Spring Tips w/ Ty Sennett – How the PMTT was Won – Slo-Mo Boatside T-Bone
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Cave Run Recap
Big congrats to Shan Horsley and Nick Adams on taking home $16,450 this past weekend at the first PMTT event of the season. #ChaChing💰
Here's a look at the winning 'skies:
Not exactly a barn-burner on Cave Run Lake this year with a 41 incher and a 35.75 incher getting the job done for Shan & Nick.
And here's how they caught 'em:
"The first day we started out in deep water, jigging Bondy Baits. We switched it up day #2 because the wind & storm would have made it difficult to hold the boat in position [leading to more hang-ups in the timber]. We went shallow and got bit on blades."
The bigger day #1 fish came on a custom walleye colored Bondy Bait, and the clutch day #2 catch hit a black/chartreuse Bill Burns bucktail.
18 fish hit the net on the first day of the tourney and just nine on day #2 – here's a look at the top 10 teams:
The next event is June 25th on the Eagle River/Three Lakes chain.
Tips from Ty Sennett
Not sure if you noticed, but the Back Lash Podcast (an A+ musky pod) has been kicking out episodes like crazy this spring – 8 total in the month of April.
We're still catchin' up, but one episode we particularly enjoyed was Ty Sennett's interview talkin' spring musky chasin' on the Chippewa Flowage.
Ty is a hardcore musky dude that walks-the-walk – he won the PMTT Top Gun last season – and he does a great job of explaining his thoughts on musky tactics/strategies.
He's also not afraid to share his thoughts on topics where he might have a differing opinion than other musky guides.
We have a lot of respect for Ty and wanted to share a few of his quotes here in the newsletter – let's start with water temp:
"I don't look for warm water in certain areas of the lake, I look for the whole lake to be a certain temperature. I determine that by factoring the combination of main lake, back bay and creek water temps.
"I think the fish go through the same schedule throughout the entire lake. If a back bay warms up a little bit faster, these fish don't spend the whole time in that back bay. They are going to be out in the main lake at some point in the day."
Ty on the prime water temps to look for this spring:
"Once you have water temperatures at 60 degrees for 4-6 days, those fish will settle down and get out of their spawning mode, which really slows down the bigger fish."
Thoughts on spring musky location:
"Muskies often like to spawn in bays on the north side of the lake. Part of that is because the weeds will come up sooner, too, which gives their fry some protection.
"But overall, you'll still have a lot of the small males in the back bays on the north end, so you're going to have more action on the northern bays. But some of the bigger fish will be in the southern areas.... structure that's away from the north bays and creeks."
Speaking of big fish, here's some more details on Ty's favorite spots for plus-sized 'skies on the Chippewa Flowage:
"The bigger fish in the system are going to be on the main lake bars – right where we would normally walleye fish actually – and the biggest fish are going to be attracted to the best weed growth.
"Milfoil to me is the most optimum weed in any lake. It has the most oxygen per acre and it's the most dense structure. If I can find milfoil coming up that's fresh, I'll attack that. If I can't find milfoil, I'll look for thin leaf green cabbage."
He also mentioned the importance of using Side Imaging to find these weeds.
Which brings us to the topic of electronics:
"I don't use 2D sonar at all, unless I'm driving my boat at 50 mph looking for open water baitfish, which is rare."
I'm not sure that's a controversial take, but it's interesting because some folks ONLY have 2D sonar – no Side Imaging, Livescope, etc.
There's a lot more info in the podcast, so definitely give it a listen sometime.
We also hosted Ty earlier this week for a live online musky class, talkin' all things topwater fishing. Unfortunately if you're reading this, you already missed it, but we're considering bringing back the recording later this spring – we'll let you know here in the newsletter.
Canadian Shenanigans
Check out this sweet "boatside strike" from Emily Heads in Ontario:
Her lure of choice?? A plump Canadian bronzeback smallmouth 😂
Jokes aside, it's not crazy uncommon for 'skies to grab bass, walleye, panfish, etc. as you're fighting them back to the boat, BUT it's not super common to see it captured on buttery slow-motion video. 🔥
**Disclaimer: Diet data shows that muskies don't prefer bass, walleye, etc. but they are opportunistic predators that will take advantage of a vulnerable fish.**
This clip was posted on Daryl Gilbert's YouTube channel, which includes some entertaining Canadian fishing shenanigans.... including stuff like this:
#DieHard
This Week's Mashup:
Mashup time!
#1 – Stellar release shot from Nolan Swinghamer & Doug Wegner 🔥
#2 – Awesome watercolor musky painting from Katherine J Ford 🎨
#3 – A unique paint job from Shane M. with the reverse flame/wood combo:
#4 – Many of you have probably heard of VHS (Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia Virus) that's most notable in the musky world for doing a SERIOUS number on the St. Lawrence River musky populations.
It hurts lookin' at this old photo shared by Sean Landsman, but it's a healthy reminder....
From Sean:
"This virus has affected a number of species, but muskies seem to be particularly susceptible to it for reasons unknown at this time. Fish (not just muskies) can spread the virus in their urine or reproductive fluids, or they can carry it but be asymptomatic and pass it on if eaten.
"The virus enters the gills and eventually the bloodstream. It will circulate to internal organs and blood vessels. It weakens blood vessels, causing internal bleeding. Many infected fish show significant petechial hemorrhaging on their bodies."
QUICK HITTERS:
– Canadian shield bait selection w/ 54 of Bust (video)
– Fall musky catchin’ w/ Josh Stevenson (video)
– Stealth has the premium Knipex cutters back in stock (link)
– “Musky Tune-Up” w/ Joe Bucher (video)
– Muskies Inc. T-shirts for sale (link)
– How to clean electronics screens (video)
THIS WEEK'S MONSTER MUSKIES:
BIG props to Jason Farrell on poppin' this massive southern monster (just shy of 52 inches) twitchin' a custom Lucky Tuck glide bait.
Here's another impressive river musky.... this porker couldn't resist Michael Kainec's fly-slingin' presentation.
We love seeing kids get into musky fishing – great shot from Kevin Winski and huge congrats to Nolan on his first-ever 'skie!
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