Dave Richey OUTDOORS

However, there always is that jolt of adrenalin as the lure nears the boat and then a long, rapier shape appears behind the lure. The rod gets thrust into the water as the lure is worked in a continuous Figure 8 or a J-stroke in hopes of teasing the fish into striking. It seldom works for me, although I well remember a day on Ontario's Lake of the Woods when a 25-pound muskie came out of nowhere to hit the lure. He was soon landed and gently released.

One thing I think I’ve learnedd is that muskies that follow a lure for long distances seldom hit. They hover six or eight feet from the lure, staring balefully at the lure, and then sink out of sight. There are, as is true with most things, an exception to that rule.

Realize that muskies are very unpredictable.

Another thing I’ve learned is that many of the muskie strikes that occur near the boat are from fish that zoom up from deep water, and slam into the lure as if they haven’t seen food in a month. Such boat-side strikes are a thing of wonder, and it’s wise to maintain a good grip on the rod at all times.

Make certain your reel drag is set tight but not so tight that the fish will break the line, leader or snap swivel on the strike. A fisherman needs the reel to grudgingly give a bit but it should be tight enough to bury the hooks in a bony jaw.

Finding muskies is a matter of exploration. On a lake that one has fished many times, we often know where home is for some muskies. The fish tend to favor certain spots, and if a good fish is hooked and kept, it's a certainty that another big fish will move in to fill the void in that location.

Location and presentations are keys to success.

It’s those new and foreigh lakes where we have to go exploring that offer a huge challenge, mostly because we've never fished them before. Early in the spring it’s smart to fish between the weed beds and shore. Look for shallow black-bottomed back bays where the water warms faster. Such locations are prime areas for spawning fish, which almost always are big females, which should be released.

Fish the shallow and deep-water sides of points jutting out into the lake. Fish the deep-water edges of a point, and never ignore submerged weed beds. Look for rocks and boulders in deeper water, and later on as the water warms, fish the deep-water edges of weed beds.

Muskies during cold weather may hover under docks or moored boats. Both provide shallow-water cover for the fish. The most important thing to do on a strange lake is to prospect and try all the key spots as noted above. And then, try some of the spots that haven't been mentioned. It's occasionally possible to catch a fish in an area  where the fisherman has never seen a muskie before.

Experiment with lures, retrieval speeds and colors.

Experiment with different lures and fishing depth. The fall is the time for large lures because the fish are fattening up for winter. Spring and summer are the times for slightly smaller lures, and I favor dark-colored lures at this time of year.

If anything is predictable about these game fish, it's their unpredictability. If you locate and see a fish follow your lure, and it doesn't hit, try a different lure in a different color, and use a different retrieve.

If that doesn't work, get out of the area, and return two or three hours later. Here, anglers are divided over whether to use the same lure that provoked a follow or try something entirely different. My choice is to try a different lure. Sometimes it pays off and sometimes it doesn't.

Remember,  these fish are unpredictable. It often pays to try something the fish has probably never seen before. It's always possible to fall back on the old tried-and-sometimes-true methods that have worked in the past.

Just don't bet the farm on it.
 

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors