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| I just got done posting this on another site, but I thought I would throw it over hear as well. I think it is kind of neat to see how other guys did and maybe give us a little insight into the things they learned.
I had very few "wins" this year, but the opportunities that I had were nothing short of amazing. This was my second year chasing muskies and I must say that I have the bug something terrible. Anytime I got a chance, day or night, I was on the water.
First opportunity was around Easter. I was headed to my Mom's place in Southern MO and wanted to try one of the lakes while I was down there. Ended up meeting a guy on this site and jumped in with him for a day. First couple casts and he sticks a PIG on a Krusher. Ended up fishing with him again later this summer when he came up and stayed with me for a long weekend. Put a few fish in the boat again, but nothing like the toad he caught less than 10 casts into the season.
Second great opportunity came this spring when I started visiting with a guy, again on this site about a lake here in Iowa. He shared a ton of information with me and even let me jump in the boat with him for a day. I learned a bunch about early season fishing and even had a shot at a few fish.
Third was in late July when I went on the Muskie First outing on Vermilion. I ended up in a cabin with some great sticks and to top it off a very well known guide ended up crashing with us for most of the week. Being able to pick these guy's brains and fish with them was an unbelievable experience. I have since fished with one of the guys again and we have become pretty good friends. I am definately going to try and hire the guide next year to try and repay him for everything that week. Not only answering about 4,916 of my questions, but also letting me jump in the boat with him for an afternoon/night trip was unbelievable and something I will never forget. I ended up going the whole week with out getting a fish in the boat, but I wouldn't trade this trip for one where the fish jumped in the boat. I soaked up that much information. It was awesome.
My season ending leaves me with mixed feelings. I put a ton of time in and only have 2 sub-legal fish to show for it but the experiences leave me with a great feeling about the season. I went in thinking I knew a lot about this fish and I leave it knowing we will probably only know the tip of the iceberg when it comes to understanding what makes a muskie tic. The people I have met and had a chance to fish with were nothing short of awesome and I look forward to fishing with them again.
Oh wait.......season isn't over yet. Headed to MO again for Christmas. You know I can't be in the area and not get a few lures wet..............................
Oh, almost forgot to mention that in late August I was fishing off of some docks when a guy unloading his boat invited me to jump in with him. Turns out he is a very good stick and we have become very good friends. Looking forward to fishing with him in the future as well. First day I was with him I netted a beautiful 45" for him.
Writing this down has made me realize the people I met this year were nothing short of amazing. We hear and read so much about the A-Holes on the water, but there are truely some very, very, very good people involved in muskie fishing. I didn't want to name any names, but if anyone reads this and realizes they were one of the people in my story I just want to say "Thanks" and I look forward to gracing your back decks again in the future!!
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Posts: 654
Location: MPLS, MN | I had a great June-Sept. I had a rough Oct-Nov. But had fun and learned alot all season. |
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Posts: 413
Location: Madison WI | I had a blowout season this year putting a total of 16 in the net which was much better then the combined 4 fish I have had the previous 5 yrs. I caught fish in every month except July, September and November (fished 3 days in November). August was a great month for me in which I caught 8 fish. I definetly learned a ton this year as this was the first year I focused on throwing lures. I can't wait for next season as the countdown has already begun, only 150 days till opener!!! Now I just have to figure out how to not go insane for those next 5 months. |
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Posts: 2865
Location: Brookfield, WI | I went fishing the third Saturday in May. Netted one for my buddy Joel. I have yet to miss a fish with the net.
I played golf 46 times. The family got in 107 rounds total, so we got our money's worth out our membership. I broke par for the first time since the 80's, my wife broke 100, and my eleven year old daughter broke 120 a number of times, and made pars on 7 of the 18 holes at our home course. At the end of the year she was routinely hitting drives 150+ yards. More importantly, she can't wait to tee it up next Spring.
I missed fishing a bit and greatly appreciated the offers I had to fish, but the time spent with my family teaching them to play a game that I'm fairly good at gave me the best Summer of my adult life. I'm sure that's what it feels like for those of you that teach your kids to fish.
Kevin
I have a Plan. |
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Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | it was a rough year for me and fishing was really low on the priority list after running the gauntlet of 14 trips to asia in 10 months that ended in june with a cancer scare that went into mid-july and thankfully was something else. i was on the boat with dannyboy on boom lake musky fishing when i got the news that it wasn't lymphoma and the happiest i've ever been on a boat wasn't catching a big fish. there was remaining clinical "fatigue" which i wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. the summer was filled with wondering, being scared for the first time as an adult and then being equally relieved ... so, the summer was drown leeches and get back to just fishing. lots of crappie, walleye and smallie success, enough musky fishing to be in it but more interested in balancing things out for me and my kids ... lots of golf and shot my best score ... a 74 on the course i live on which for me was 4 strokes better than i've ever played in my life ... you could say i played a little ... ok, a lot of golf. just like musky fishing, it's a thinking, patience and pressure game that is really challenging. i said no to musky fishing a lot and opted for finesse fishing for largemouth and smallmouth bass going back to my roots in fishing and loving every minute of it. by doing it i learned a couple of local lakes and know them better than i ever would have.
made a trip to eagle lake and was in the boat for a first 50 for someone which was a highlight ...
don't know how many i caught, netted or witnessed and don't care ... to me that was the best part. it's a hobby again for the first time in 5 years and that's the best part. musky fishing for me is something to do among many other things ... the highlights are the times on the water with my friends talking about life and kids and not the fish.
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| rought yr, did o.k in Sept and July....fall fishing was a bust this yr in my boat, lost too many fish, next yr has to be better!! |
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Posts: 2687
Location: Hayward, WI | I felt like I had a pretty good year. I only ended up with 17 fish this year, which is a little bit down from last year's total. But, I didn't get out as much as I did last year, and I felt like I learned a lot this year.
I really changed my tactics this year. In previous years, I mainly fished stained flowage type waters, targeting shallow water with bucktails and topwaters.
This year I put most of my focus on clear water lakes, and used a lot of rubber baits. Used topwater just a little. On the clear lakes, I only caught one on top, but it happened to be a very nice PB fish. Also started using twin ten bucktails, and they worked pretty well for me.
I also spent a LOT of time fishing deep structure, or near deep structure, and boy did the average size of fish go up. Last year I had 5 or six fish in the low 30 inch range. This year I had one just over 30 inches, and the rest were mid 30 up, with a few mid 40s and an upper 40s. Most of my mid 30s fish were on the shallow stained lakes. Almost all of the clear water fish were upper 30s at least, so I feel like changing tactics lead to very different results from what I was used to.
In summary, I felt like I learned a lot this year about fishing different tactics and lakes. It took a little while to figure out, but when I got on a pattern it really paid off. I'm looking forward to using these tactics next year and see where it takes me now that I have a better idea how to start.
Also, it's looking like I have a very real opportunity to be moving up to the Hayward area next year from where I live in Chippewa County now. I only got to fish up there a few times this year, but we did pretty well for the short time we fished up there. I'll be excited to see how that goes, especially since more and more is being uncovered about the giant fish that are being caught fishing deep structure with deeper presentations in that area. I should also spend some more time learning to troll, as I can see where that could put a lot of fish in the boat. I still love to cast, but I think trolling can be very productive at times nothing else is.
Had a good year this year, hope to do even better next year.
curleytail
Edited by curleytail 12/3/2008 1:00 PM
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Posts: 238
Location: Rhinelander | Best year in a while just because of more time dedicated to musky than the last few years. Just shy of 30 fish in the boat with the average length above 40" after late July. Changed tatics mid summer and it really produced for larger fish but total quanity was down per outing from earlier in the year. A couple of double days, but also a few blankers with the new style.
One 5 fish day on a numbers lake with the wife and our son along......he caught one, lost many others with me handing him the rod, and I had the rest. Wife was to stubborn to take the rod with an already hooked fish. Best day I had on this lake in a long time.......couldn't repeat that day throughout the year after a few followup trips.
Our then, six yearold, caught his first musky....just shy of 34" and he got his biggest on a sucker 39 3/4". He started casting an old 6' St Croix I had with a 5600 on it and doing quite well by season end. He even had a few figure 8 strikes, that I'm sure one he won't forget too soon.
We did, as a family, catch a few panfish meals.....just not as many outings as I promised the wife. The musky bug really hit this year for my son and I just felt obligated to feed his desire. 
Did find a local lake that had some bounus good size pike hit on a fairly consistant basis while throwing the musky gear. Largest was just over 36" (release) and we kept our share in the 30" range. This "new" lake will/is a new icefishing target this winter.
All and all I'm happy and satisfied with our fishing season and looking forward to ice fishing.
Edit: Hit 40 instead of 30.
Edited by Hodag Hunter 12/4/2008 1:15 AM
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Posts: 5161
| i sucked this year bad.bill |
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| sled that was great news on boom that night.
very glad it worked out for you.
dannyboy |
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| It was a great 2008...total action from almost 800 ski's...got to fish with some new friends, on new waters, new PB's for me and a couple others in the boat, 5 over the magical mark, lots of good laughs, silver bullets, pics and memories to last a long time...looking forward to a great 09... |
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| I had a decent year, although I didn't fish much. I didn't fish at all after August 3rd. I caught 10 fish with one being a new personal best at 50.5 inches. For the second straight year I boated every muskie I hooked. Sure we've only talking 14 fish in total, but I'm still pretty proud of that ratio. I sometimes daydream about how many I'd catch if I was able to fish as much as some of you guys. Who knows. Looking forward to next year, and already have a LOTW trip in the works. |
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Posts: 336
Location: Lino Lakes, MN | I just moved back to the midwest after a 2 year stint in Colorado so I didn't get to do much musky fishing. I did get a week up on LOTW but we had a brutal week, especially compared with previous years. I moved to the TC Metro area at the end of October and was able to get out on all new water for the last month of the season. I hit a bunch of lakes I had always heard of but never got to fish and more importantly, got to spend some time with the fellas that I hadn't gotten much time with over the past couple of years. Although I haven't been on the water much this year, I feel that I've learned quite a bit. I knew that I'd be moving to MN so I put in a lot of time and effort learning as much as I could about the new water that I'll be fishing...the info gathered along with some limited time on the new water has given me some core knowledge that I hope to build on a great deal in the coming years. Ended the year on a high note with a few nice fish in the boat so hopefully that will stave off the cabin fever for a while. |
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Posts: 32884
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Sue and I had a great year, fishing Rhinelander Muskie League and on our yearly Canada trip. We boated fewer muskies than last year, and fished considerably less, so that figures. My favorite lakes were a little quiter this year, but that was fine, we still had a great year. |
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Posts: 619
Location: Verona, WI | Overall I was pleased with how 2008 went. It was a really streaky year for me in that I had a 34 hr period of time where I caught ten muskies up to 45.5" including my PB tiger but then had a 40 hr period of time where I didn't see a fish. Though my total hours fished was down I made it out fishing more often as I did a lot of 2-3 hour "drop ins" with all of my fishing occuring in Wisconsin. It was amazing to see I hit the water 45 times during the season. Below were the highlights for '08 for my boat:
- 2 personal bests
- My son's first musky
- My son's biggest crappie
- 1 person's first sucker fish
- 1 person's first trolling fish
- My largest trolling fish
- My personal best tiger musky
- My biggest pike
- Fished two new lakes
- A 10-fish limit of salmon for my father-in-law and I in 2 1/2 hrs
In terms of progress I definitely got better fishing wind in '08 - usually I just wouldn't go out but this year I got more experience in it. However I still got frustrated fishing suckers in the wind. All in all a satisfying year but I am looking forward to '09.
Shane
Edited by ShaneW 12/9/2008 8:57 AM
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Posts: 1316
Location: Lebanon,Mo | As I look back on this year,even though it's not over yet,I ended up with my heaviest fish to date back in March.I did not boat as many fish this year as past years,but got to explore a little more.Made it Iowa to fish with a nice guy here off the Forum and also made it to Kinkaid for the first time last month with another good friend off the Forum.I probably had more follows this year than all my past years together.Some of these fish were pushing mid to upper fourties (yes,in Missouri) that showed there face long enough to let me know there still there eating up the forage.It's been nice to meet good people here and sometimes to actually meet someone in person at a Lake,Sports Show,etc. It's not all about the fishing,but the good times you get out of being on the water with family and friends,sharing stories and learning new things everyday.Good luck to everyone in 2009.
P.S.- muskydeceiver,boat is ready and will see you in a couple of weeks. |
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Posts: 8774
| I didn't fish much at all this year. Had to cancel a trip and miss the Rhinelander outing due to work committments. I was mad. I was REALLY mad, helped only by the fact that I really didn't have the money to spend anyway. But when the economy started heading South, I realized that I am lucky that I have a job, and that they need me bad enough where I have to cancel vacations.
I learned a few things this year:
1. When muskies want to eat, you can't do much to stop them.
2. When muskies don't want to eat you can't do much to make them.
3. Most of the time, their mood is somewhere in between. Figuring out what's going to make them eat is the fun part.
4. More and more, it becomes less and less about the fish, and more about the experience of chasing them. (HARD LESSON TO LEARN, read below...)
I did have a few dark hours on Eagle this year: "This is sooo %^$*^% stupid. What am I doing out here? Three %^*%& days without a fish, $600 in %^$*&% gas driving up here, all that %^$*% money out the ^$*%& window, and for what? My arms hurt, my back hurts, my shoulders hurt, I'm sunburned, I haven't seen a %^#$*%^ fish all day... This sucks. I'm done. This is %^#$*^% stupid! When I get home I'm selling all this crap. I can use that money to pay my mortgage for a month or two. Stupid %*$&% fish! %^&&!!"
And I knew, like Herbie always does, he'd be the first one in camp running over to ask how we did. I didn't even want to tell him, because I know how bad he wants guys to catch fish. (As it turned out, nobody in camp did much that day, I think there was two mid 30" fish caught all day)
Got back to the cabin, filled up my big stainless steel coffee mug with Crown Royal, said a few more choice words. Later at dinner, Herbie came over and said "Hey, my new guy Travis is looking for someone to go out and fish with him tonight. Wants to get his feet wet guiding for muskies, you up for it?"
Whiskey said "yeah!"... By now I had drank the whole thing. I wasn't mad anymore. I wasn't anything except really enjoying the boat ride, and hoping I wouldn't toss my rod overboard or fall in trying to cast.
Two casts into the first spot I caught my biggest fish to date, 49.5". It was the biggest muskie in his boat to date, and the biggest in camp that day. Those few hours of fishing were probably the most fun fishing I can remember in a long time. And it wasn't the 49.5 (or the pint of whiskey) that made it fun. It was fun because fishing is fun. A while later Travis got one on a jackpot while I had one going around on the figure 8. Laughed our heads off over what it would have been like if we caught both of them, and because I said "Oh f---, I got one going, what are we gonna do?!"
I'm not sure how or why, or what happened that night, but since then it's different. Still out there to catch fish, of course, but even when I don't it's no big deal. The fish aren't going anywhere. I know how to catch them. I will catch them, and some big ones at that. But that isn't what matters.
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Posts: 427
Location: Wausau | Year In Review:
Reinforced the musky-baitfish connection and spent more time fishing known structure than exploring. I will still obsess about planning, organization and preparation. Strengthened friendships with individuals from different locations throughout the states. Continued to build better relationship with others and gained more respect for consistent trustworthiness. Learned not to plan MN fall trips until the water is closer to 45 degrees. Continued to find joy in fishing and less worries about pressure or other people. Learned fish don't just disappear from a lake, they move to other areas due to the pressure...like Jonesi said "there's 100,000 locations from the fish to hide". Very true -many spots last year were not the same this year.
Fish in the boat = 89. Personally caught 64 from undersized to 49 inches.
Lures most productive: Mag Dawgs, Pounders, 11" Suzy, DDD, Depth Raider, Double 10's, Weagle and Pacemaker. A few coming on a Longtail, Hang 10 Manta, Suick, Suckers and Cisco. |
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Posts: 219
Location: Ohio | This was my first year muskie fishing. I caught a 44" while jigging for saugeye last December and was hooked. My first day casting I caught a 45" that was around 30lbs and a 43" soon after that. Got 2 more casting in the spring and lost a few fish as well. In the summer I got 3 trolling and spent lots of days with no fish. My little brother did get his first muskie trolling, a fat 38" fish. I stuck to river smallie fishing in August and went out after them again in September. September was frustrating, we had so many follows and very few fish actually hit. My brother got one on a homemade bucktail at dark one night. Throughout October and November I got 5 more muskies with the biggest being a 40" on a custom painted hellhound. Overall 11 fish and I lost at least that many. Not bad for my first year muskie fishing. I only fished in Ohio. I had my best luck on bulldawgs and super D's both 9" and magnum. It's hard for me to go out fishing without throwing one of those baits most of the day. |
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Posts: 1168
| Fished some new water and used old familiar tactics that are tried and true. Fished old familiar water and used new tactics that quickly became tried and true.
Numbers are hazy as I've moved around a ton in the past year. North Carolina, Tennessee, and a couple of places in Wisconsin. Actually stopped fishing in August due to the beginning of a new job and relocation but I was able to start my year off on January 1st by putting two in the boat. I'd talk to my brother and he'd be jealous that I was muskie fishing and I'd be jealous that he was out on the ice.
Did some quirky things trolling that paid off. Primarily getting Curakes to work in a trolling presentation. Played around a bit more with dead sticking over open water and it yielded mixed results. |
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Posts: 1106
Location: Muskegon Michigan | Well for us 2008 was a moving year. After catching 226 muskies over 30 inches in 2006 it has gone all down hill since. Gas prices in 2007 kept us home a lot and we put our house in the city up for sale. We sold our house and bought a repo house in May on a great little pike lake with 10 acres of nice land. We spent the entire musky season rebuilding this house and building a new Lure shop for the Talonz Wooden Lure Company. I did however find and catch all of the big Pike in our lake and released them to fight another day. With my own test lake in my back yard I am really able to fine tune my new lure designs so I guess it was worth the year off of Musky fishing. My wife has given the go ahead to plan a 2009 season with many trips to great Musky waters. We will start in January weather permitting in the southern parts of the Musky range. Our Goal for 2009 is to recapture our numbers from 2006. |
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Posts: 1023
| From what I heard fishing in Ontario (kawarthas area ) was tough for many. I had a ridiculously great season the summer before but this year was tough for me. I got good numbers of fish but not nearly as many 40+ inchers as last season, (Kawarthas are more of a numbers lake system). I think our high water and long winter really changed fish location and behavior around here - for bass guys too. I still had fun though. I think I had a way better year the year before than I deserved - back to reality. |
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