Late Fall Tips – Livescope Thoughts – Traveling Musky
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Travelin' Musky
There was a neat story about this musky 👇 in a recent Gord Pyzer article.
That big ole nighthawk measured 51 x 22" and was caught by John McCormick, who was fishin' with guide Lisa Goodier on the Ottawa River.
Lisa noticed the musky had an old floy tag, so she got the number before releasing the fish. We'll let Gord take it from here:
It turns out the muskie—a female—had been originally tagged by the Quebec fisheries folks, which isn’t surprising given the Ottawa River is the boundary between Ontario and Quebec. What was a source of amazement, however, was the fact the fish was originally caught in 2011, in the Lake of Two Mountains, which is the delta where the Ottawa River spills into the St. Lawrence River, not far from Montreal.
“In the intervening 12 years, the muskie grew a little more than an inch per year, given that she was 37 inches when she was initially tagged,” Lisa said. “But she also travelled more than 110 kilometres upriver and somehow managed to navigate her way through the massive Carillon Dam and hydro-electric generating station. How amazing is that?”
For reference, here's a look at the Carillon Dam:
Not gonna lie, we've always found the musky tagging/tracking deal to be pretty dang cool. If you have any cool stories on that topic, reply to this email and let us know!
Livescope Poll
No, we didn't say Livescope "pole"....
Forward facing sonar (FFS) is so incredibly polarizing, that just about everyone has an opinion on it one way or the other (kinda reminds me of politics 😂).
FFS = Livescope, Mega Live, etc.
We thought it would be fun/interesting to poll our audience and see where YOU stand on the technology and it's use in musky fishing.
☝️ The poll is very quick and shouldn't take more than 60 seconds
There's a laundry list of reasons that folks love or hate FFS, but we don't want to influence anyone's answers in the poll, so we'll keep quiet for now.
The poll results will be shared in next week's newsletter.
Late Fall Musky Tips
You probably already noticed, but we're in the thick of "late fall". 🔥
To help you put a few more 'skies in the boat before ice-up, we dug up this writeup from Mr. Musky Hunter (Jim Saric) on musky location and presentation this time of year.
Specifically, Jimmy breaks down his three favorite areas to target late fall muskies, starting with....
RIVER MOUTHS
"When fishing the Great Lakes the impact of an incoming river and its related flow can be huge. Some of these rivers may hold musky-spawning areas in spring and the muskies may stage at the mouths of these rivers. The current and warmer water temperatures in some of these rivers also tend to concentrate bait. Together, the presence of bait and an overall movement of muskies towards their spawning areas can result in large packs of muskies in a relatively small area.
"Not every musky will be in the river mouth, as local weather conditions may result in the bait moving out from the river scattering along flats or breaklines, or the bait may move farther in the river.... The point is the river mouth is the place to start in many of the Great Lakes in late fall.
"I prefer to troll these areas at this time of year, as it’s not only a great way to keep lures in front of muskies, but it’s also easier since you have fewer equipment freezing issues. Late fall can be a match-the-hatch time, so my trolling lures are often dictated by the bait."
Another place to look for late fall muskies:
STEEP SHORELINES
"One of my most consistent spots to catch muskies in natural lakes has always been steep breaking shorelines. These areas located adjacent to the main basin of the lake typically have sand and gravel shorelines. To provide some perspective for these spots, it’s not uncommon for the boat to be in 25-35 feet of water and a cast length from shore.
"Frequently there are subtle points and turns along these shorelines and the small inside turns or adjacent micro-shelves can be consistent spots to find muskies. Many of these steep-breaking shorelines are located in areas where cisco spawn and it’s not uncommon to see pods of bait in these areas."
Last but not least....
"DEAD" WEEDS
"What if you aren’t near the Great Lakes and you only have shallower lakes to fish in late fall. One of the key places to find them is in the dead weeds. Yes, musky anglers typically don’t target dead vegetation, but in many of these lakes, it’s the only available cover.
"If you check these areas closely, you’ll find that although there are many dead weeds, you'll have green weeds in those areas where inside turns exist and the deep water swings tighter to the cover. These inside turns are the key.
"These areas can be so productive that it pays to simply mark as many of them as you can with your GPS and then return and focus on fishing each of them thoroughly several times throughout the day."
Jim prefers castin' smaller spots like these....
"Large soft plastics such as Medussas are great choices, but so is jigging a tube or going old-school and fishing a jig and reaper. These tools are perfect for fishing specific areas slowly and methodically. Likewise, if you can get suckers it’s definitely worthwhile using them."
You can check out the full writeup to read all the deets we couldn't fit in the newsletter.... and here's a final parting shot from Jim before you go:
"Late fall musky fishing is a game of both physical and mental survival."
Ain't that the truth....
This Week's Mashup:
Mashup time!
#1 – Not too many folks have pics like this in their photo album. MN musky guide Benjamin Knutson does! 👀 #sheesh
#2 – Musky fishermen be like....
#3 – Check out the ridiculously sweet paintwork from Dave Kormanyos (DK Musky Lures):
#4 – Okay, one more meme....
QUICK HITTERS:
– Fall musky fishing w/ Todays Angler (video)
– Fall muskies fishing in dirty water w/ Cast & Conquer (video)
– Boatside eat and solo netting w/ JP Angling (video)
– Coldwater bucktail fishing w/ Ben Stone (video)
– Electronics talk w/ Road Rules ft. Greenwell & McMahon (video)
– November musky fishing w/ 54 or bust (video)
– Musky "Trick or Treat" w/ The Next Bite (video)
THIS WEEK'S MONSTER MUSKIES:
Gorgeous north-of-the-border whale of a musky from guide Jean Laprise:
Lake Vermilion welcomed Josh Borovsky back with open arms (after a stint of guiding in Twin Cities) with this heavy 52 inch potbellied pig.
An A+ dose of double trouble from Carter Natale ft. some spotted beauties!
Wanna be featured in Musky Insider? Send in your recent trophy musky photos by replying to this email. You might just see your pic in next week's newsletter. 🤙
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