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| The chain I live on is fed by three different creeks, each of which drains a large area. None of the three are very deep, 2-3 feet for the most part and have a pretty good flow rate. I don't think I could take my 18ft Lund up them but I could paddle my kayak. There are lot of small bait fish in the creeks, have seen them when I kayak or canoe. Have seen bass but no muskies or pike but there is a lot of cover for them to bury themselves in. Thinking about taking half a day and paddling up a creek tossing smaller baits. Anyone have any luck in creeks like this? I am retired and can afford to waste some time exploring but could use some pointers. |
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Posts: 4269
Location: Ashland WI | North of 8 - 2/16/2018 11:31 AM
The chain I live on is fed by three different creeks, each of which drains a large area. None of the three are very deep, 2-3 feet for the most part and have a pretty good flow rate. I don't think I could take my 18ft Lund up them but I could paddle my kayak. There are lot of small bait fish in the creeks, have seen them when I kayak or canoe. Have seen bass but no muskies or pike but there is a lot of cover for them to bury themselves in. Thinking about taking half a day and paddling up a creek tossing smaller baits. Anyone have any luck in creeks like this? I am retired and can afford to waste some time exploring but could use some pointers.
I have not fished a tributary that small, but I think its very possible it would work. If I were going to try it, it would probably be early spring. |
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| I was thinking right after season opened but I also wondered if the summer when it was hot might be a good time, since the water in the creeks tends to be a 3 to 5 degrees cooler than the lakes they feed into. Have not gone up the creek proper but have checked the temps where they empty into the lake. But early with small baits would seem a natural fit. |
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Posts: 1294
| Guarantee that if there are muskies in your lake, that in the spring, they will go, or try to go, up any moving water. Unless there is some sort of contamination, or an extremely shallow mouth to the creek, you may be surprised how many their might be, and how far up, they may go. |
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Posts: 409
Location: Almond, WI | Short answer is yes.
I don't know about the quick moving part, but very small tributaries can hold fish at times--especially early spring when they are warmer and summer peak when they're cooler, as well as when water levels rise due to rainfall.
I found a ditch coming off a cranberry bog a few years back, only 150 yards long till the culvert, could barely fit my 16.5' boat to turn around in it, about 4' in the middle. It was 5+ degrees warmer than the channel. There were 5 muskies in it (that I saw). |
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Posts: 32890
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Keith has caught Muskies in between the lakes on the river, so I'd bet you will find a fish or two. |
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Posts: 574
Location: Elk Grove Village, IL & Phillips, WI | It will be especially good after a rain when the water is high and really moving quick. We've been surprised at what we find in the skinny water creeks that feed the Wisconsin flowage we fish. |
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| sworrall - 2/16/2018 1:14 PM
Keith has caught Muskies in between the lakes on the river, so I'd bet you will find a fish or two.
I too have caught muskies in the river and they were in shallow water, including one that hit in less than a foot of water, so I am thinking the creeks might hold some as well. |
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Posts: 4269
Location: Ashland WI | Don't forget to report back on this. |
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| I am going to give it a try, take the kayak, heavy spinning rod. Obviously will need release tools, that sort of thing. Wondering about baits. I was thinking #5 size bucktail, a safety pin style spinner, smallish top water, both a prop bait and "popper style". Any other baits I should consider? Has to be something that will work in skinny, narrow water. Maybe a good sized plastic on musky size jig head, bouncing slowly with the current? |
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Posts: 20227
Location: oswego, il | Shallow twitchbaits will.work too. The density of fish won't be alot but you need to find spots that are deeper, bends, anything that will create a current break. Your best shot will be small spots that can hold fish. I have tried some small rivers up north going out of or coming into lakes not had much luck, the makeup was as your creek sounds, shallow, not much to hold a fish, so look for those little spots that outshine anything in the area, those are you're keyes. |
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Posts: 32890
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Spinerbaits work really well. |
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| ToddM - 2/16/2018 5:48 PM
Shallow twitchbaits will.work too. The density of fish won't be alot but you need to find spots that are deeper, bends, anything that will create a current break. Your best shot will be small spots that can hold fish. I have tried some small rivers up north going out of or coming into lakes not had much luck, the makeup was as your creek sounds, shallow, not much to hold a fish, so look for those little spots that outshine anything in the area, those are you're keyes.
The two creeks I will focus on have a ton of twists and turns in some sections so that will a place to focus. Thanks Todd. Getting kind of amped to try. I can get my daily exercise paddling there and back and maybe catch something. If not a muskie, maybe a nice bass.
Edited by North of 8 2/16/2018 6:09 PM
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Posts: 119
| Keyes outdoors did a show on this a few years back. He was wildly successful so I'd definitely check it out. I don't have the link but its on YouTube. |
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Location: Eastern Ontario | The outside of bends should hold some deeper water. When fishing the runs make sure your casts land within a foot of the bank. A friend tells me he can propel a Kayak just by retrieving a 10 inch jointed believer which can be retrieved under or on the surface. I use a canoe for small river fishing and carry a suick, spinnerbait, straight 8 inch believer and a tailspinning topwater.
Edited by horsehunter 2/16/2018 8:16 PM
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Posts: 31
| and if you are heading up the creek, be sure to bring a paddle! |
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| hairy lures - 2/16/2018 8:30 PM
and if you are heading up the creek, be sure to bring a paddle!
Good advice! |
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Posts: 300
Location: Minocqua, WI | Definitely a late spring through early summer scenario. Have done the same on the little tribs and other creeks that dump into larger systems. The adventure and most excitement you will get is getting lost and hopefully finding its fish. Catching is the reward.
I've had best success wading these little gems, but to get to them you will have to paddle and do some hiking at some point. Always wade upstream so not to spook and muddy up the water. Shallow twitchbaits, #5 Mepps or musky killers, walk the dog topwaters like a Rapala X-Rap Walk, and 6" shallow mantas are my go-to's. |
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| Thanks for the X-Rap Walk idea. I was thinking about what I could get that would fall in that category, and that should be ideal. All the walk the dog lures I have are large, heavy baits and aren't what I had in mind. |
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Posts: 770
| Rapala jointed x raps are huge producers in small rivers for me, I wouldn't downside as much as your planning, think quick retrieves and time in that fast moving water. Boat control gets complicated when your in the middle of a cast and need your arms to paddle |
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Posts: 770
| And don't rule out September and October then those big girls push shallow |
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| T3clay - 2/21/2018 6:26 AM
And don't rule out September and October then those big girls push shallow
Thanks for the suggestions. September was already on my mind. On the chain where I live they often get very shallow that time of the year. As to casting and paddling, the two creeks I want to try have a lot of bog like material on the sides. When kayaking and wanting to stop to have some water, I have found if I put the nose the kayak into small openings in the vegetation, it stays pretty steady until ready to move. Hope to do that while fishing if current is flowing quickly. It will be a learning experience, and even if I don't catch one, nice place to spend time. And I won't get buzzed by a walleye fisherman who thinks I am on "his spot". |
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Posts: 770
| Another thing to keep in mind is overhanging grasses and undercut banks, I have pulled some big fish out of tiny amounts of overhanging grass.... When that happens it looks like the magically appear out of no where |
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Posts: 20227
Location: oswego, il | Fish will sit under the bogs too making a twitch bait a good choice. You can have a foot of water in front of the bog but fish will fish will still lay under it.
Edited by ToddM 2/21/2018 8:14 PM
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Posts: 770
| You guys are making me anxious for spring |
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Posts: 20227
Location: oswego, il | T3clay - 2/22/2018 2:18 PM
You guys are making me anxious for spring
I already caught one this year and going again this weekend na na na na na!  |
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Posts: 770
| That's not very nice.... My garage door is most likely frozen shut. There's 2 inches of ice covering everything g here from the freezing rain last week |
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| shallow invader or biggame would be my choice,or even a paddletail unweighted |
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Posts: 1084
Location: Aurora | ToddM - 2/22/2018 7:17 PM
T3clay - 2/22/2018 2:18 PM
You guys are making me anxious for spring
I already caught one this year and going again this weekend na na na na na! ; )
May a diseased Yak defecate in your sock drawer.
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Posts: 20227
Location: oswego, il | Sidejack - 2/24/2018 9:37 PM
ToddM - 2/22/2018 7:17 PM
T3clay - 2/22/2018 2:18 PM
You guys are making me anxious for spring
I already caught one this year and going again this weekend na na na na na! ; )
May a diseased Yak defecate in your sock drawer.
Yep, put the skunk on today. |
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