|
|
Posts: 74
Location: MIlton Ontario Canada | Hey
Last weekend well fishing up on the French River in Ontario we were marking huge schools of baitfish out over open water. So thick that our sonar would be marking them as bottom a lot of the time. The main school that we were concentrationg on was about a kilometer long and about the same wide. After snagging in to this bait a few times we noticed that it was some sort of minnow like a shiner or something not exactly sure. We figured that the food chain would have to follow. We tryed everything trolling through this baitfish school. Fast, Slow, on top, underneath with all different sizes and colours. The only thing that we didnt have was lures that were small enough to mimic the size of the baitfish that we were snagging into. Just wondering if maybe this bait was to small for the muskies to key in on? Has anyone ever done well fishing really small baitfish before? And if so how? Thanks to everyone in advance for their info on this subject...
Matt O'Brien |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1906
Location: Oconto Falls, WI | I have run across this same scenario a few times, but have never gotten anything. I can't troll, so I only cast the huge schools of baitfish. The fish that black out the screen on the lake I fish are rainbow smelt, and they do not get very big. My thought is that the baitfish are too small for the muskies to feed on, but it should be bringing in the walleyes which the muskies may eat. I have gotten into a few eyes in the area of the smelt. |
|
| |
|
| I see this in the Fall, and I have found it best to contrast the bait fish, and troll around the edges above and below it with out disturbing the school. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 20281
Location: oswego, il | Fish the school like a piece of structure. Lure size can sometimes make a difference but not always. It can be very hard to mark muskies in a school that big but definitley fish the edges and underneath if they are up. Maybe look for pockets in the school, it may be where a musky is. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 116
Location: winnipeg manitoba | you were right the predators should follow. i have worked schools of rainbow smelt and concentrate underneath, above, and around. i try to leave the baitfish alone. look for potiential ambush areas. muskies will often school up like a pack of wolves and strike the school as they need to feed. respect the areas around the schools, i have taken several over 50 inch within a hundred yards of the school.maybe i cut them off before feeding or mabye they were suspending after a meal. what i do know is work the school effectively the results can be incredible....keep your lines tight.....craig stapon |
|
| |
|
Location: Illinois-Indiana | On the lakes I'm fishing the shad are real small this year and they are balling up over deep water. If you see bait fish breaking the surface DON'T be affraid to cast top water like a jackpot, can be DEADLY.
I think in this situation you should try and keep your lures smaller, one key to catching these feeding fish is to mimic a wounded or dying bait fish. An erratic retrieve will work best when the Muskies are in the feeding mode and working a school of bait, you have to make your lure STAND OUT amongst the bait to trigger strikes. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1916
Location: Greenfield, WI | I don't troll, but I have had good success using the 5" Slammers using a very aggressive eratic retrieve. That is about the smallest bait that I use.
It would seem that 5" deep diver Slammers in combination with down riggers or lead line could very easily be the ticket for your situation. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 129
Location: Bemidji, MN- | As muskyboy stated, work the edges. If you put your lure in the middle of that school your lure gets lost in the shuffle. Last year I was running across the lake and ran across a huge pod of baitfish. They were from the surface to 10' down. I put on a plug that ran 12' deep. In 45 minutes I caught 23.5, 24.5 and 26" walleyes, which is excellent for a medium sized MN lake. That's walleyes, but I expect it would apply equally to muskies. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 74
Location: MIlton Ontario Canada | Thanks for all the Input on this subject guys it gave me some other ideas of what to try next time I am faced with this situation. Looks like it is going to be next season for me though its mighty cold out there minus 10 has been the average air temp for the last few days.
Matt |
|
| |
