MI record muskie

[Fishidiot]

Okay,
Muskellunge Reality Check......

I think the idea of a musky (or general WW JAM) organized as a float trip this summer would be awesome. I think springtime might be dicey with water levels, spawning bass and distraction with trout fishing. My vote would be for the North Branch Susky for such a trip. In my expereince the best months for river muskies are June and Oct-Dec. However, if one wants to target muskies, they bite year round in rivers. While I'm no musky expert, I've done a fair amount of musky fishing, much in northern Minnesota but a good bit here in central PA.

These fish are tough to catch!

While I don't think they really require an honest 10,000 casts (as the saying goes) - you really need to put in time to hook these fellas. Don't mean to be a downer, but I'd estimate that, under good conditions, with several of us floating several miles of the Susky River throwing big musky flies - we have about a 50%/50% chance of getting ONE fish between all of us and maybe a couple follows or missed strikes. If you really want to catch fish, you should still have a good time with bass (smallmouths 15" and up LOVE big musky flies) but don't expect a bunch of musky glory pics like a steelhead trip. Muskies are great and we should definitely do a trip for 'em but if you're new to this game, be forewarned: Lots of casting - very little catching.

 

[Acristickid]

FI- understand.

Thats why I would enjoy fishing for Musky or any other fish. But I can see myself getting a little restless with no fishies after a while though.

 

[afishinado]

acristickid wrote:
FI- understand.

Thats why I would enjoy fishing for Musky or any other fish. But I can see myself getting a little restless with no fishies after a while though.

If we fish the NB, as Dave said, the big smallies will keep you entertained.... ;-)

 

[jayL]

I am all for a musky jam, but my thinking was similar to fishidiot's.

This musky quest is an adventure that I have been planning for a few months, and I fully expect to spend a few months trying to get the skunk off.

I am all for a gathering, but I would imagine we'd end up chasing smallies, which is totally fine with me.

 

[scotto]

I suggest fishing big creeks/small rivers and small lakes to enhance your chances of hooking a musky. The Conodoquinet in Cumberland county, the Swatara in Dauphin county, Maiden Creek in Reading and the lake at Canoe Creek State Park in Blair county have all been decent for me. On the smaller bodies the fish are earier to locate. No giants yet(50"+), but I believe it will happen, most likely IMO is at Canoe Creek State Park.

 

[Fredrick]

Dave Marsh Creek Lake is ranked 7th on the PFBC list for Musky it also has just about every other species of fish except trout . And with the water warming up in spring the Musky will seek shallow areas of the lake that warm quicker will be easy pickins with a fly rod . Plus it will save us the trouble about worring about float times and pick up points .

 

[scotto]

Fred,

easy pickins and musky fishing are 2 phrases to don't go together terribly well. I do however hope everyone who makes a honest effort to catch one gets the chance, they are great fun!

Scott

 

[Acristickid]

scotto- Canoe Creek Lake, huh.

Never thought of that one.

Stopped by the lake last year to kill some time at the beach area between am and pm summer stream fishing. It's a much bigger lake than I thought.

Warm water fishing abounds in the western part of the state- so I hear, as I have spent much less time pursuing warmwater fishes- but I look forward to the opportunities in the future.

 

[scotto]

Kid,

Canoe Creek Lake has an abundant musky and bass population, which is managed under the "Big Bass" regs. Thousands of rainbow trout are stocked in this lake each year and the gamefish have found them very suitable to the palate! Caught my first musky while bass fishing and it was great. The lake is not terribly suited to wade fishing, but from a small water craft, especially a boat with a trolling motor, it provides excellent opportunities for musky and LARGEmouth bass.

 

[Acristickid]

What are Big Bass regs?

 

[scotto]

It was, not sure if it still is as I don't keep any fish, a larger minimum size limit and smaller daily limit. Again, don't really know the specifics, as I have never kept a bass other than the sriped variety.

 

[jayL]

Big Bass

 

[Acristickid]

Ahh got it, dudes.

 

[a10loadtoad]

Fredrick wrote:
Fred you have to past the test first to see if your Musky Jam worthy .........Do you have any credentials ?

Nothing like that in freshwater. Heading up to Salmon River for steelhead with Rod from the LLFS first week of February(anyone interested in going let me know). Kayak fishing down the shore for blues and a nice 31" snook from a kayak down at my uncle's house by Pine Island sound. Love it down there. The water is sooo shallow, not many boats flying around in the mangroves. Some days you can see tons of tailing redfish other days you might not see anything. The snook was hanging out by a dock light just after it got dark out. I usually visit them twice a year and Im hoping to get down there for tarpon season in the spring.

 

[Fredrick]

Good stuff .
I own a switchrod 6/7 beulah I used for salt a couple of times this year and loved it. Used it on the lower susky once and did realy well on the channel cats. I probally getting a yak before spring maybe we could hit the Skuke or the big D .

 

[a10loadtoad]

Fredrick wrote:
Good stuff .
I own a switchrod 6/7 beulah I used for salt a couple of times this year and loved it. Used it on the lower susky once and did realy well on the channel cats. I probally getting a yak before spring maybe we could hit the Skuke or the big D .

Yea, definitely. I have a pontoon and a yak, I just don't have enough space in my wrangler to transport both at the same time. If I had a bigger car I wouldn't have a problem using one and letting someone else use the other. The yak is a tandem but it is a breeze to maneuver solo. It tends to be a pain in the *** using the fly rod when someone else is in it. When I take my girlfriend down the shore I usually stick with conventional gear out of the yak that way she can have fun fishing and she won't get a fly imbedded in her head. I have both pretty well rigged for fishing though. The pontoon has a real nice anchor system and hopefully I will be adding a motor mount when I feel like going through the process of geting it registered. The yak has four convention rod holders molded in and an addition three conventional holders strapped to the crate in my tank well. I also mounted a scotty fly rod holder that can be swapped out with a baitcaster and I added an anchor trolley system.

 

[jayL]

A10,

A jeep wave to you.

How do you transport the boats? Roof rack? Strap em down?

I am considering a yak or toon and drive a '05 wrangler with hard top.

I strapped a rowboat to it before, but didn't feel comfortable taking it more than a few miles.

 

[a10loadtoad]

jayL wrote:
A10,

A jeep wave to you.

How do you transport the boats? Roof rack? Strap em down?

I am considering a yak or toon and drive a '05 wrangler with hard top.

I strapped a rowboat to it before, but didn't feel comfortable taking it more than a few miles.

A jeep wave back to you.

I have a kargo master congo rack. I used to work down at quadratec in west chester so the guys there hooked me up. I my opinion if you don't want to get into buying an expensive cargo rack, a pontoon would be your best option. I am not too familiar with the hardtops but i am pretty sure that they make the crossbars for the hardtop that you could strap a pontoon directly on. My pontoon fits in the back if i take the seat out and it is fully deflated but it is a pain in the *** if you want to make a couple drifts on say the upper delaware. I probably wouldn't strap a yak to the hardtop just because between the weight of the kayak with the wind and the yak swaying(even a little bit), it puts a strain on your windshield. The inflatable pontoon has more give than the solid hull of a kayak. Due to the angle our windshields are notorious for cracking with all the little rocks that don't deflect off easily and all it takes is a little chip and a little pressure and you got yourself a nice size crack.

 

[jayL]

Good point about the cracking.

Thanks for the tips. I've got a while to go before I am making a purchase, so I'll have to do my homework. I'll let you know what I find. I was leaning toward a pontoon, so your input helps that.

 

[a10loadtoad]

They are much lighter and i personally like the pontoons because they sit higher in the water, you can take them through rougher, rocker water without worrying about wearing away the bottom like the plastic on a kayak. I use my kayak for pretty much all of my saltwater fishing and the pontoon for the freshwater. I worry that the metal on the pontoon would be more susceptible to rust in the salt. There really isn't any freshwater application(i have found) that where the kayak will work better than the pontoon.