T-Billy

It ain't a successful day if you ain't bleeding!!! Lol. You should see my guide buddy's hands in late November. Pretty much one big scab from wrist to knuckles.

My best numbers day is 8 for 10. That's 10 hooked, 8 in the net. I also sometimes go weeks without a bite. It's the most challenging, but rewarding fish species I've ever chased.

Never have with the A-rig. The rigs I'm building have a 6" piece of .051 wire coming out the front. It's not needed to prevent bite offs with the rig. I added it to prevent tumbling on the cast. Works great. No more getting the line caught behind an arm on the cast.

The palomar has always been a good knot for me with braid. The modified uni, also called the fishin fool, or fishin full is even stronger. I learned it when I started throwing the A- rig. Tying a palomar is a PITA with one of those. The modified uni was a bit of a pain to tie at first, but with a bit of practice it got easy and it's my go to knot for all my muskie baits. It's all about which finger does what, the size of the loop you make, and how you cinch it. If you cinch the tag end parallel to the main line the wraps will stack neatly. If you cinch the tag at an angle to the main line they want to jump each other and won't stack right. I like about a 2"-2.5" loop to wrap though.

Don't slack line 'em with braid. I swing hard, but i get just a bit of tension on the line first. Slack line hooksets with braid = lots of lost fish. When fishing moving baits on braid, chatterbaits, spinnerbaits etc. a mod or mod fast rod is the way to roll IMO.

Absolutely. The most challenging fish we have to get to bite, and the most challenging to get into the net after ya stick one, especially when fishing solo. At least all those lost fish this week were 30 somethings. No heartbreakers. When those bigs get away....... deflating, is the best way I can describe it. The challenge, the big rewards, the big let downs. Absolutely addictive. It's not usually near that bad, but recently it's been brutal.

I reached a new low over the past weekend. I went 1 for 12 landing muskies. Dirty buggers were just nipping the rear treble on my cranks. Super frustrating. I wasn't alone though. Guide buddy and his clients went 1 for 7 yesterday throwing pounder bulldawgs.

You wear it well my friend, and that's a dandy brown bass. BTW, I'm also a fan of @A-Jay's red plaid hat. Perhaps BR needs a hat thread? Nah, you need to get ya fur hat. That hat of mine is super warm and comfy. I can't wear it above mid 40's. Cooks my little pea brain above that.

Lol. When you spend your fall days fishing in freezing temps, fighting an iced up reel, possibly getting rained or snowed on all day. Then and only then have you earned your fur hat. 😉

Thanks. Very much so. Always on the hunt for a BIG bite.

Congratulations!!!

They have at it all through June and July here. When they quit partying in August my night bite switches from shallow grass to rock.

Pretty much just those times when I struggle to keep 'em hooked up. Muskie are MUCH better at driving me bonkers. Full disclosure: It's a pretty short drive for me.

Over slept and didn't get started until 03:00. The action was fast and furious for the couple hours I got to fish in the dark. Caught about a dozen LM and a few SM on a chatterbait and lost at least as many more. Dunno why I couldn't keep so many of 'em hooked up, the ones I landed all had the bait choked, even the small ones. Best bass of the night was the 4.58# LM pictured below, and I lost a SM about the same size right at boatside. I know why it came off. Fargen thing was leaping like a crackhead on a pogo stick. Lol. Staying tight on it was all but impossible. Also caught a nice 4.75# eye, to soon be released to the grease. The muskie continue to torment me. Lol. The 33" pictured below is the only one to make it into the net out of SIX hookups. Also had another five hot follows that spooked coming into the 8. They were chasing, but continue to be skittish about eating in the clear water. Hopefully the coming heat wave will bring some thunderstorms with it to get the water stained up a bit.

Last night, I lost more than half the fish that hit my chatterbait. That's an unusually high ratio, very high, but that's how it went down. What seemed odd is that every fish I landed had it choked, and every single bite was aggressive. They were hammering that thing, so I don't have a clue why so many came unbuttoned. Some days you're the windshield, some days...

Night time is the right time. Off the water by noon. That said, you gotta stay hydrated. I always take plenty to drink no matter the season or time of day.

It takes a brave man to marry a wolverine. 😉

It's mixed bag Monday!!! I got started around 02:00. Night bite was steady. Mixed bag of LM, SM, and two eyes. The 4.8# eye pictured and a 2# will be dinner tomorrow night. Switched to muskie about 06:00 and had five follows and caught the 30" pictured. Of course I caught the smallest fish that I moved. Lol. Last follow was around 08:15. Fished till 11:30 and never saw another fish. Not a bad way to spend the morning. Sure would be nice if those skis would start eating though. I'm getting lots of aggressive follows, but it's been a struggle to close the deal.

I bought a pair of ski/snowboard pants last fall for fishing in cold weather. They've proven to be a great purchase. They fit pretty loosely and have elastic in the waist, so I can wear them over other pants when needed on trips with wide temp swings. They're also pretty water resistant so they keep me dry in light to moderate rain. Much lighter in weight than my insulated Carharts that used to fill this role also.

I agree 100%. Never use it, and most every time I service one of my 8 speed Super Duty's, that little switch makes me say bad words.

Welcome aboard fellow Buckeye.

I hear ya @gimruis. I pulled my bait away from a couple small muskie this morning. They're a PITA to deal with. The bigger fish were having fun taunting me. Eight hot follows into the 8, right on the bait, zero hookups. They would follow through a turn or two then bail. Clear water is making it tough to get bit. In order to even get 'em chasing, I'm having to burn that .22 Short just as fast as I can stand to crank it with an 8 speed Tranx 400. Fortunately no heart breakers, but I did have a nice low 40's take a swipe at it and miss this morning. I think I need to pick up some big bass cranks to show 'em.

The pike whisperer!!! 😁

Same here, plus several other big girls of both the green and brown varieties . I don't know what triggers it, but there's a window in Sept when the sows come shallow.