fishing been slow???- edited for new thread

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muskiemagnet
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fishing been slow???- edited for new thread

Post by muskiemagnet »

i've recently checked out the fishing forum, and i'm surprised by so few posts. the fishing has been slow here in wisconsin. has it been the same elsewhere? hopefully with the photoperiod getting shorter, the hogs will start to get ready for winter. i'd love to post a few 50+ muskies for you all before year's end. happy fishing.

ben
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Tim Borski
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Re: fishing been slow???

Post by Tim Borski »

Ben, I hope September (and the rest of fall) treats you well and you give us lots to drool over! Does Green Bay turnover?
Tim
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muskiemagnet
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Re: fishing been slow??? -edited for new thread

Post by muskiemagnet »

Tim Borski wrote:Does Green Bay turnover?
Tim
i'm not sure to be honest. i'm guessing no. with the amount of water flowing into and through the bay, i would think that the water never has a chance to stratify. especially this year. it hasn't rained for about a week now, and there are still multiple gates open on the fox. we've had an insane amount of water this year.

that's a place where i'll be come fall. the big muskies come into green bay and up the fox to de pere (as you know i'm sure). unfortunately it's wall to wall boats, and they are all trolling with multiple planers. my friend and i go out at night. we cast. i hate trolling. there's a few die-hards that cast at night from shore by the launch at the mouth. every year they get a few low to mid fifties. many believe the new record will come from the bay. my vote's on poygan or butte des morts. i realize i'm starting to babble. i'm getting pumped for fall fishing as i type.

i will leave with a story about pike fishing shallow windswept areas. it emphasizes a tactic that will work for you all. let me know if any of you have had experiences like this as well.

boats were stacked in boom bay on lake poygan (wisconsin). mid afternoon/sunny. three to four feet deep w/stiff west wind blowin into it. my friend had a few follows and caught one about 39 inches. one follow was in the upper forties. what a sow. thirty pounds at least. anyhow, there was a small boat that was catching a lot of fish. one guy specifically. we matched his color and bait, but all we got were follows, and lots of them. the fish were stacked in the bay due to multiple days of west winds. ok, my friend calls me the following day. he was excited. " i know why that one guy was catching all the fish!!!!" two guys and a kid in a fourteen foot boat. one guy casting out one side. the other out the opposite. kid in the middle. the guy catching fish was casting into the wind. we were falling prey to the easy way of casting. the fish were facing the wind for stability reasons in the wavy shallow water. bring the bait straight into them and they had no option but to let it go or hit it. they were hitting. bring it over their back, and they only followed. sort of the "burning bucktails" philosophy. force 'em to think fast. i cringe every time i think of that day. we could have boated that monster if we had been casting the other way.

now i'm thoroughly pumped for fishing.
HornedFrog44
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Re: fishing been slow???- edited for new thread

Post by HornedFrog44 »

It has been super slow for me lately. I went to an area where I usually catch a ton of big feisty trout (the San Juan River in NM) and only caught one fish. Here is a link to my really crummy fishing report in case you are interested.
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muskiemagnet
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Re: fishing been slow???- edited for new thread

Post by muskiemagnet »

it's cold here now. we are expecting a few days of mid 60s in wisconsin. two good things will come from it. the snakes will move up to their wintering sites, and the fishing will start to turn on.

the shad have been prolific as usual on winnebago and the smallmouth are always close by in every other cast abundance. i haven't had a chance to partake however. it's fun, but winnebago doesn't put out large smallies. seventeens are big.

as soon as it gets too cold for snakes, i'll hit the tribs into lake michigan for the king salmon run, and then don waders for river muskies. i have yet to get one in waders, but i've seen many big fish in a stretch that is easy to walk. it's exciting as hell. hopefully this year will be a good one. i'd love to tussle with a fifty incher in three feet of water. because the water depths are shallow, i can throw light baits. i use a medium fast baitcast set-up. i guess it's the equivalent of ultralight fishing as far as muskies goes.

after that, it's casting cranks on the drops with sucker in tow. wisconsin extended the muskie season till the end of december. we'll fish until the end or until we have to use tip-ups. :beer:

hopefully i'll have some good pics for you all at the end of the season. i haven't fished as much as i usually do lately. i've been focusing on herps.

on a side note, i found a way to overcome the mid-summer doldrums. my dad decided to start scuba diving again. i'm definitely game for that. i'd love to see what i'm fishing. next year i will start exploring underwater.

enjoy the rest of the year.

-ben
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Tim Borski
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Re: fishing been slow???- edited for new thread

Post by Tim Borski »

Ben, I like the idea of wading for muskies...sounds like fun. Why did WI decide to extend the season? Northern lakes are all typically frozen over before Dec 1.
I'm thinking of coming up for some "first ice" 'gills and northerns this year. You gonna be around? I'll meet ya in Onalaska. :beer:

Now get out there and give us a report!
Tim
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muskiemagnet
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Re: fishing been slow???- edited for new thread

Post by muskiemagnet »

i'm guessing the extended season is due to the cash brought in from the fox river run. i'm not sure. i'm also not positive that the season has been extended. it's been talked about for a few years, and i remember hearing it passed. like i said, still not 100%

early pike?? count me in.
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