T-Billy

Speed and/or direction changes, something all your examples have in common.

Weightless T-rigged flukes and senkos skip REALLY well and will come back out through darn near anything. They also get bit by all sizes of fish and don't cost much if you do have to break/cut them off here and there. ?

Works well much of the time.

Me either, and I've fished alot of 'em over the years, especially at night.

Throw 'em in the dark. Single best nighttime bait EVER!!!

Yeah. Not cheap, but worth every penny. https://wbmuskyshop.com/products/rs-nets-muskie-mag-net-shipping-included It was a toss up between the Muskie Mag and the Clam Colossus. https://www.muskyshop.com/products/nets-clam-colossus-large-musky I went with the RS because it's handmade here in OH, and they're a sponsor of my guide buddy. I don't think you can go wrong with either net. Maina swears by the Colossus. Big boatside livewells that make dealing with those big slimers SOO... much easier than a smaller hoop net. Great for taking care of the fish too. They get a chance to chill out and recover while setting up the phone for a quick pic. They're only out of the water maybe 30sec.

Roger that. There's some lows in the 40's forecast this week and next.

It dawned on me yesterday, that it was this week last year that I started catching muskie on my favorite shallow point while night bass fishing. So... I got there about an hour before daylight to check it out. There were lots of fish porpoising both shallow and just off the break. I fished the whole point with a bucktail with nary a follow, made the switch to an 8" Jointed Believer and put two in the boat in about 15min. 33" and 31". This spot should continue to hold fish until turnover, so I left to do a little scouting for next week. First couple spots didn't pan out, but I found a couple more later in the morning with deep milfoil and coontail. Both are short, deep cuts off the main lake basin where they can quickly move shallow to deep. Again, both of these spots should be consistent producers until turnover, at which point it'll become all about the Bama Rig. I'm starting to get a fall milk run figgered out for these critters. 31" and 36" No bigs but we have a pretty major cool off forcast, starting tomorrow. The bigger fish should start moving up in the next couple weeks. Fingers crossed for my most epic fall of fishing yet!!!

The Dance hat strikes again!!! There's something about that big orange T that fish just love!!! Congrats. Nice smalljaws.

Thanks, I feel like I do pretty well. Better than most, not fit to tie the knots of a few. Lol. There was a tournament on Tappan Lake last spring that took 26# and change to win. Winner had an 8+ and two 5's in the bag I was told. That's just crazy for around here. Typically you need to be in the high teens to have a chance around here during pre spawn. 10# will win a lot of derby's in the summer. Night is best for big summer bass. Then late fall is another window for big's.

I've been close a few times, but haven't cracked 20# yet. The windows where it's a legit possibility are few and far between in the waters I fish.

41... Epic day for most of us, ol'crickety says, meh... it was ok. ? Just funnin ya Katie. Congrats on a great day on the water.

Crack a tube on top of those points next spring when the water hits mid 50's.?

I'll use a mono leader when fishing a jig or trig in deep rock just to make breaking off easier. Otherwise, straight 40# or 50# 832.

The more vertical you fish, the easier it is to pull them up and out of the thick stuff. You have more pulling power, especially in that light canoe. It will work best in the bogs with a light wind. Just position yourself upwind to drift over the cover you want to fish and make short pitches. Isolated clumps off the deep edge are high percentage targets and often hold the biggest fish.

You certainly can Katie. I don't fish pads much. I do FAR better in hydrilla, milfoil and coontail. Might be why pads aren't that productive for me, the bass have so many other choices in my lakes. Even when there's tons of bluegill popping in the pads I can't get much going.

As is @ol'crickety, and they both catch WAY more big bass than me... Hmmm... Might be something to this...

Try fishing that thick grass vertically, or close to it Katie. Use your heaviest rod and straight braid, 30# minimum. Grass jig or Trig. I've caught lots of good ones dropping vertically into grass clumps as shallow as 4' from a boat. Your canoe is even stealthier. Watch your landing percentage go way up. ?

This is how I go about it as well. I happily share bait and pattern info, but you can count the number of people I'll share spot info with on one hand and have a couple fingers leftover. @WRB is right, secret spots are rare indeed, but how to successfully approach and fish those spots is a different story. I don't mind fishing behind most people, but now and then I'll watch someone on a spot I'd like to fish and know, that guy's got it figgered out, I'll hit something else.

A big part of my recent muskie addiction is the learning aspect of it. My bass game is pretty dialed in after decades of chasing them, but the muskie game has me really learning again rather than just fine tuning things, or picking up a new technique once in awhile. Bass fishing carries over well into muskie. They can be very much cover oriented like largemouth at times, and nomadic/palagic like smallies as well. It's all about what they're eating. In my lakes it's shad during the cold water periods, and whatever they can fit in that big toothy yap in the warmer months. It's exciting to have found success at it early on, but I feel like I've barely scratched the surface, and have so much yet to learn. That gets me really excited to get out there after 'em.

Hey, thanks for recommending that stuff. It's works great on the tendinitis in my elbows. Fast, pretty long lasting relief.

Beats the heck out of a 10-12 hour skunking in a 40 or 50 something degree rain. Been there done that several times.

Works the same way under a bright moon.

Managed three small ski's today, and the wife and I each lost a mid 30's. 36" below. Didn't bother with pics of the two smaller fish. They were both MAYBE 30", I just unhooked 'em boatside and sent 'em on their way. Pic below of why I hate fishing weekends. These vultures watched me catch two, and as soon as I drifted a little over a cast length off the spot, they swooped in. They didn't catch squat. They saw exactly what I was doing, but are too dumb to immitate it. Lol.