Very few issues in muskie fishing are set in stone. Some issues come and go. Fisheries, deal with, and techniques transfer from being fashionable to passé. There’s one thing, nonetheless, that by no means hides, and isn’t accessible anyplace. You gained’t discover it on the market at commerce present cubicles or on social media deal with swap pages. I’m speaking about pace.
Few fish in Ontario present love for the excessive fastball like muskie. Simply put, high-speed fishing, particularly trolling, works. During the height of summer time and properly into the autumn, fisheries from the decrease Great Lakes to the higher corners of the north supply alternatives for the spinnerbait troller. There aren’t many waterbodies or conditions the place they’re not a extremely viable choice.
So, what’s ‘fast?’
Close buddy and fellow fishing information Matt O’Brien from Shelburne is a certifiable pace nut on the subject of his muskie fishing. “Slowing down, especially when I’ve got miles of weeds to comb, makes no sense,” he usually tells me. In some ways, he’s utterly proper.
“We’re talking about a fish that can swim over 30 miles per hour, with a mouth the size of a garden shovel. If they want the bait, they can take it any time. Five or six miles an hour is glacier speed, to these fish.”
The actuality is that as an apex predator, muskie won’t ever exist in the identical numbers as bass, walleye or panfish. At one of the best of occasions, you have to cowl a lot water earlier than discovering one.
The extra spots and buildings you drive over with a well-placed lure, the extra muskies you’ll in the end get a shot at. In summer time, these warm-blooded creatures eat extra. They’re working in metabolic excessive gear. Speed trolling is the neatest use of your time.
Trolling speeds of 4, 5, and six-plus miles per hour are the norm. Bear in thoughts that extra pace generates extra life on the lure. Areas of Georgian Bay I fish have important weed development as deep as 18 or 19 toes in mid-summer. Key buildings are additionally usually separated by sections of deeper open water. Laying off the throttle at occasions permits a spinnerbait to fall, usually brushing weeds that develop deeper, calling muskies additional. Err on the aspect of pace with these lures, as a normal rule. I’ve caught muskies after I was going so quick the lures had been coming out of the water behind the boat. Remember, these fish can transfer a lot quicker than you’ll be able to reel or troll a bait.
Speed set-ups
As with most trolling, extra forgiving, parabolic rod actions are higher than stiff, quick-reacting ones. Fast-moving muskie will usually solely get a bit of the spinnerbait because it whizzes previous, and also you need some delay within the switch of energy between transferring boat, rod, and hook level. Slightly lighter drag settings could be a huge assist, too.
Ready for a bit of hand-to-hand fight on the quick monitor? Put that boat in gear, flip up the warmth and blow the excessive fastball by a couple of muskies this season. There aren’t many days once they’ll hold the bat on their shoulder.
Story time
Guiding on the Upper French River one August night, a superbly proportioned 48-inch fish grabbed a Lubowski Lures buck-tail spinnerbait going virtually six miles per hour throughout glass-calm circumstances. Even although the lure has a pair of razor-sharp, 7/0 single hooks, touchdown it was removed from straightforward. As is commonly the case, the fish slapped on the lure and barely caught the trailing hook in some comfortable tissue proper alongside the outer mandible. Sharp hooks, a reasonable motion rod and a lighter than regular drag setting all got here collectively to assist web that fish. Set-up and deal with is essential with spinnerbaits. The better part, half of my celebration requested to be dropped again off on the lodge dock for a libation with only some hours left in our trolling session. They noticed and heard the entire thing from their deck chairs. Stick with a spinnerbait and it’ll usually deal with the remaining!
JP Bushey is a year-round fishing information, chasing all species of fish. Based out of Barrie, he plies the waters of Georgian Bay, Lake Simcoe, the Bay of Quinte, Kawartha Lakes and northern Ontario. He’s a author, lure maker, and seminar speaker.
Originally printed in Ontario OUT of DOORS’ 2022 Fishing Annual