Livescope Poll Results – Big Fall Porkers – Ronnestrand Tips
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Scopin' Poll Results
To say folks are passionate about Forward Facing Sonar is an understatement 😂
We had 1,000+ responses to the poll we randomly threw into last week's newsletter. That was more than we were expecting tbh....
Let's look at the results:
First, we asked if how many of you use FFS for musky fishing:
So roughly 25% of our reader DO use it, with about 5% of our readers choosing not to use it for 'skies even though they own a transducer.
Next, we asked how you feel about folks using forward facing sonar to target muskies:
The first thing that jumped out to us is less than 10% of you "don't have a strong opinion".... meaning 90+% have some strong thoughts.
All in all, it seems like it comes down to "ethics" for most people. Over 1/3 of our readers think it should NEVER be used for muskies. An even larger group of you think it's fine, but ONLY if it's used ethically.
We also had a ton of written responses with folks sharing their thoughts/feelings/desires/frustrations, etc. on the topic.
Maybe we'll save some of those responses for a future email.... 😉
Late Fall Ronnestrand Tips
Luke Ronnestrand was on the JMO podcast sharing some tips on fall musky fishing. Thought we'd share a few highlights here for those of you still chasing some late season coldwater 'skies:
(Here's the link if you wanna listen to the whole thing 👍)
#1 – Luke's thoughts on color (30:08):
"We are using natural colors about 2/3 of the time on Vermilion in fall. Typically it's cisco patterns like white, silver, blue/gray, and I also use gold-based colors.
"When the ciscos and whitefish are actually spawning, and your electronics are blacked-out because there's so much bait on the structure you're fishing, that's when the brighter stuff really excels – lemon tail, white with chartreuse tails, white and orange, firetiger.
"Some of the trolling crankbaits I like in this situation are white baits with black bars and an orange belly with an orange or chartreuse soft plastic off the back. Lots of contrast and vibrant colors."
#2 – Some info on late fall locations (34:09):
"I'm definitely looking for cisco/whitefish spawning habitat. Big points with gravel or smaller rock on it. A spot that has a flat area with that gravel or small rock where the bait is going to be spawning. The bigger the area, the better, generally. Throw those areas in a neck-down between two basins, that's going to be exactly what you're looking for."
#3 – How Luke thinks about targeting male vs. female baitfish (35:33):
"The male ciscos/whitefish are the ones that hang out in the spawning areas for an extended period of time. The females come in and spawn, then get out of there.
"You'll see the shallow spawning area 'blacked-out' with the male baitfish, but then you'll have the females out in the basin near those areas. You have to determine if you're going to chase those shallow fish or look out deeper. That's the cat-and-mouse game we play everyday.
"You'll definitely want to check some of that open water stuff that's just adjacent to those big spawning areas. You'll have the muskies move shallow or deep on specific days."
Great info from Luke, as always!
GIF Parade
One of the best parts about doing musky fishing media is the fact that it's actually **visually** exciting vs. other boring fish like bass/walleye/panfish.
Muskies follow baits up to the side of the boat. They leap out of the water. They thrash at your feet. They're just straight-up awesome!
Here's a few cool action GIFs of the most exciting fish in freshwater:
First, we have a high-flyer (via Kristine Fischer's kayak cam) doing battle with fly fishin' yak fisherman:
Next we have a fun boatside interaction from Clayton Spiess who pops this hungry 'skie on the figure 8:
Not gonna lie, watchin' this musky swim around with a mouthful of sucker minnow makes me wanna close my laptop, put a boat in the water, and soak a sucker – some solid footage from Cody Klaus:
Awesome slo-mo release shot from diehard shore angler Caleb Sorenson – that's our favorite part! #HardKickOff
This Week's Mashup:
Mashup time!
#1 – Really cool shot of a small fall musky sent in by Rick Mechelke:
#2 – Is this the perfect stained glass musky?? (via Highrez Drifter)
#3 – Here's some serious eye candy.... check out this amazing Pennsylvania musky shot from outdoor photographer John Fallon:
#4 – When it comes to muskies, if ONE is good, then TWO is twice as nice! Awesome double-up from Lisa Marvin and company 💪
QUICK HITTERS:
– Big fall muskies in northern WI w/ Todays Angler (video)
– Jim Saric & Gus Mantey on Midwest Outdoors Podcast (video)
– Late fall musky talk on Road Rules w/ Wiggerman & Sam Stone (link)
– Guide Wars on Leech Lake w/ LOA (video)
– Making a dive-and-rise bait, start to finish (video)
– Late fall musky baits w/ Matt Vavroch (video)
THIS WEEK'S MONSTER MUSKIES:
Congrats to Jeff Adee on popping this big, long 54 inch porker fishing with guide Luke Ronnestrand 💪
This plus-sized Minnesota porker from Joe Sanderson hasn't been missing many meals. Great fish, congrats dude!
Noah B. popped this Vilas County 50 incher on a .22 Long after sundown 🔥
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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