T-Billy

T-Billy has a nose for dinks lately. 😂 It's been a steady diet of low to mid 30's lately, and only one or two per day. I had one about 40" to the net today, but buggered up the net job. 🤦‍♂️ Ended up with a 33.5" and a sub 30. Surface temps have just dropped into the upper 60's, and the forecast looks good for the cooling trend to continue. Should be some big girls showing up in the shallows soon. 🤞 @gimruis, I've been slacking lately, only fishing 6-8 hrs per trip. That'll change soon, once the big's start moving up in the creeks.

Absolutely. Intuition, as it applies to fishing, is simply a feeling about what may work on based on previous experience.

100% agree with this.

Nearly every bite comes after a rapid speed change. I do it with HARD cranks of the reel handle.

I would. I'd run four smaller dummies and a bigger bait on the center wire. It's the best thing going around schooling baitfish. By going with the bigger and probably different color bait on the center wire, you can get a high percentage of bites on that bait.

I'll second A-Jay on the three hook deal. I rig mine the same way. I also downsize the top two dummy baits. I've had ONE dummy hit in a few years of throwing them. The three with hooks are the same size, but I usually run a different (generally brighter) color on the center bait. That gets it bit more, and saves wear and tear on the outside arms, getting me more fish per rig.

He wrote so many great songs. This is hands down my favorite.

I ate coon once. Once........ 😉

Skunkings are a common occurrence since I took up muskie fishing.

Tammy whooped me again, for the third time in four trips. I don't know how much more my ego can take!!! I may need counseling. 😂 We got out for four hours after I got off work today. We caught three. 40.25" and a 30.25" for her, 35.5" for me. We also moved another six, including a heavy mid 40's. Water's down to 71 and things are starting to fall into place up in the creeks. Some quality fish starting to show up shallow. @A-Jay, Life's a b**ch and then you get the net. LMAO!!!

You need to DO MORE MUSKIE FISHING!!! 😉

Oops, somehow I managed to get my text inserted into the quote. I have no idea how to fix it without retyping everything. So...

Heck yeah, @A-Jay!!! Gotta love those FAT pre-spawn four footers!!!

@gimruis, the 8 is where they matter most IMO. With a 9.5' I can make nice wide 8's while standing straight up, with the rod butt tucked under my arm. No contortions required, and I'm in a position where I have lots of leverage on the hookset. As a side note: I'm very happy with my Daiwa Prorex rods. They're a lot of rod for the $$$. They're a bit overrated power wise though. I'd recommend buying one power up from what you think you need. While I'm on the gear subject, the Piscifun Alijos 400 is an unbelievable reel for the $$$. Every bit as smooth as my Tranx and Lexa's for a LOT less money. Other than the graphite palming side plate, it's absolutely on par. I have the better part of the season on a couple now with zero issues. In fact the only thing I like about the Tranx better is it's size, and that's only when throwing smaller baits. Both my Tranx clutches like to engage occasionally when casting, and they have the worst line lay of the three reels. I don't see any more of them in my future. The Alijos is pretty much I identical in size to the Lexa.

I prefer 9' - 9.5' rods, they give me the ability to make big 8's without doing gymnastics. 400 series reels. I'm 55 and haven't seriously worked out in 15 years or so. Musky fishing isn't easy, but it ain't two a days in the August sun either. The biggest toll is on the wrists and elbows IMO. 😉

Thanks for the update Andy. Happy to hear Lynn is continuing to improve. The prayers continue...

Nice!!! I'm in the same situation. I'm 1/4" behind ya. Those 50's are HARD to come by in our lakes, but a few get caught every year.

X2

Yup, I went and caught a bad case of Musky Fever. There is no cure, and the Muskie Gorilla has ravaged my bank account to an extent the bait monkey could only dream of. 😂 On the upside, I put my 60th of the year, over 30" in the net yesterday, and some of the best fishing of the year is right around the corner!!! Biggest of the year so far is this 46.5" caught under the August full moon.

I took a skunking yesterday. I had ten follows, two of them nipped at the bait in the 8, but didn't hook up. A bit of rain and low cloud cover this morning helped their mood a bit. I caught two ( 33" and 34.5"), lost another about the same size, and had three more follows. September's been tough, I'm happy to have this pair of little slimers.

Hope you feel better soon buddy.

Today is the last day of our most recent heat wave. Lots of 50's - 70's in the extended forecast to get water temps heading back in the right direction. Looking forward to the coming shallow bite, to be followed by FAT fish gorging themselves on the giant shad schools of November.

Don't sweat it, you'll do fine. Lock that drag down, keep your casts/pitches fairly short, set the hook vertically and winch away. Some days they'll be in those openings, or come to them, as you've experienced, others they'll be buried up in the thick stuff in a negative or neutral mood. You can get a reaction bite from those fish by dropping that bait right in their face.

I hear ya, and I think we all feel that way to some extent. It's why I fish the way I do. I'm really only interested in chasing big bass at this point, and once I got good at fishing the really gnarly cover, my average size went up considerably, while still catching good numbers. It's also a pattern that holds up from mid 40's in the spring until 38-39 degrees in the late fall. In the end, it's all about having fun and catching 'em the way you wanna catch 'em. After all, we ain't on the pro tour with a big paycheck on the line. 😉

A flipping rig, aka pegged T-rig, with a snelled straight shank flipping hook will fish through that stuff clean. A beaver style bait would be my first pick. 3/8 or 1/2 oz tungsten weight should work fine.