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Muskie Fishing -> Fishing Reports and Destinations -> Where to fish and best tatics (trolling?)
 
Message Subject: Where to fish and best tatics (trolling?)
WVAngler
Posted 11/14/2018 9:33 AM (#923470)
Subject: Where to fish and best tatics (trolling?)




Posts: 6


Hey everybody,

I am a bass/trout fisherman most of the time but have wanted to catch a musky and have had little success. I fish on the Monongahela in upper West Virginia that I am struggling to find fish that I know are in the river somewhere. I have fished that section for almost 3 years now and have put in days trying to catch a musky and just seem to never get one. I have talked to a couple of people who say its a really good musky fishery and that there is plenty of fish to be caught (one of the guys I talked to who fishes from March till December gets about 30 a year average). It does deal with high fishing pressure (I usually see a boat out with a couple people on the shore). There are big fish available but I have also seen a couple of smaller fish, around 30 inches, get caught which I would be fine with catching.

The section I fish is about a mile long and 300 feet wide. The upper half has more current due to a large dam and has rocky bottom. The very top has a lock that is about 15-20 feet deep that has an eddy like effect with submerged structure. Outside of the lock it is about 13 feet deep with submerged trees on the right side and about 12 feet with rock piles that go up to 9 feet on the left side. The lower section is sand/silt bottom and about 11 feet deep. There is a creek that flows in that creates a really shallow sand bar towards the middle with it being about 6 feet on one side and 12 on the other. The right side has more submerged trees.

I have seen people catch musky in 3 place: the lock (Fall/Winter), the right side upper(Spring), and the left side lower(Summer). The ones in the Fall/Winter/Spring were caught on bulldogs and other large soft plastics. The ones in the summer were caught on bucktails and gliders. I have also heard of people catching them on small paddletail swimbaits and jerkbaits in the upper section. I have had the most luck fishing for other species such as Drum, Smallmouth, and Walleye/Sauger in the upper left section trolling shad raps.

Conditions that I fish are typically good visibility (only about 2 feet) and river baitfish is dominated by shiners with Bluegill, Yellow Perch, Suckers, and Mooneye also being present in the system.

I usually try trolling jakes for them to cover water but have tried almost everything and nothing seems to work.

I apologize because of the length but I wanted to be as thorough as possible

mikie
Posted 12/6/2018 6:12 PM (#925178 - in reply to #923470)
Subject: Re: Where to fish and best tatics (trolling?)





Location: Athens, Ohio
Rivers can be tricky to fish. Have you considered trying a few reservoirs? Piedmont and Salt Fork lakes in Ohia, and Stonewall Jackson in Weston may be good choices once spring comes around. m
true tiger tamer
Posted 12/6/2018 9:28 PM (#925195 - in reply to #923470)
Subject: Re: Where to fish and best tatics (trolling?)




Posts: 343


When the river warms up next spring, I'd try casting a tailspin topwater around areas with cover, preferably woody cover especially during low light conditions. During the winter glider jerkbaits and jigs work well worked in slower water sections, again look for woody cover but fish during the sunny times (in winter the sun is your friend). If you only have a couple feet visibility I'd use a bright color like firetiger or something with chartruse or fl. orange. The rivers I fish are likely smaller and clearer and don't have many sections that are trollable.
25homes
Posted 12/7/2018 2:25 PM (#925236 - in reply to #925195)
Subject: Re: Where to fish and best tatics (trolling?)





Posts: 983


WVangler Hey I fish that exact same place you are reffering to. You May have seen me out b4 I am running a 20ft ranger Fiberglass bass boat in Blue. Lots if Fish in the waters you speak of. Took a mid 40s Fish Sunday up by the Lock. My Boat has taken over 30 this year from that river alone easily. If you have a boat we have caught them both trolling and casting. there are tons of fish at the spot the creek comes in you speak of on both sides of the hump. That hump will get as shallow as 2ft or less at times so be careful.. PM me and we can talk more!!
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