Wednesday, October 12, 2011

10/12/11 Esox Lucius

With a full moon and overcast weather I was itchin' to get out and chase a few Muskies this afternoon. I didn't have one follow but the Pike were snapping pretty good. Not monsters but I managed six fatties between 31" and 35", all from one inside turn and of course the usual snakes too. It's a great time of year to catch Pike since the average size tends to run a little bigger and they seem to realy stack up in groups.

Water temps were still 59 degrees.

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Saturday, October 1, 2011

10/1/11 Kabatogama Family Trip

No Big Pike or Smallies but lots of 15"-24" 'eyes. The wind was brutal but the 'eyes stacked in the rocks in 10f.o.w. The best presentation was a 3/8 oz Jig and 4" Gulp twister tail casted shallow and snapped back to the boat. These were some HARD strikes for walleyes. What a great lake, I must go back.

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Tuesday, September 20, 2011

9/20/11 Pike And 'Eyes This Week

I have only made it out twice in the last week, once for Muskies and once for 'eyes but fall patterns seem to be coming together nicely. No Muskies landed but many bigger fish were active durring my short stint out. Some bigger Pike are present now in the weedbeds with my best going 36", also boated several in the 30" to 32" range. I got out and shore casted for some Walleyes before the cold front tonight and did okay with four fish in about an hour and a half with all fish between 20" and 23". I hope to get out this weekend after this cold front pushes through it should be on by Friday!

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Posted on: 2011/9/20 22:05
 

Thursday, August 18, 2011

8/18/11 Trollin' 'Em Up

I got out for about four hours this week with some family in town, they wanted to catch some Walleyes. We did best pulling Minnow Raps behind planer boards over deep humps. I tried tail dancers, shad raps, dt-20's and minnow raps behind the boat but every fish came on a minnow rap behind board about 8' down. I marked fish from 4' down to 30' and even pulled some leadcore but 8'-10' down got the bites. We ended up with four keepers, four overs (the biggest being 27") and one bonus Muskie in four hours of fishing.

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Sunday, July 10, 2011

Pressure, Weather and Muskies

Most avid Muskie hunters are tuned into solunar calenders, weather reports and fish dawn and dusk to maximize their time on the water. I have noticed a few unusual wrinkles to these patterns that have helped me out the last few years.

First off the weather thing. Most people know that fishing ahead of a front or with a dropping barometer can lead to feeding fish. However, with the ever increasing fishing pressure that has occured in the past 5-10 years, fish adapt too. I find Muskies feeding later and later in these situations after most have hung up their sticks. Fishing right in the middle of or the day after a front can be huge. Give it a try!


This fish was caught by my brother Jeff out of a gin-clear lake the morning after a storm rolled through. We got this fish to follow the day before, right as the front approached but couldn't get it to bite.                                                                    
 
Finaly, the fishing pressure thing. It's just a fact for most Muskie hunters that they will have to fish evenings or weekends but changing up the time of day can be a great idea too. On some boddies of water, dawn and dusk or at night can be the only real time to score but it pays to experiment. Early to mid morning or even at high noon can be great if most anglers are hitting the water for the evening bite. No, it's not rocket science but paying attention to these little details can put a few in your boat and on your camera.                                                                                                                             

Cheers and Hooksets!

Saturday, July 2, 2011

7/2/11 Transition Fishin'

We finally got some stable weather this week but there is a lot going on with rising water temps, a large Mayfly hatch and many fish gorging themselves on molting crayfish, the fish proved tough to pattern. Extra boat traffic adds to the fun with most people doing just fair for Walleyes. I've managed a few fish at every spot but nothing fantastic as far as numbers. I like to stick with my mixed bag approach for bigger 'eyes, Pike and Muskies until the 'skis really get chewing, which should be any time now.

Here is a baby 'ski and our best Walleye from Sat.

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Posted on: 2011/7/4 9:15
 

Sunday, June 12, 2011

6/12/11 Weed Walleyes

I'm managing a few now using my favorite summer pattern, rippin' minnow baits through cabbage weeds. I even managed this skinny 31-1/2" on a Bomber Long A in six f.o.w. yesterday.

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