Fishing

[mbailey]

I actually hooked a dolphin who stole my grey snapper from the hook 

He was unharmed, though. 

Where are you, exactly?

Long Beach Island NJ......a town called Loveladies near Barnegat Bay. Actually one of the boats (cant remember the name) thats on the TV show Swords (Discovery Channel)  is out of Barnegat harbor. Im coming back down in 3 weeks for a white marlin tournament with a friend of mine that owns a 54ft Bertram. Thats gonna be a blast to say the least. I grew up fishing freshwater, and still do avidly, but ive been bitten bad by the saltwater bug.
You know the old saying, Give a man a fish, he eats for a day, teach a man to fish, and he will blow thousands of dollars on equipment.

[F6Fraven]

Anyone have some good advice for muskie? I've been fishing for them all summer now and I've only gotten 2 bites. I don't have a boat so I have to wade out into a river to catch them, and so far the only time I've been able to get a hit is when they're in shallow parts and I see their tail sticking out of the water. I'm using 65 pounded braided line, steel leader, and 9-12 inch lures. Also, since I fish in a shallow area, only 2-3 feet in some parts, I can't really reel in too fast because the lure dives too far and snags. I was wondering if some of the top water bass lures could work?

[morfiend]

 I dont see why not,muskie are preditory so they will eat almost anything!

   You could try some shallow running plugs or just about any floating minnow imitation. Look for back eddies where the current changes and throw a lure out and let it sit there for as long as possible,current will predict how long,then try a few twitches and let it sit again.Muskie can be currious and will come in and inspect the lure,the twitch and stop and twitch again seems to trigger a preditory responce and they often hit just as the lure stops.

 Plenty of muskie fishermen know to circle 8 the lure near the boat when they have a follow,just when you giveup and stop is usually when the fish hits!


 Oh try a floating frog and use the stop and go see if it gets any action.


   

[PFactorDave]

I dont see why not,muskie are preditory so they will eat almost anything!

   You could try some shallow running plugs or just about any floating minnow imitation. Look for back eddies where the current changes and throw a lure out and let it sit there for as long as possible,current will predict how long,then try a few twitches and let it sit again.Muskie can be currious and will come in and inspect the lure,the twitch and stop and twitch again seems to trigger a preditory responce and they often hit just as the lure stops.

 Plenty of muskie fishermen know to circle 8 the lure near the boat when they have a follow,just when you giveup and stop is usually when the fish hits!


 Oh try a floating frog and use the stop and go see if it gets any action.

This is good advice. 

Muskie and Northern Pike will sometimes follow a lure all the way to your boat before they strike.  I've even had them hit the crappie I was in the process of catching just as I was about to lift the crappie out of the water.

[fbWldcat]

Yeah, but figure 8 doesn't work when you aren't in a boat.

I'm going to tell you this and chances are, you might never hear anyone give you this advice ever again:

1. Kill the major braid, no matter what you are told, Muskie are VERY line wary.
2. Along with #1, kill the steel leader, as long as you keep the line taught at all times, you will not need it. You may lose a lure every now and then to a fish that eats the lure and the bill, too, but that's better than no bite at all. The steel leader gives baits a very unnatural look.
3. Use regular bass lures. In the summertime, muskie will be deep. 30'+ at times. Use a Norman deep diving crank (15'-17' or so, maybe less if your line choice is small enough). You can also use a Rapala or a Dardevil spoon, anything that is for bass will also work for muskie. Any mono over 15lb test will suffice (I caught my first ever muskie on 8lb crappie test and no steel leader). Flouro would also work, but mono has more stretch, which will be key in a big fight with a muskie. (Camo, green or clear mono)
4. Replace ALL hooks on ALL lures, preferably along with the split ring used to hold said hooks. Use a RELIABLE brand (Eagleclaw, Gamakatsu, etc). Cheap hooks that come with the lures are made for bass, not a 30lb+ predatory streamlined fish with sharp teeth. (I almost didn't catch my first ever muskie because the hooks were cheap). Two barbs were snapped off and two more were bent all to hell and back.
5. Muskie will be around sunken trees, logs and VEGETATION, ESPECIALLY ESPECIALLY ESPECIALLY (Caps means it is important/key) if it is near the mouth of a tributary creek/ small river.
6. Muskie are one of the most voracious eaters of the pike family, but especially the tiger muskie, the hybrid of Northerns and Muskie. (Mean arse sons a bishes). They will bite on just about anything that moves, so long as they can see it. Use a bright crankbait or spinnerbait (ignore the huge muskie/pike baits, they are pointless).
Firetiger or bleeding shad are excellent baits (firetiger especially).
7. Be careful when handling them, they can and will hurt you. Use gloves and try not to let it hit you in the chest, the slime smells like rotting flesh (dead fish).

[fbWldcat]

Also, any time you see a fish's tail out of the water, it usually means it is feeding/foraging. If it is very shallow, it is likely that the muskie is going after it's favorite food: lizards, salamanders and frogs. It would also mean that it is foraging on the bottom (if the water is 3'-5' deep), use a weighted swim bait (lizard, shad, etc, yes, plastics will definitely work to catch muskie) or a sinking crank to get to the depth of foraging. Good luck.

 

(P.s. check local lakes for tailwaters, if the main lake has muskie, the tailwater and therefore easily accessible [without a boat] water is available for your fishing pleasure).

[F6Fraven]

I know you say they are afraid of braided line but do you think I could just use a thick 2 foot mono leader attached to the braided, and ditch the wire leader? I absolutely despise normal lines, I can't tell you how many times I tried to make a far cast with a 1/2 oz spoon and had the line snap and the spoon fly across the river at supersonic speeds. However, if you really think switching lines will make a big difference I'm all ears, I'll just have to man up lol.

[fbWldcat]

I don't quite understand what your problem is. Do you cast and then the lure just flies off for no reason?

[F6Fraven]

No, I have a powerful cast (I'm a weightlifter) and after a few casts the line stretches out and eventually snaps, even if I use 12 pound trilene. I avoid this problem by using heavy braided line with no stretch to it.

[fbWldcat]

No, I have a powerful cast (I'm a weightlifter) and after a few casts the line stretches out and eventually snaps, even if I use 12 pound trilene. I avoid this problem by using heavy braided line with no stretch to it.

Ah, you can still use braid, then. I have a suggestion, though. Use Berkley FIRELINE. It is very high quality, has superior knot strength to other braids. It has more stretch than other braids (because it is partially fused), but it is a braid. (Use 20lb test, because you want to reduce the visibility as much as possible). The poundage listed is actually usually about 10lbs less than minimal breaking point depending on the strength listed.
A chart with generalizations having to do with mono/braid

MONO:
Listed           Actual
2lb                6lb
4lb                8lb
6lb               12lb
8lb               14lb
10lb             17lb
12lb             20lb
14/15lb         22lb
17lb              25lb
20lb              30lb
30lb              45lb
45lb              60lb
65lb               ??

[F6Fraven]

Alright, thanks for your advice and hopefully I'll have some better luck fishing tomorrow.

[fbWldcat]

Braid is much closer to the actual breaking point listed because it isn't as stretchy.
The Fireline takes away this variable somewhat.

Fireline is very expensive, though ($17 for a regular spool of CRYSTAL[lo-vis]).

If it were me, I'd use a very good quality mono. Spiderwire is all I use (when I don't use Fireline).

My friends go fishing as much as I do, and they swear to the Sufix brand and Cajun Line brands.

Berkley (aside from the Fireline), Stren and Trilene are all cheaper for a reason.

[morfiend]

 I've caught a couple muskies on 1 of my flyrods,it has a highly visible red flyline and I use a short 4 to 6 ft leader.Now they were accidental catches and not even large enough to keep do to the minimum size limit but at least 2 were over 30 inches. So I wouldn't say muskie are real line shy,you'd never raise a trout on that setup!

  River fishing is very different from lake fishing,in the river they move around alot so finding them can be half the battle,in a lake you can troll around and cover alot of water much quicker. Look for structure and back eddies,they'll hang around there looking for a quick and easy meal.

  You can use a mono leader instead of wire,you could use fluorocarbon if you think they are line shy,it has almost no refraction when in the water but I don't think that's as important as the bait and presentation.Try to imitate the main forage base,whatever type of fish that would be and use a stop and go retrieve to imitate a wounded bait fish. If the water is real shallow try something that floats but dives alittle on retrieve,when it stops it will pop back to the surface,give it a twitch or 2 let it sit then start a short retrieve. The longer your bait is in the water the better chance you have of catching something.

  Several of the musky and pike I've caught were on a hulapopper type fly that I make out of "pool noodle" foam,can even get green that make a good frog!


     

[Tec]

Anyone have some good advice for muskie? I've been fishing for them all summer now and I've only gotten 2 bites. I don't have a boat so I have to wade out into a river to catch them, and so far the only time I've been able to get a hit is when they're in shallow parts and I see their tail sticking out of the water. I'm using 65 pounded braided line, steel leader, and 9-12 inch lures. Also, since I fish in a shallow area, only 2-3 feet in some parts, I can't really reel in too fast because the lure dives too far and snags. I was wondering if some of the top water bass lures could work?

Here's a great website where you might find some pointers.  http://www.muskiefirst.com.  Yes topwater bass lures will work but I would stay on the bigger end of the spectrum.  Things like zara spooks, or double buzzbaits.  Booyah makes some nice double buzz's with a nice sharp strong hook out of the package, throw on a quality trailer hook for sure, and add some soft plastic on the back end if you want' to make the profile bigger.  Sounds like you're mostly throwing crankbaits, if you don't have any bucktails go get a couple.  They don't have to be $25 double tens either, get a couple Mepps Musky Killers in different colors and see what works.

1. Kill the major braid, no matter what you are told, Muskie are VERY line wary.
2. Along with #1, kill the steel leader, as long as you keep the line taught at all times, you will not need it. You may lose a lure every now and then to a fish that eats the lure and the bill, too, but that's better than no bite at all. The steel leader gives baits a very unnatural look.

You think a fish that will follow right up to boat side and then go around and around in circles with the rod tip in the water 2 feet in front of it and someone standing on top of it moving around is concerned about braid or a leader? lol.  Musky have the worst target fixation out of any fish I've ever seen.  Maybe it's because they're so mean they don't care, or maybe they're just that stupid...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhSqtbu_24M (bit of adult language in there so ninnys don't click).

[Vudak]

You think a fish that will follow right up to boat side and then go around and around in circles with the rod tip in the water 2 feet in front of it and someone standing on top of it moving around is concerned about braid or a leader? lol.  Musky have the worst target fixation out of any fish I've ever seen.  Maybe it's because they're so mean they don't care, or maybe they're just that stupid...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhSqtbu_24M (bit of adult language in there so ninnys don't click).

But on the other hand, for a lure that's moving fast enough to get them to the the boat and the figure 8's, why would you ever need a leader, anyway?  They're pretty much pointless on fast lures, IMO.  I've never caught a Musky, but then I've also never had a pike or pickerel steal a spinnerbait from me (I have lost some slash baits, but those get hit on the pause, when they line is vulnerable).