Best Musky Shorts – Forage Tips Some Memery
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Happy Holidays!
Merry Christmas to all! It might be raining outside, but it's still a great day to spend with friends and loved ones 🎄
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"Shorts" Dump
Whatever you want to call 'em.... Shorts, Reels, Tiktoks, etc.
Lots of cool "short form" musky-related clips hitting the internet this week. We thought we'd dump a few of them here for you musky-heads to watch.
First up, you gotta check out this video from Josh McFaddin fighting an incidental musky on some clear ice:
☝️ Btw, Josh is a VERY nice dude and takes some insanely impressive fishin' photos. 100% worth a follow if you love more fishing content on your timeline.
Next, we thought this was a funny little set from Charlie Berens talkin' about the similarities between your first baby and your first musky.... 😂
This next video is from a couple months back, but we just saw it recently. Love the excitement after a sweet boatside swipe for @fishingwithdamon!
👇 Cool clip from Kyle Tyree in Wisconsin. He was scouting for fish at night with lights on the ice when he ran into a musky taking a nap on a shallow flat.
Forage/Musky Connection
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand that finding baitfish is usually pretty critical when you're lookin' to track down muskies. The bigger problem is knowing where to look at different times of the year.
That's why we brought in guide Phil Bauerly to share some info on a few key forage species that musky-heads should be keepin' an eye on at different times of year, especially if you fish big, deep lakes.
#1 – Shiner Minnows
"Large lakes hold huge concentrations of shiner minnows on main lake points, flats and shorelines when water temps are in the 50’s and 60’s. Muskies spawn in specific areas that often warm up just a bit sooner, when temps in these areas are in the mid-to-upper 50’s.
"Before and after the spawn, muskies will often visit these schools of shiners, and feed on them right along side the walleyes. This can explain why historically, just as many June muskies here were caught by walleye anglers, as by muskie casters.
"Paying attention to areas that hold large schools of shiners can give us some insight into what main lake structures and shorelines might hold muskies first in June."
#2 – Lake Whitefish
"We’ll see basin concentrations of whitefish and tullibee starting when water temps are in the mid 60’s. Softer bottom areas, or soft/hard transitions draw-in whitefish and tullibees that begin to feed on early bug hatches like fish-flies or midge.
"Muskies take full advantage of this high-protein buffet, and it all culminates with the Hex Mayfly hatch when the water is around 72 degrees. Trolling is the classic way to target muskies at this time, though a spot-and-stalk technique has been effective for muskies that are reluctant to hit trolled baits."
#3 – Yellow Perch
"The classic time to fish for yellow perch on large northern Minnesota lakes like Leech, Winnie and Cass, is in September. Cooler, re-oxygenated shallow water once again draws-in minnows, and the perch aren’t far behind.
"Dirt-shallow reeds, sand flats and random-looking shorelines hold huge schools of perch, and muskies take full advantage.
"Muskies don’t seem to mind wasting a bit of energy now either, chasing down bucktails and topwaters like shallow water missiles. This bite seems to be best during cooling trends, anytime from late-August on, with water temps from 70 degrees, down to about 55."
Thanks for the info, buddy!
This Week's Mashup:
Mashup time!
#1 – Let's kick off this Mashup with an extra-snubby snubnoser caught by Seneca Buyukli from shore!
#2 – Feast your eyes on this stellar underwater musky snap from Creek Hawg Baits #PicturePerfect
#3 – Really diggin' this beautiful piece of art from Markus Lukic who's also a custom bait maker WAYYY over in Serbia.
#4 – Let's wrap up this mashup with some musky meme-ery:
QUICK HITTERS:
– December musky fishing in Wisconsin w/ AA (video)
– Chunky fall muskies w/ Todays Angler (video)
– Musky action montage w/ Ben Stone (video)
– Fall musky fishing on the Ottawa River w/ Lisa Goodier (video)
– Painting a musky jerkbait (video)
– Musky Hunter TV season 18 trailer (video)
THIS WEEK'S MONSTER MUSKIES:
Freaking sweet kayak musky from @fisherman_jase. The photo might be a little blurry, but there's no mistaking the gut on this big gal!
Beautiful musky from Michael Hanson in the northern WI the day before freeze-up this fall. #porker
It might be raining on Christmas Eve, but we are still a LONG ways away from summer musky fishing 😅 Great shot from Jace Loge earlier this year.
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