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How to Get Out of Your Summer Muskie Drought
Muskies are never easy. We hear all kinds of things about what makes them tough to catch - and one of them is warm water, dog day summer conditions. But actually, in many ways, summer is my favorite time of year for muskies. It’s often feast or famine; there are so many things to try; it can be very high speed; it’s always challenging and fun. And if they’re not bitin’ you can always go swimmin’. Allow me to offer a quick 6-pack of solutions that often work for myself and others. To get to six, we’ll look at presentations that just might be something new to muskies’ eyes.
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Posted in Articles
Tagged Lures, Night Fishing, Seasonal Fishing, Tactics, Techniques, Topwater
Catch and Release Muskies After Dark
Night fishing is in many ways – exactly the same as fishing during the day, when it comes to structures, lures, tactics and such. Yet, it does pose some unique issues for handling the landing and release of hooked fish. As with the fishing itself, every step of the process is made a little more difficult by the cover of darkness, and, even more potentially dangerous. When dealing with big, strong fish and heavy hooks, there is potential for serious injury to both fish and angler.
Posted in Articles
Tagged Night Fishing, Tactics, Techniques
Jigging on Cold Fronts
Cold fronts generally aren’t the greatest news for any fishing, other than the fact that pre-frontal conditions usually bring a feeding spree as barometric pressure drops. Following this though, when cold air, high, clear skies persist, muskie and pike are usually laying pretty low, just trying to stay comfortable, digest, likely pass a little gas… generally not too fired up.
A tremendous standby for cold front conditions, or any low activity period – are jigs. They work for all species, and certainly those big toothy esocids included.
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Posted in Articles
Tagged Tactics, Techniques, Weather
For the Love of Muskie’s
Author: Ted Pilgrim with Pete Maina
Pete Maina has in his day handled thousands of big muskies. Ex-guide, lure inventor, TV personality, angler extraordinaire, Maina has worn many hats. Today, while he remains a zealous hunter of the big green fish, his real crusade is a message of placing fisheries first.
“No one is handling more muskies each and every day than we, the anglers,” states Maina from his home in the muskie-rich region of Hayward, Wisconsin. “Not biologists, not lakeshore associations, tackle salesmen or legislators. Fishermen play such a huge role in actively determining the health of our muskie waters-in essence, we’re the real managers of the fishery.
Posted in Articles
Tagged Fish Handling, Fish Management, Safety
Puffing
This is a tremendous little tip for use with any type of spinner lure, whether it’s an in-line or overhead spinner style. It’s exactly what I love in life: something very simple, comparatively easy-and I really believe increases interest and reactive strikes. Simply put, most folks just reel their spinners straight in… and often that works quite well with the combination of flash, vibration and a body to target.
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Posted in Articles
Tagged Lures, Techniques
Return – Get that Muskie!
A real co
mmon question from muskie anglers is: “What do I do when I’ve located a big one?” Of course questions on triggering and wondering why figure eights didn’t work are common too. The hard thing for folks like me, is that there really are no certain answers. I’ve certainly never figured out how to catch ‘em all. All that can honestly be offered for consumption – are things that have worked for us before at times. If you’ve located any muskie, and especially if so – a big one – you’ve accomplished quite a bit, actually.
Posted in Articles
Tagged Fish Management, Safety
Proactive Management
Mandatory release (i.e. proactive regulations that require release of all fish, a majority of fish, certain size-structure ranges in a fish species…
is a popular management tool.
There are many variables – each specie and fishery with its own uniqueness – as to where and how special regulations should be established. And total catch and release in many cases is not necessary or preferable. It all boils down to each individual water’s current makeup; each individual specie’s numbers and size structure. State-wide or provincial blanket regulations don’t cut it. And this is why we have folks called fisheries specialists who monitor such things and therefore, hopefully, make the correct management calls.
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Posted in Articles
Tagged Fish Management
Polarized Glasses
Talk about a no – no; it’s like going muskie fishing without long-nose pliers and quality hook cutters-if you don’t have ‘em-don’t go! Quality polarized glasses are an absolute must for any good muskie or pike fisher. And, it goes well beyond fishing-efficiency – to eye protection. You only get one set of these eyeballs, and it’s best to do everything you can to keep them healthy. It’s amazing how folks will spend tons of money on boats, motors… on down to $30 + muskie lures – and then spend 10 bucks on sun glasses (often not even certain if they’re polarized). If protecting your eyes from harmful glare isn’t reason enough, consider how many more fish you are likely to catch with quality polarization. Oakley polarized glasses (blue and amber lenses work well) http://oakley.com/category/465, to me, offer the best in eye protection and polarization.
Posted in Articles
Tagged Fishing Tools
Netting
This subject is important for any species, but knowing how to properly use a net is especially important when it comes to big predators like muskie and northern pike. Done right, it’s the most effective and safest (for angler and fish) way to land and release fish. The ‘safest’ part is true – but based upon use of a quality, fish-friendly landing device, like the Frabill “Conservation Series” nets. (The net’s mesh must have a quality coating and large enough holding area at the base.) Play any fish with moderate-to-heavy pressure, to tire it out and prepare it for leading into the net.
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Posted in Articles
Tagged Fish Management, Safety
Lure Patterning
There are big advantages to multiple anglers. After decades of guiding, generally a couple anglers at a time, every day, you’d think I’d like to spend a day or two just fishing alone. And I do, if it’s relaxing bobber-watching for a higher density species, but if I’m even halfway serious about muskie-catching, I can’t stand fishing alone – simply because it’s utterly inefficient. When you are talking about a low density critter like a muskie, or trophy northern pike, some “time” needs to be put in for a lure to be truly tested. While weather, time of year, previous patterns and hunches may dictate what is more likely to work, every day is actually a test of you most efficiently finding out what the fish are in the mood for; not what you think they should be in the mood for. Never, ever, start a day with two or more anglers using the same presentation. It just doesn’t make a lick of sense, especially when we’re talking artificial lure use for esox species.
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