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Posts: 50
Location: Hobart, Indiana | Was wondering which is more exceiting for you guy/gals? Catching a musky at the boat or 6 cranks on the reel? Most of my fish are at the boat. My personal best is three fish on three casts. First was 4 cranks on the reel and the other two were pulling the lure out of the water after the figher 8. Literly a foot out of the water. They were all under 30" but really cool to see and do! |
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Posts: 1638
Location: Minnesota | i have been musky fishing for abought 12 years i still have not got one to hit my 8 alot have chased it but still waiting for one to hit it so the figher 8 is what i want |
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Posts: 2326
Location: Chisholm, MN | In the 8!!! Got most of my bigger fish including my pb that way. I'm addicted......
More specifically, the 8 after dark is even better.
Edited by Kirby Budrow 7/15/2012 12:49 PM
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Posts: 410
Location: Wakefield, MI | Kirby Budrow - 7/15/2012 12:48 PM
In the 8!!! Got most of my bigger fish including my pb that way. I'm addicted......
More specifically, the 8 after dark is even better.
One of my dads biggest was on the 8 in the middle of the night. Said he almost needed a new pair of pants!
I have yet to catch one on the 8. |
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Posts: 2326
Location: Chisholm, MN | milje - 7/15/2012 1:01 PM
Kirby Budrow - 7/15/2012 12:48 PM
In the 8!!! Got most of my bigger fish including my pb that way. I'm addicted......
More specifically, the 8 after dark is even better.
One of my dads biggest was on the 8 in the middle of the night. Said he almost needed a new pair of pants!
I have yet to catch one on the 8.
Yup, I dread it! But when it happens there is nothing like it! |
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Posts: 8782
| I'd rather catch them out on a cast. Only about 1 out of every 8 eats anywhere except right in front of me, though. Yah, figure 8 fish are fun, but it would be nice to have at least a few of them eat father than 5 feet away so I could fight them a little. |
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Posts: 1207
Location: Pigeon Forge TN. | I like it both ways. just love the feel of the weight and power either way it is awesome. |
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Posts: 213
Location: FIB land | Kevin Mahlberg told me after I caught my first on a sucker, I'd never forget my first topwater muskie, He was so right, topwater explosions really rock!! |
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Posts: 538
Location: northern indiana | muskie-don58 - 7/15/2012 9:32 PM
Kevin Mahlberg told me after I caught my first on a sucker, I'd never forget my first topwater muskie, He was so right, topwater explosions really rock!! My first and pb came on a topwater. It also hit right next to the boat  |
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Posts: 175
Location: Tonka, MN | More come in the 8 for me but topwater is by far the best! |
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Posts: 32886
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | My PB came on the 8 with maybe a foot of line out. Went crazy, because the water was about 3' deep there.
Fun stuff. |
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Posts: 1220
| There is a lot of brag and trash talk always put forth in order to present ones bonifides as a musky "stick," but for me, the simple question is, "How many of your fish are figure-eight fish?" The better you are, the higher the percetage on the eight. For most, (me included) doing a high-quality figure eight every single time is a lot of work, takes time away from bombing out cast after cast, and is the most obvious part of your game to break down when you are tired. The better the stick, the less that happens until the percentage of figure-eight fish pass around 70%. Therefore, I'd say catching them on the eight is the most satisfying, because it backs up that I am doing what I am supposed to be doing out there. |
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Posts: 1036
| I'm addicted to sucker fishing.
Everyone can keep the casting bites, trolling bites and figure 8 bites. I'll take a clicker rip. Nothing finer. |
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Posts: 829
Location: Maple Grove, MN | I enjoy figure-8 catches the most. There is something about seeing that fish eat right at boat side that is especially exciting - and the ensuing shower can be refreshing. Overall, I catch at least half of my Muskies on figure-8s each year and almost all of my largest fish. I also catch a lot of large Pike on figure-8s with my largest Pike the last four years, all 42 to 44 inches, on figure-8s.
Figure-8s do take a lot of practice and an 8' or longer rod really helps. Be sure to never slow down when going into a figure-8 and make them as wide as possible - especially for the larger fish.
Good luck all.
Edited by Herb_b 7/16/2012 10:11 AM
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Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | this is not to say you fight a fish to exhaustion before netting, but i think some might work so hard to stuff the fish in the bag that you might forget to enjoy the experience? ...
granted, i'll put my rod tip down to keep the fish in the water and love putting them in the bag, but over the years i've also found there's nothing better than seeing some musky aerials!! always remember they are fun fish to catch too. if they come unpinned sometimes, they do. doesn't diminish the enjoyment though!! |
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| Herb.... 'be sure to never slow down'.... I don't know about that. The best guy I've ever fished with at reading fish (he knows who he is) and may chime in, taught me that slowing down at certain times can result in a heck of a lot more catches. I've got a long ways to go in figure 8s, but yes, there is for sure a time to slow down. For me, I personally like that bone jarring strike out in a cast, but they are all fun. Good luck |
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Location: Contrarian Island | hey Scottie T! ; ) yah, I have to 100% disagree with HerbB statement to "never slow down"..it's ALL about reading the fish and what they want....as we found out on LOTW last year if you did the typical fast "take it away from them" figure 8 well guess what....you were not getting hits... you had to slow it down....there are times at night especially too if i see a fish behind my bait I will slow it down in the 8...they come up and grab it like a cat toying w a mouse...to say you should never slow down is definitely incorrect...gotta see what the fish want.....
as far as favorites...imo there is nothing more exhilerating than getting a big girl to eat in the 8...some of my biggest and favorite fish/hits were in the 8
tied for 2nd is the sing of a sucker rod going off and the anticipation of the hookset...
and topwater hits at night...that is just plain fun
Edited by BNelson 7/16/2012 10:38 AM
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Posts: 829
Location: Maple Grove, MN | But slowing it down is a relative term. I am referring to the figure-8 speed in relation to how fast the lure is being reeled in before the figure-8 is started. If the lure is being reeled in slow, then a slow figure-8 can very often work. If the lure is being burned in though, a slow-down "usually" will not. Just like slowing down the retrieve as the lure approaches the boat will most often cause a Muskie to lose interest, so will doing so on a figure-8.
Of course there are always exceptions to a rule and Muskies don't care what we say or think. They do what they want. So I see your point.
I do a lot of things to trigger fish during figure-8s though.
- Add a small twitch or two - especially if the fish is right behind the lure.
- Making two big circles instead of a classic "8".
- Direction changes either up and down or sideways.
- Pulling the lure completely out of the water and then slamming it back down right in front of their face.
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Posts: 50
Location: Hobart, Indiana | In my years of throwing topwater I have not been lucky enough to hook one. I've had them follow and hit it but never actually take it. I've slowed the retrieve down and sped it up. Had one hit so hard it looked like a great white eating a seal with the AWESOME water show. Then the hookset broke the line at the reel. TOTALLY UPSETTING!!!!! Don't know which is cooler watching the U-BOAT swimming behind the lure or the "suprise I'm here" attack outta nowhere.
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Location: Contrarian Island | HerbB...you did say "never" didn't you???  we actually were slowing our baits down relative to the cast speed...i was using a trinidad 16NA and had to slow down the bait to get them to hit...if you sped it up as my boat partner learned a few times over the fish lost interest....not sure why but it went against what most would think is the "right way" to figure 8
I'm also not a big fan of ovals...you can do a lot more with an 8 w regards to speed, depth, angle changes that I think are superior to an Oval....
still nothing beats a 50+ speeding up on the outside turn to crush your bait in the 8
Edited by BNelson 7/16/2012 1:39 PM
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| Have started to catch them on a fly rod and previously creature fishing, I find both methods more exciting than casting or the 8. However my largest muskie casting did come on the 8. BR |
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Posts: 829
Location: Maple Grove, MN | Brian,
That is interesting. I'm going to have to keep that in mind. I guess one never knows what will work until one tries it. These Muskies sure can make a person look stupid, eh? Its good for me to be made more humble. Thank you.
I love it when the fish eat right at boat side and you can look right into their eyes when you set the hook. Its like "Oh No!"
Edited by Herb_b 7/16/2012 2:40 PM
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| Hi AM ONE HALF OF TEAM BIG FISHIN, CRUSH HITS IS MY TOURNEMENT PARTNER PARTNER IN CRIME AND WE HAVE SIGNIFINTLY NOTICED MY HITS ARE ON THE CAST OR A CRUSH BOATSIDE BEFORE I CAN EVEN DO A FIGURE 8 AND MY PARTNER ALWAYS GETS THE MAJORITY OF HIS HITS ON A FIGURE 8. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS HE USES MORE BLADES THAN I DO AND I USE MORE TWICHBAITS AND JERK BAITS. MAYBE IT THE BAITS PLAY A ROLE? DONT FORGET TO ENTER THE MIKES BAIT ON 8 TOURNEY IN JULY, THE LAST WEEKEND IN JULY REASONABLE ENTRY FEE ,GREAT DOOR PIZES , A NICE DINNER AFTERWARDS, ITS A GOOD TIME AND NICE PLAUQES FOR THE WINNERS. |
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Posts: 24
| Our last trip to canada a week ago 27 musky were caught. All 9 of mine were right next to the boat 8 of them were either in the 8 or the first turn of the 8. I was throwing bigger lures then them either bucktails or jerk baits.. The 2 other guys in the boat were throwing all smaller bucktails or top water and caught all of them in the retrieve normally the first couple cranks. I also caught the most big fish. Heres a video of some of my catchs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUb6gcvOpYU |
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Posts: 682
Location: Sycamore, IL | MUSKIE TIME - 7/16/2012 3:02 PM
Hi AM ONE HALF OF TEAM BIG FISHIN, CRUSH HITS IS MY TOURNEMENT PARTNER PARTNER IN CRIME AND WE HAVE SIGNIFINTLY NOTICED MY HITS ARE ON THE CAST OR A CRUSH BOATSIDE BEFORE I CAN EVEN DO A FIGURE 8 AND MY PARTNER ALWAYS GETS THE MAJORITY OF HIS HITS ON A FIGURE 8. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS HE USES MORE BLADES THAN I DO AND I USE MORE TWICHBAITS AND JERK BAITS. MAYBE IT THE BAITS PLAY A ROLE? DONT FORGET TO ENTER THE MIKES BAIT ON 8 TOURNEY IN JULY, THE LAST WEEKEND IN JULY REASONABLE ENTRY FEE ,GREAT DOOR PIZES , A NICE DINNER AFTERWARDS, ITS A GOOD TIME AND NICE PLAUQES FOR THE WINNERS.
stop yelling at me... |
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Posts: 50
Location: Hobart, Indiana | "Musky Feens" that was really cool stuff. I was watching it with my 4 year old daughter and she was yelling "Catch those muskies" right in my ear. I can't wait til this Saturday and Cass Lake. |
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Posts: 2326
Location: Chisholm, MN | Junkman - 7/16/2012 7:28 AM
There is a lot of brag and trash talk always put forth in order to present ones bonifides as a musky "stick," but for me, the simple question is, "How many of your fish are figure-eight fish?" The better you are, the higher the percetage on the eight. For most, (me included) doing a high-quality figure eight every single time is a lot of work, takes time away from bombing out cast after cast, and is the most obvious part of your game to break down when you are tired. The better the stick, the less that happens until the percentage of figure-eight fish pass around 70%. Therefore, I'd say catching them on the eight is the most satisfying, because it backs up that I am doing what I am supposed to be doing out there.
These days I catch most of my fish in the 8 and I think I suck!!! |
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Posts: 567
| Musky Feens - 7/16/2012 5:24 PM
Our last trip to canada a week ago 27 musky were caught. All 9 of mine were right next to the boat 8 of them were either in the 8 or the first turn of the 8. I was throwing bigger lures then them either bucktails or jerk baits.. The 2 other guys in the boat were throwing all smaller bucktails or top water and caught all of them in the retrieve normally the first couple cranks. I also caught the most big fish. Heres a video of some of my catchs.
What a great video!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUb6gcvOpYU |
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| sweet video. what were some of the sizes of the bigger ones? |
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Posts: 24
| Guest - 7/17/2012 8:43 AM
sweet video. what were some of the sizes of the bigger ones?
3 - 45s
1 - 44
1 - 43
The biggest fish we caught that week was a 48.5. Thats not in the video but he was also caught in the 8. |
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