|
|
Location: Northern Wisconsin | I have fished open water on natural lakes with some success but never tried on a shallow flowage, like many in Northen Wisconsin. Most of the flowage fishing I have done is in weeds, wood, or rocks, in shallower water. The water in the flowages also tends to be more stained than the natural lakes I have fished. Can I target open water fish on flowages the same way as on natural, clear lakes? What do you look for in a spot on a flowage and is it effective to fish open water? |
|
| |
|
Posts: 620
Location: Seymour, WI | Good question, I would like to hear a couple of the guides chime in on this one as well. Also are there specific conditions which would lead you to try open water on a flowage?
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 54
| Ill third this, been wondering about this topic, good one to hear from some guides like you said grass!!! |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1061
Location: Medford, WI | Great topic. I am by no means an expert and just giving my opinion/thoughts on this. Take what you like, dismiss what you don't...but...
I would think that it all goes back to forage and where the musky forage spends most of its' time. Similar to you, most of my time fishing flowages has been spent fishing shallow & deep weeds and wood. However, fishing cribs that really aren't related to shallow water or any other type of structure has paid off for me. Obviously, the muskies are there for one reason...to eat. Any lake I go to, I like to drive around and check out the baitfish situation - whether they're over open water, in shallow, in deep weeds suspended or glued down to the bottom - this determines where I start fishing. I would think that many panfish would suspend out in open water and therefore it would follow that muskies would be there as well.
I would say that if you fish your traditional spots with no to little success, then why not head out and search for baitfish and muskies out in open water. Again...I don't fish flowages nearly as much as I probably should but this is my take on the topic.
-Jake Bucki
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | love flowages and based on experiences on boom and the flambeau river ... most has related to pool level and the amount of current whether from draw of from wind that turns it on or off. my preference on these two systems is to relate to the channel and especially where the channel makes big turns. i believe that fish relate to these areas and then feed on change (temp., wind, moon, sunset/rise and weather). everything a fish wants and needs to live is in the vicinity. find a good spot with this condition and be there when something happens vs. running all over the place. fished the same drift seeing nothing 6-7 times and then wham. never leave fish to find fish ... it's a matter of when and not whether they are going to eat. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 433
Location: Cedarburg, Wisconsin | We troll "open" water on a flowage quite often. The key to lure presentation is usually the baitfish depth. You want to adjust the lures so they run no deeper than the average level of the baitfish. Then you hit the deep deep structure areas. By that I mean over the old river channel bank dropoffs, as in where it drops from 30 feet into 40 feet of water, or you hit the stump fields in 30 or more feet of water where they stick up to 12 feet from the surface, or work off the tips of deep bars. Basically, you need something besides just a featureless flat for higher success ratios. You will catch them out over nothing at all but rarely. Years ago, we found the best fishing was bright sun and higher winds where there were whitecaps. We found out that some years the suspended bite was good and other years it was nonexistant. Also, when the fish are below 20 feet they are pretty much uncatchable trolling but sometimes can be caught with suckers later in the year. With stable weather and good conditions you will see them up higher and then they can be catchable. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1906
Location: Oconto Falls, WI | Never really fish flowages, but here are my thoughts.
Whether a fish suspends or not isn’t dictated by the type of water (lake, river, flowage, etc…), but rather by the forage and the fish’s sanctuary or home range. So if the forage, and preferred forage at that, is out suspended in a flowage then there will be fish out there. Flowages have a ton of forage usually, and at the top would be suckers/carp/redhorse. At least the case with suckers and redhorse they prefer cool water. So if the only place for them to find cooler water is out suspended or in deep water on a flowage that is where they’ll go. Some muskies will follow. I fhowever you have a flowage that has quite a bit of current areas as Sled mentioned, and springs, the suckers and redhorse may not suspend at all as they can find the cooler water they want in shallow water. It really is going to depend on the flowage. Not different from what makes some lakes good suspended lakes and others not. Heck there are some flowages that have trout, whitefish, and cisco. Those can make it easier in determining if you should try suspended or not. 
Sanctuary/home range is pretty self explanatory.
So as much as I hate to say it if the forage is out there, there is a good chance there will be some muskies out there as well. Learn your baitfish on the flowage, and it will lead you to clues on what to do. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 2361
| fish4m1,
Your original question is about northern WI flowages. I've fished a bunch and would pretty much avoid any attempt to cast for suspended fish with a couple exceptions, 1 cast off a sharp drop, or any smaller space between structural items, and by smaller space, I'm thinkin like...30-40 yards or so, including the space between two bars coverging for an inside turn. I think you can easily get into a needle in a haystack scenario, casting non specific areas, or basins, in flowages in northern WI. It isn't that they aren't there, and suspended, but other than targetting very specific areas,"with cause", you are probably much better off working secondary areas and following structures deeper, than to be casting open water. Hopefully that is related to what you specifically wondered about.
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 1906
Location: Oconto Falls, WI | fish4musky1 - 7/16/2010 2:16 PM
I have fished open water on natural lakes with some success but never tried on a shallow flowage, like many in Northen Wisconsin...
What do you look for in a spot on a flowage and is it effective to fish open water?
I would have to agree with FSF on this one. Unless you have a reason to be out there I would stay to structure. However, that reason could be just what I pointed out in my previous post. Large schools of sucker/redhorse (hint) is a very good reason!
Also, in referring to a shallow flowage what is your idea of shallow?
If you know how to fish suspended on lakes, then you know how to fish suspended on flowages. It doesn’t matter if the max depth is 20’, or 100’. Generally lakes with limited structure (including lack of weeds) make for good suspended candidates, and those with lots of structure (including weeds) make for lakes best suited not to fish suspended on. Yeh, yeh, yeh there are exceptions I know.
Edited by CiscoKid 7/20/2010 9:39 AM
|
|
| |
|
| I fish a lake that has redhorse as forage. Do they really suspend in schools? Do you know how deep they stay? This is a shallow lake. If anyone could point me to a source where I could read up on their habits I would appreciate it. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1906
Location: Oconto Falls, WI | You bet they suspend! Depth is like any fish in that it vaires. |
|
| |
|
| Okay, thanks. I thought they hung out on the bottom like white suckers. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1906
Location: Oconto Falls, WI | White suckers will suspend as well. A lot of "bottom" dwelling fishes will suspend. Heck it is quite often I see perch on the surface in 20-25' of water, and these are jumbos! |
|
| |
