride, and I think I ended up getting the stink of desperation all over my lures.
It looks like you make your own bucktails... I'd suggest putting together a #8 colorado single-blade bucktail. Or a few of them in your favorite colors; just make sure one of 'em's black. There's a really good article in the new In-Fisherman about some of the advantages of smaller lures, and my avatar photo will attest to it (ie: suggestion of that particular lure- worked for me!).
Edited by gus_webb 5/31/2011 4:19 PM
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Posts: 433
Location: Cedarburg, Wisconsin | The best way to not catch fish is think you won't. Works darn near every time. If you can't be positive about musky fishing, don't.
Are you tossing the same lures as your boat partners? If you are, switch to something else, smaller or bigger or different somehow. If you are continually not using the hot lure, use it! Get up in the front of the boat and run it so you can fish your lure exactly the way you want to. Don't get trapped in a situation where the boat is going the right speed for the lures you aren't using.
I usually experiment with my lures, staying away from the obvious hot stuff, at least for a while, so I can see if there is something else that works better or as good. When I do this I usually am on the netting end of a catch. I expect this to happen. No problems. But I can also put on the hot lure and vacuum off every fish from a structure before anyone else has a chance if I want to. It's not hard to do physically, just hard to justify morally, so I don't. If you are on the short end of the stick presentationwise too often maybe you need to just get a bit more greedy and get the hot lure in the good spot first a few more times.
Maybe it is your casting. Are you presenting the lure tight enough to cover? You can get to the point where you just wing casts out there as fast as you can with most of them missing the good spots by many feet, which is most often not close enough. Are you getting your speed matched to the fish? Burning a lure works, sometimes, but just as many times not. Are you too slow and meticulous? Trying finesse when you should be cranking harder? Are you forgetting to put triggers in your retrieve? Just a straight boring retrieve often won't get any response where one with a few triggers can be beneficial. There are a lot of things to think about. |
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Posts: 152
| I have just looked through all your thoughts here and i realize things im doing different the biggest thing ive done is try anything but use my favorite bait. For those of you who dont own a hellhound or two your missing out on just a wonderful glide bait that is so much more then a typical side to side glider. They do everything from fast search bait fishing to slow cold front teasing. This bait has been the most productive bait ive ever seen on the water for everyone i know who uses them on a regular basis they just catch fish. The first year they came out they were the only bait to throw on lake Wissota and it made life easy. For some reason i stopped using them always trying to find a lure that worked as well and i guess im still looking. I will use a bait for entire weeks to force the thing to catch fish and yet it never works. These new baits look great in the water and i throw um till i can make them tap dance. Besides Shad-zilla they have all been flops. I dont know why but when i go back to my confidence bait i have no confidence in it so i start the cycle all over again. Like my brains gotta been their done that mentality with them and i rarley ever use it anymore. I spend more time than ever before throwing bucktails and i did not use bucktails like this in the past . Double ten bucktails have ruined my life i here about how great they are yet ive not seen them super hot but only a handful of times in real life. |
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Posts: 829
Location: Maple Grove, MN | Captain has a good point. It is often times the second person who casts that catches the fish. The first simply wakes the fish up and gets it agitated.
We have all had a few slumps and here are a few things that have plagued me at times:
- Slowing down the lure as it gets close to the boat. Much better to keep the retrieve constant or speed it up.
- Improper figure-8s. Not wide enough, wrong speed, etc, etc.
- Not adding triggers to the retrive. Simply swinging the rod back and forth once during a retrieve will induce sudden a stop and go and/or direction changes that can induce strikes.
- Sticking with a favorite, but unproductive lure. If one thing isn't working, try something else.
- Sticking with a lake where I had little luck. I can't explain why, but I almost never catch Muskies on one metro lake, but almost everyone who fishes with me does. My "boat" averages over a Muskie an outing there, but I have only caught one small Muskie on that lake in my life. My friends love that lake, but I don't.
Muskies can be strange fish though. I once went fishless over an entire year and then caught two nice fish on the opener the next year. No idea why either.
Good luck. |
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Posts: 176
Location: Alexandria, MN | I love this thread. And judging by the number of responses, I would suffice to say that muskie fishing, by nature, IS a slump, interrupted only by brief periods of fish-catching. I have heard it said that Muskies are a lot like women in that they can smell desperation a mile away. You want their attention? Act like you don't need it. Then they show up when you're not really paying attention - and all is good. Case in point:
After one long, fishless summer, I was fishing a lake in northern MN in early october - once again without much success - not even a follow for 5 or 6 hours. I noticed a yearling loon hanging around the boat - following my buddy and I along as we fished. Bored, I stopped the trolling motor and began firing my Bulldawg out and burning it back to the boat as fast I could. The loon would chase, stop right next to the boat, and wait for me to do it again. I did this for about ten minutes in the same spot, mildly amused at the stupid loon's persistence. On about the 15th or so cast, I nearly had the rod knocked out of my hands by a 42" Muskie. Not the biggest fish I've ever caught by any stretch, but maybe the most important. I boated a couple more fish that fall, and the slump ended. So, MuskyChimes, take heart. The slump will end. And about when you least expect it. |
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Posts: 829
Location: Maple Grove, MN | Lets not forgot what while there are slumps, there are also times when one gets on a roll. Last summer, I spent an entire week on the big V and didn't catch a single Muskie. That was the first time my boat had ever gone fishless on a week of Muskie fishing. I had a couple on, but nothing in the net. But then I came back, went to my favorite lake, and caught at least one Muskie an outing until late September. Then October hit and I went on another slump. The year before I caught 20 Muskies in November, but last year not a single one in November. Go figure.
Muskie fishing is unpredictable. One has to be happy just to be on the water. Its a bonus if you catch one.
I'll be fishing the MN opener tomorrow and I might catch a couple of good fish in the first hour. It has happened before. And then I might not catch a Muskie until July or August or maybe even September. That has also happened before. Either way I'm going to have fun.
Good luck tomorrow to all.  |
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Posts: 152
| i love musky fishing ! The only thing on earth that can tick you off more than a woman can yet ya cant get away from it. |
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Posts: 556
| I have to agree with the response about the more you learn the sometimes HARDER it is to catch fish---fish might be larger but you just sometimes have less action. when this has happened to me OR when I am in a slump of sorts I go back to the basics. Sometimes fishing shallow water which I know will probably most likely hold some smaller fish. Kinda get some action back just to let me know I am still doing some things right---Kinda brings back some fun days of fishing like when I started out. Enjoy all time on the water--give thanks for what you have--The fish will come back your way if you know you are doing things right. You will really enjoy it when it happens. Its funny--when I fish with my kids -- who are now in their 20's-- I still put them in the best situations as far as lures and presentations because I WANT THEM to catch the fish like I did when they were young--I still enjoy seeing them have the success rather than me. Enjoy your friends action and know that they are pulling for you also. GOOD LUCK !! |
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