Further North

LOTW has some natural tigers. Almost unavoidable given the numbers of both pi,e and musky in the lake, He could always use wire leaders on those baits.

Had a heck of a day on a local-ish river yesterday. Saw 11 muskies (the most ever in one day for me) had 7 follows, two eats...lost 'em both. Got started late - 12:30 - because of septic problems at home, but managed to squeeze a full day on the water anyway. Beautiful weather - actually a bit chilly at times, which is nice in July. Water temps were surprisingly low at 68°, unheard of in July. The river is as low as I've floated it - around 500 CFS, and very clear, so we focused on mid-sized flies cast as far from the boat as we could get them. The pink and Brown Mega Murdich was the fly of the day, accounting for almost all the follows and both eats. The bottom fly in this picture. The second lost fish was a heart breaker - it would have been my fishing partner's first over 40". She was a beast of a fish, and we both got to see the eat about 15 feet off the starboard side of the boat. No fish in the net, so only scenery photos.

Great fish and good fun!

It's a coated, knotless net. The best you can get for big fish. You can - with about five minutes practice - stow it closed, and pick it up so it opens, then extend the handle, all with one hand still on a fly rod. Ask me how I know... ?

Looking at the picture of your kayak, that Stowmaster I recommended above would take up less space in the kayak and it'll handle 50" fish.

Very much yes. "Use enough net" is a real thing. I have two of these, and keep one in each boat, so there's no chance to forget the net. https://muskyfool.com/collections/nets/products/956gi3i9lwdtxqjqtht9rmm73zsjc0 The net above works in canoes, kayaks, rafts and drift boats. Practicing opening it with one hand is a good idea. Bogas and lip grips are jaw breakers for a big musky if there's more fight left in them than you think.

Nope, we don't. That boat has gone over the bank of a river to launch and pull out more than once.

Two friends and I floated the one of Wisconsin's larger rivers Saturday. A little over 8 miles We got started about 9:30 AM, and got off the river at almost exactly 6:00 PM Flows were generally low-ish, but we managed without having to get out and drag the boat. I'd like to attribute that to getting better at reading water, but who knows. Fish were caught, mostly by Joe (the guy who lives near nearby). A bunch of smallies, one pike. A couple of muskies were missed. Maybe. We never got a good look at them, but they acted musky-ish. Could have been pike. Topwater was the most effective for the bass, though the copper/white Murdich was doing well for a while. A tailing wind made things a little more interesting in the late afternoon and early evening. It made casting from the back of the boat a challenge, but really easy from the front... A good day on the river. We finished up with pizza, beer and lies at The Sawmill Brewing Company ( https://sawmillbrewing.net/ ). The beer was good enough that we all took home a couple growlers of what we'd been enjoying.

The longer rod has no benefit for pike or musky fishing - if everything else is equal - if that's the only reason you're considering it. FWIW, accidentally catching pike and musky isn't the same as pursuing them. That said, there's no benefit to a longer rod for pursuing them either. Yep. Accuracy with the shorter rod is more important.

There's a reason I don't limit myself to fly fishing. When gear makes more sense, I'll use it. Or if I'm just sick of chucking flies. ...but an 8 hour float is about average.

He's a patient angler. I couldn't wait 50 seconds for 6 ips line to sink 25 feet...much less almost a minute and a half for it to sink 40 feet.

It can be. Getting a big streamer out there and watching a big predator chase it down - whether it's a big trout, bass, pike, musky or something else, is a thrill. I'm often left scratching my head at the industry's lack of clarity about what is a full sink, and a sink tip. Most of my lines, I believe, fall into the sink tip category, with really only the head being the sinking part of the line. Low water the last couple years has us mostly using intermediate of slow - 3 IPS - sinking lines.

That seems like a very broad, and potentially difficult spectrum of fish to fish for with one rod given that trout are most often fished for with very light rods and small tackle, and carp are beasts that need pretty stout gear.

Casting that with a 6 wt. definitely falls into the "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should" category. There's no reason to not bump up on rod size, unless the angler doesn't own a heavier rod. That's my biggest reason for tying my own flies as well: Tailor them to how I want to fish.

You absolutely nailed that. I fish everything form a 3 wt. to a "heavy" 12 wt., as needed. A 15" fly on a that heavy 12 is no big deal...and while I could make it work on an 8 wt. it'd be a lot more work, I'd be a lot more frustrated and tired at the end of the day, and I'd catch fewer fish. I don't understand - and never will - the insistence of some anglers on using rods too small for the flies, or for the fish. The idea that it's more "sporting" is utter nonsense. Absolute truth. I run lines up to 550 grains and choose them according to what it'll take to get a particular fly out where I need it. Adding weight to a fly creates all kinds of issues and can make casting them a complete PITA. Choosing between floating, intermediate, and the various sink rates of lines to get the fly in the right place in the water column makes a big difference too.

@Fallser, thanks! That's a great tutorial.

@Fallser that's some very cool experimentation! Can you share a bit about how you make the frogs? What is the foam material? The Schoolie is cool too - I've seen some with two on the hook, but three is new to me. The Ahrex GB Predator hook has made some new ideas very possible.

I agree on all of that...and I carry some deer hair poppers and divers for when that happens. They sure look like they'll work; you have to go with what you have. I use the big Changer product on my "mega" Murdichs.

************************ Nice work! Thos Flymen Howitzer heads - and the Double Barrel heads - are the best thing to happen to popper fly tying in my lifetime. Insanely durable and easy to tie with.

I have had songbirds go after smaller flies and streamers while I've been practice casting, and once had a bat grab my fly on the river, but never an owl. Maybe I need larger flies.

Yep. Even if there was a way to rig a 36 volt, 112# thrust Minn Kota on a canoe, that's still where you'd wind up.

MK has shared that 1540 is the top end for their motors, so

Got it, sorry I didn't get it sooner, I've seen those. If there's a GPS in there, it should be accurate. ...but trolling motor props are speed limited to around 4.5 - 5 MPH by the props they use, regardless of thrust or weight of the watercraft. https://minnkota-help.johnsonoutdoors.com/hc/en-us/articles/4413536408343-Calculating-Speed-and-Determining-Required-Thrust- ...so I kinda doubt your trolling motor is pushing you to 6 MPH.

I asked the question incorrectly: Where are you getting the sonar reading from? A fish finder? Or some other device you are using?