MoMuskies

Headed up to Northern Wisconsin on Saturday and the resort operator was telling me that he's practically empty. It appears that the high fuel costs is keeping his regulars closer to home. Do you think the same applies to our lakes and resorts? I've been out to local lakes and have not noticed a measurable change in either boat or highway traffic...

How close to the Fall Creek condos did Taney washed away the soil? From the angle of the photo, it looks like the foundation could have been compromised if any more soil would have washed away...

Patfish - have you fished Suson? I also live in Oakville and was wondering how's fishing over there..

If you see a musky following your lure; don't slow down, jerk the rod a speed up. Most folks slow down on a follow, in the real world, bait will do everything and anything to get away. Don't forget to do the figure 8 at boat side. Often time, the musky will follow from below the lure - you won't know she's there until she comes up on the 8. It's an awsome sight to see a mid 40" torpedo coming toward your lure! 70% of muskies caught come on the figure 8.. Good luck.

What should one be throwing in the trophy area at that time of the year - either spin casting or with the fly rod? Thanks

Leonard, it's a 200Q, not 2000. I found one on ebay that looks very, very similar. AX Bearing is noted on the ebay listing if that matters.. Frank

Thanks for the feedback! After 26 years of marriage and fishing for muskies longer than that, my wife is hoping that I find another fishing passion that is not so tackle extensive (musky gear takes up quite a large section of the garage). after reading the above, I can see that I'm going to need additional tackle storage devices for the trout gear. At least the lures are smaller than musky gear! Thanks again... PS - how do fish a soft hackle?

Found the above reel at a garage sale this week. By the looks of the body, this reel has been used alot! Only paid $2.00 for it but would like to know if there's any chronic issues that need to be on the lookout. Bail fouling or line pickup not good, that sort of thing. I took it down to the Meramec this morning and with 4 lb test and a rooster tail it did very well.. Thanks

Too hot to musky fish so I've been educating myself on OAF. Often, in the musky boards the post on "Lures to help a beginer" comes up for discussion. My favorite musky lures that I would recommend for a newbie musky hunter: Top water - Jackpot 1/3 below surface - Suick 2/3 below surface - Jointed DepthRaider Bottom - BullDog I would like to hear from the experts as to what to get for my fly box that would enable me to fish Tanney's trophy water area. Thanks

We'll I just picked up a Shimano 2000 reel at a garage sale for $2.00. Body is little bruised, but it operated ok. Any issues with this reel that I should be looking out for? I did pick up a 2 piece, 7.5' Cabelas spinning rod on sale the last week ($49.00) I'm not sure on who makes these rods for Cabela's but it is a fast blank. Took it down to the river and was pleased with the cast distance I got with 4 lb line and a rooster tail... Frank

Wish I had that much free time on my hands!

Nephews and I were wondering if there are any restriction that would prevent one from floating on a canoe or raft from St. Louis down to Cape Girardeau. Frank

Bill, thanks for the feedback. This is the insight I was looking for.. Frank

I'll be investing in a new spinning rod soon. Trying to maximize casting distance while throwing small lures, ie. roster tails and small jigs. I'm thinking 6' fast action rod blank but too many folks are telling me that small, ultra-lite rod is the way to go. I've got an old Cardinal ultra-lite reel for the rod.. Figure you folks here can help me out. Thanks Frank

Perhaps you've read already... http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/fishing...tory?id=2901070

Since getting into this trout/fly-fishing bug that I've been inflicted with, I've notice that trout fishermen tend to camp on one spot. Very little moving about takes place. My question is, do you sight the fish and then cast to them or are you camping in a known "honey hole" or stretch that has been productive for you in the past. I feel that I tend to move around too much, guess is the musky-hunter in me, I might stay put for 5 minutes before I'm moving 10 yards or more up or down stream.. Just trying to gather knowledge from the pros! Frank

Catman, don't worry about a "Musky Bait" I've caught plenty on husky jerks, shar-raps, rattle traps and spiner baits. Just remember to use a leader. No need for a 80 lb, single strand leader, 15 to 20 lb is good enough. Do fish in cover if the lake has it. Weed beds, flooded timber, etc. Remember that muskies are ambush their meal. If you're fishing flooded timber, try to cast as close to the stumps as possible. Good luck!

I've been known to travel 620 miles one way to fish a day and half (Phelps, Wi)for musky. Since I live in St. Louis, I have a honey hole south of Springfield IL that takes up most of my time. I do travel 2 weeks a year with our group, we typically spend 1 week in northern WI and the other week in MN or Canada. I've really enjoy trout fishing! Got into it 2 summers ago while vacationing in Branson with the family. I could'nt do another show and the outlet malls are not for me. I took my boat thinking I would hit Table Rock but we were staying at Pointe Royale (I think), and they had a boat ramp. Long story short, I had my perch rod and rapalas and had a blast catching trout. I've since graduated to a fly rod and even tied on some scuds... Frank

The hot topic at one of the musky boards that I visit deals with the how fanatical we are at releasing all muskies caught. We try to educate folks new to musky fishing on things like, how to properly hold a fish for photos and measurements and no fishing when water temp/DO would equate toa dead fish. We understand that it's your right if you want to harvest a legal fish, however, we wish that you would reconsider and release the fish. If you wish a mount, take measurements and photos and have a fiberglass mount made of your trophy. Being new to trout fishing, does that same hold true for trout out of Taney? Are there any do's and don't when it comes to release, hold, etc. I we use rubber nets on muskies, I guess the same can be applied to trout? Thanks for input.. Frank

What is the parking lot in the googleEarth photo below? You'll need to cut the URL below and paste it on your browser's command bar. I could not find a way to paste the link on this thread. http://www.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&oe=...008097,0.019956 Thanks Frank

LMW - I'm willing to held with your cabin fever.. Since you're in the metro-east area, head down IL 159 TO 13 to Baldwin lake (just south of New Athens). Fish the north and east bank with a fly-rod/jig combo. You'll soon have tuna arms from all the action from the bluegills.. Great way to ward off the winter fishing blues and stay in tune with casting.. Frank

Just wondering if Taney has ever frozen over.. Not like you can walk across, but rather an ice skin and flow below.

Larry, good to read that you're a seasoned musky hunter.. I've cut and pasted the results from the recent tourney at Pomme. The 32nd Annual Fall Muskie Tournament was held on October 6th, 7th and 8th on Pomme de Terre Lake in southwestern Missouri. Sixty (60) boats total participated in the three day event with 44 fishing the Friday event and 52 fishing the Saturday/Sunday event. Fishing had been really good on the lake for the previous 2-3 weeks beforehand and hopes were high for the tournament weekend. A change in weather on Thursday brought warmer temperatures and bluebird skies but no change in the fish’s aggressive behavior. Fifty-nine (59) muskies over 30 inches in length were caught and released during the event with several short fish also released. This is the second best tournament result that anyone can remember, bettered by only one fish in one other year. Thanks to the stocking program of the Missouri Department of Conservation and the continuing habitat creation programs of the Pomme de Terre Chapter of Muskies, Inc, the lake is healthy and continuing to improve as an outstanding muskie, bass and crappie lake in Missouri. Thirty-three (33) muskies were caught on Friday by 44 boats. Action started immediately after the 7 am start time and continued on through the day. If all the fish that were hooked and lost were added into the number, the total would probably have been in the 50’s. The 33 fish averaged 36 ½ inches in length with the big fish of the day being 42 inches. You always have to be careful with statistics and it should be mentioned that one boat skewed the numbers by reporting 6 fish in the boat, 2 boats reporting 3 fish and 7 boats reporting two fish. When everything was sorted out, the results for the day were: Gary Pearson, TJ Sawyer- 33, 35 ½, 33, 38 ¾, 35, 38 ½, 1st Place Mark Boone, Marv Boyer- 39, 40, 33 ½, 2nd Place Bill Gordon, Bill Hughes- 41, 42 (Big Fish), 3rd Place Jim Wilson, Matt Ginnings- 36 ¼, 37 ½, 30 ½, 4th Place Kevin Richards, Rick Weber- 41 ½, 36 ½, 5th Place Billy Pitts, Robert Sawyer- 35 ½, 38 Earle Hammond, Mary Hammond- 38, 35 ¼ Luke Miller, Tyson Miller- 38, 34 ½ Ralph Bigham, Kirk Harlow- 37, 35 Carl Marks, Bryan Marks- 35, 36 Wayne Humphrey, Dave Brandt- 40 ½ Charley Rhinehart, Rick Rhinehart- 40 Franky Roberts, Darrell Roberts- 36 Eddie Stephens, Debbie Stephens- 35 Brooks May, Charles May- 35 Darren Zesch, Scott Taucher- 34 ½ Gary Meyer, Jeff Thompson- 34 With Saturday/Sunday being a separate event, everyone started with a clean slate and renewed enthusiasm and sure enough, things were different. With 52 boats fishing there were only 18 fish caught. The father-son team of Carl and Bryan Marks turned in 4 fish for the day while Friday’s winners, Gary Pearson and TJ Sawyer managed only one fish. Saturday’s results were: William Bruno, Will Bruno- 33, 36 Andy Robinson, Brian Boxx- 33, 35 Rob Willoughby, Marc Blachly- 40 ¼ (Big Fish) Earle Hammond, Steve Brigman- 40 Jeff Drigens, John Wollschlager- 39 Doug Hutchison, Nathan Hutchison- 33 Gary Pearson, TJ Sawyer- 33 ½ Bill Hill, Brenda Nunn- 34 ½, 35 Jim Wilson, Matt Ginnings- 40 Carl Marks, Bryan Marks- 35, 36 1/8, 32 ¼, 39 ½ John Hanley, Jeff Daniels- 35 Kevin Duffey, John Duffey- 33 Fishing only a half day on Sunday always reduces the number of fish caught and there were only 9 fish reported Sunday morning but it included the biggest fish of the event, a 43 inch muskie. The leaders from Saturday were not able to connect with any fish Sunday morning and consistency paid off with Rob Willoughby and Marc Blachly catching two more fish on Sunday to barely win the event by ½ point. Sunday’s results were: Rob Willoughby, Marc Blachly- 34, 43 (Big Fish) Jeff Drigens, John Wollschlager- 41 Gary Pearson, TJ Sawyer- 34 ½ Shawn Dujakovich, Marty Dujakovich- 40 ½ Jon Kirby, Andrea Kirby- 42, 37 Mark Boone, Kevin Richards- 35 Sat/Sun Final Results 1st Place- Rob Willoughby, Marc Blachly 2nd Place- Carl Marks, Bryan Marks 3rd Place- Jeff Drigens, John Wollschlager 4th Place- Jon Kirby, Andrea Kirby 5th Place- Bill Hill, Brenda Nunn

Larry, muskies tend to be loners and you can find them anywhere. I've caught them 1' from shore or in the middle of the lake. 2 keys for sucess 1)is finding the food source and 2) figure 8. If you can locate the shad, fish around and in the ball with a lure that gets down below the ball. I've got some homemade cranks that I use for this type of condition. Neat thing about musky fishing is that you can make your own lures. Muskies don't care about paint job or laquer finish. If it's in the food chain, chances are they'll eat it. Figure 8 - finish your cast by working the lure at boat side either in a circle or the classic figure 8. Now, don't just "swim" the lure on the surface. You'll need lower the rod in the water so that the lure stays deep and in the zone. I don't open my bail when I figure 8, I let the reel's drag do it's job - some folks do free spool when doing the 8. I broke a rod and broke 100lb power pro from a birds nest when a large fish decided to swallow a reaper in Wisconsin once - I learned from that mistake. If you have a follow and you see the fish, speed up or increase the twitching or retreave. A fish about to be eaten will not slow down in nature! It's going to go nuts - so must your lure. If the fish is HOT and your at boat side, swing the rod/lure toward the fish as you figure 8. In Pomme, Martins Flat is a good place to start. I would be throwing a 6" grandma style crankbait using a twitch retreive. Grandma is a thin but wide profile crankbait that will give your forearms a good workout by the end of the day. Gliders in the same, erractic retreave have also been sucessful. Suicks, pigs and bobby baits are some of my favorite gliders. I would start shallow and work out to deeper water (15') if water is fairly clear. By this I mean you can see your lure 3' below the water. Same lures and pattern would be used in the coves with standing timber. If water is stained or muddy; throw bucktails or large tandem spinner bait. It appears that everytime I get to Pomme, I'm fishing in coffee and cream water so out comes the spinners. I've not had much sucess with top water at Pomme. Because of this I don't throw any of my musky topwater much; one of those confidence issues I need to overcome someday. Best of luck at Pomme - Be careful, musky fever is very addictive, specially if you ever get a chance to fish a musky's natural, clear waters in Minnesota, Wisconsin or Canada.

New gear and equipment - $700 Fishing trip - $2,500 Fishing where you are part of the food chain - PRICELESS! I'm new to this forum and the photos sparked the old memory bank. I've fished where you keep an eye on the bears and the other on the strike ndicator. Scrape and save the dimes, if your vice is rod and reel, you owe it to yourself to take such a trip; specially with friends and loved ones.