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Post by vadarx on Oct 13, 2020 12:27:49 GMT -6
o, that's the best part, I am ALWAYS in the back! LOL The guy in front gets the first cast to every spot and since my old,fat ass is down in the middle/well nowadays,I always throw something different than the guy in the front. yeah, I usually let he or the special lady have the opportunity to use the "preferred" lure when we are in da UP and I'll use something else. about the only advantage I have is when we troll I like to be on the shore side so I can see how close/far away we are. but, we cast a lot more than we troll.
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Post by hsbob on Oct 13, 2020 13:29:01 GMT -6
My first effort at adding pics will probably go bad but here goes..... The fish came on Cass,my guide suggested a glide bait and boy oh boy,did I have a new one I paid $30 for that I was dyin' to use. It was a blue bird day when we started around 1:00 and he told me these baits could elicit violent strikes and I said "I know" but became busy with catchin' up on the local gossip when all of a sudden it felt like a speedboat doin' 40mph in the opposite direction snagged my bait! The rod almost came completely out of my hands and hit the gunnel before I grabbed it and attempted a hookset(fish already took care of that) and it was somehow still there. The 2nd picture is what that bastard did to my little finger in the process.......still crocked to this day
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Post by vadarx on Oct 13, 2020 15:09:09 GMT -6
loving the pics, Dave! sadly, every 'ski picture I have is either an actual printed picture or on my dad's cameras/cards in MI. one of these days I need to commandeer those damn things..... making me long for my days of making the trip up to Canada. been to Wabagoon and Lac Seul, but most of the trips have been to Eagle Lake. sadly, since 2013, I haven't been able to go (which probably has a lot to do with the fact that that was the last time the old man was able to go and he has always been my 'ski partner). my previously mentioned fishing buddy has always been a bass and pike sorta guy. I took him out on St Clair once and it wasn't his jam, probably cuz it was a shit day (both for fishing and then weather, which can get hairy pretty fast out there on that shallow pond!). 'tis that time of year, time for the big girls to start posing! thanks! and ya i understand losing your musky partner puts a hurting on fishing for em... my nephew grew up and got married dam him! my wife likes to walleye and bass fish, but not so much musky.... im getting to the point where it hurts to dang much to cast for em all day now too! getting old dammit! i've only fished ski's in Canada on lake of the woods.. def want to try Eagle one time, and i've heard Wabigoon can be good, but its really dark/stained... actually went after em last weekend on a couple new little lakes i havent tried and got a smaller one.. gonna drag the wife back down on halloween weekend to try one more time before the freeze, maybe get her one on a sucker... right on. I've been working on talking the special lady here into going up to Eagle end of Sept/early Oct. told her the last time I was there , I wore shorts most of the trip (she is concerned about 1: it being cold). I neglected to mention the weather for any other trips there though 😏. i also told her she could handle sucker duty (she is concerned about 2: being bored) and I'll cast for 'skis and also that we can do walleyes for a couple days (for a while 😉). might could even go for smallies... we will see how how it goes. gotta also worry about that little 'rona and closed border issue too. maybe 2022..... Wabigoon is definitely darker, especially closer to town. there some gigantic fish in that lake and the fish seemed more aggressive (imo) because of the less clear water. we have a bunch of fun on our trip there, caught a good week apparently! we caught a baker's dozen between 42-49 but only landed one over 50 (52). we saw a few that were mid 50s, though. naturally the biggest ones weren't as aggressive..... Lac Seul didn't go quite as well, but was still a good time, as fishing is pretty much always better than most anything else you can do, imo! we caught only a half dozen on that trip, but my old man did catch a 55 incher (his best), so that made it worth the trip alone! that, combined with the lack of really anyone else around for a whole week made that trip memorable despite the lack of catching. on both, we only went once and only went for 'skis, so I can't comment on any other types of fish you might wanna go for. we wanted to go back to Wabigoon, but the week we wanted was booked, so we went back to Eagle... Eagle, I've been to a few times. we went a couple times, tried out the other two lakes, and then back to Eagle the last two times we went. I wouldn't mind trying Wabigoon again some day, or also the lake southeast of it (starts with a D, can't recall the name), but as I am familiar with Eagle, I'd like to go back there first. the 'ski fishing is good on a bad day and great on a good day. they might not hit the lures, but someone is catching something on the sucker, guaranteed. caught my Canadian personal best there (52.5) on a sucker (sadly, but it still counts!). I've eaten more walleye outta that lake than I can count and on occasion I've caught some large northerns while fishing the 'eyes as well (which is a nice surprise as I prefer to use a light action rod for the 'eyes, so....). one thing I will say is Eagle for sure has more traffic than the other two combined, but luckily there's lots of room and lots of fish! one of these day I'll give Lake of Woods a go, I've always wanted to fish that lake!
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Post by vadarx on Oct 13, 2020 15:26:26 GMT -6
I should probably add here, that to any 'ski hunters here that reside in the states and have not made the trek to Lake St Clair..... well, I would recommend it!
find someone who will take you casting (trolling is the popular thing on St Clair) and go from there. preferably in Anchor Bay.I got lucky and ran into ole Muskie Bob back in the day when I was shopping at Gander Mountain and one trip out with him started about a decade of hunting for them, there and in Canada. I swear one of these days I'll do Bob right and go catch some on the Tahquamenon.....
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Post by davebrau on Oct 14, 2020 6:59:48 GMT -6
thanks! and ya i understand losing your musky partner puts a hurting on fishing for em... my nephew grew up and got married dam him! my wife likes to walleye and bass fish, but not so much musky.... im getting to the point where it hurts to dang much to cast for em all day now too! getting old dammit! i've only fished ski's in Canada on lake of the woods.. def want to try Eagle one time, and i've heard Wabigoon can be good, but its really dark/stained... actually went after em last weekend on a couple new little lakes i havent tried and got a smaller one.. gonna drag the wife back down on halloween weekend to try one more time before the freeze, maybe get her one on a sucker... right on. I've been working on talking the special lady here into going up to Eagle end of Sept/early Oct. told her the last time I was there , I wore shorts most of the trip (she is concerned about 1: it being cold). I neglected to mention the weather for any other trips there though 😏. i also told her she could handle sucker duty (she is concerned about 2: being bored) and I'll cast for 'skis and also that we can do walleyes for a couple days (for a while 😉). might could even go for smallies... we will see how how it goes. gotta also worry about that little 'rona and closed border issue too. maybe 2022..... Wabigoon is definitely darker, especially closer to town. there some gigantic fish in that lake and the fish seemed more aggressive (imo) because of the less clear water. we have a bunch of fun on our trip there, caught a good week apparently! we caught a baker's dozen between 42-49 but only landed one over 50 (52). we saw a few that were mid 50s, though. naturally the biggest ones weren't as aggressive..... Lac Seul didn't go quite as well, but was still a good time, as fishing is pretty much always better than most anything else you can do, imo! we caught only a half dozen on that trip, but my old man did catch a 55 incher (his best), so that made it worth the trip alone! that, combined with the lack of really anyone else around for a whole week made that trip memorable despite the lack of catching. on both, we only went once and only went for 'skis, so I can't comment on any other types of fish you might wanna go for. we wanted to go back to Wabigoon, but the week we wanted was booked, so we went back to Eagle... Eagle, I've been to a few times. we went a couple times, tried out the other two lakes, and then back to Eagle the last two times we went. I wouldn't mind trying Wabigoon again some day, or also the lake southeast of it (starts with a D, can't recall the name), but as I am familiar with Eagle, I'd like to go back there first. the 'ski fishing is good on a bad day and great on a good day. they might not hit the lures, but someone is catching something on the sucker, guaranteed. caught my Canadian personal best there (52.5) on a sucker (sadly, but it still counts!). I've eaten more walleye outta lake than I can count and on occasion I've caught some large northerns will fishing the 'eyes as well (which is a nice surprise as I prefer to use a light action rod for the 'eyes, so....). one thing I will say is Eagle for sure has more traffic than the other two combined, but luckily there's lots of room and lots of fish! one of these day I'll give Lake of Woods a go, I've always wanted to fish that lake! my wifes a trouper, i drag her out early and often and she never complains... got lucky there i guess. have you ever been on Osbourne Bay on Eagle? was looking at trying there possibly one year.. and i see Wabigoon is not far from there either.. i just started going to Canada in 2015, and all the rocks and reefs still freak me out just a tad... crazy.... I've also heard Lac seul is a low density lake, so not many, but they get big in there though! Def another bucket list trip... and LOTW is awesome, but the area we go to, sabaskong bay area, has been getting pounded the last few trips... thats why i was looking at trying some other places up north... where did you stay on Wabigoon? we stay at buena vista resort in morson for our LOTW trips.. ive also fished st claire a handful of times, got skunked all but once, nabbed a 48 in one of the channels off the main lake because the wind was howling of course... seems musky fishing is all about the weather most of the time... its nuts.. now im ready to go! still have 2 weeks to wait though.... dammit!
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Post by galaxytrash on Oct 14, 2020 7:07:12 GMT -6
right on. I've been working on talking the special lady here into going up to Eagle end of Sept/early Oct. told her the last time I was there , I wore shorts most of the trip (she is concerned about 1: it being cold). I neglected to mention the weather for any other trips there though 😏. i also told her she could handle sucker duty (she is concerned about 2: being bored) and I'll cast for 'skis and also that we can do walleyes for a couple days (for a while 😉). might could even go for smallies... we will see how how it goes. gotta also worry about that little 'rona and closed border issue too. maybe 2022..... Wabigoon is definitely darker, especially closer to town. there some gigantic fish in that lake and the fish seemed more aggressive (imo) because of the less clear water. we have a bunch of fun on our trip there, caught a good week apparently! we caught a baker's dozen between 42-49 but only landed one over 50 (52). we saw a few that were mid 50s, though. naturally the biggest ones weren't as aggressive..... Lac Seul didn't go quite as well, but was still a good time, as fishing is pretty much always better than most anything else you can do, imo! we caught only a half dozen on that trip, but my old man did catch a 55 incher (his best), so that made it worth the trip alone! that, combined with the lack of really anyone else around for a whole week made that trip memorable despite the lack of catching. on both, we only went once and only went for 'skis, so I can't comment on any other types of fish you might wanna go for. we wanted to go back to Wabigoon, but the week we wanted was booked, so we went back to Eagle... Eagle, I've been to a few times. we went a couple times, tried out the other two lakes, and then back to Eagle the last two times we went. I wouldn't mind trying Wabigoon again some day, or also the lake southeast of it (starts with a D, can't recall the name), but as I am familiar with Eagle, I'd like to go back there first. the 'ski fishing is good on a bad day and great on a good day. they might not hit the lures, but someone is catching something on the sucker, guaranteed. caught my Canadian personal best there (52.5) on a sucker (sadly, but it still counts!). I've eaten more walleye outta lake than I can count and on occasion I've caught some large northerns will fishing the 'eyes as well (which is a nice surprise as I prefer to use a light action rod for the 'eyes, so....). one thing I will say is Eagle for sure has more traffic than the other two combined, but luckily there's lots of room and lots of fish! one of these day I'll give Lake of Woods a go, I've always wanted to fish that lake! my wifes a trouper, i drag her out early and often and she never complains... got lucky there i guess. so after the sharpie photo thing she stuck with you? i kid....you're lucky. you're a good guy dave. : )
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Post by davebrau on Oct 14, 2020 7:45:47 GMT -6
my wifes a trouper, i drag her out early and often and she never complains... got lucky there i guess. so after the sharpie photo thing she stuck with you? i kid....you're lucky. you're a good guy dave. : ) ha yep, its a give and take Galaxy... luckily she fished with me well before the Sharpie incident too.. its really hard to net those musky by yourself as well! and shes taking the Hawks dismantling really hard... like the rest of us i imagine... :/
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Post by hsbob on Oct 14, 2020 8:41:54 GMT -6
thanks! and ya i understand losing your musky partner puts a hurting on fishing for em... my nephew grew up and got married dam him! my wife likes to walleye and bass fish, but not so much musky.... im getting to the point where it hurts to dang much to cast for em all day now too! getting old dammit! i've only fished ski's in Canada on lake of the woods.. def want to try Eagle one time, and i've heard Wabigoon can be good, but its really dark/stained... actually went after em last weekend on a couple new little lakes i havent tried and got a smaller one.. gonna drag the wife back down on halloween weekend to try one more time before the freeze, maybe get her one on a sucker... right on. I've been working on talking the special lady here into going up to Eagle end of Sept/early Oct. told her the last time I was there , I wore shorts most of the trip (she is concerned about 1: it being cold). I neglected to mention the weather for any other trips there though 😏. i also told her she could handle sucker duty (she is concerned about 2: being bored) and I'll cast for 'skis and also that we can do walleyes for a couple days (for a while 😉). might could even go for smallies... we will see how how it goes. gotta also worry about that little 'rona and closed border issue too. maybe 2022..... Wabigoon is definitely darker, especially closer to town. there some gigantic fish in that lake and the fish seemed more aggressive (imo) because of the less clear water. we have a bunch of fun on our trip there, caught a good week apparently! we caught a baker's dozen between 42-49 but only landed one over 50 (52). we saw a few that were mid 50s, though. naturally the biggest ones weren't as aggressive..... Lac Seul didn't go quite as well, but was still a good time, as fishing is pretty much always better than most anything else you can do, imo! we caught only a half dozen on that trip, but my old man did catch a 55 incher (his best), so that made it worth the trip alone! that, combined with the lack of really anyone else around for a whole week made that trip memorable despite the lack of catching. on both, we only went once and only went for 'skis, so I can't comment on any other types of fish you might wanna go for. we wanted to go back to Wabigoon, but the week we wanted was booked, so we went back to Eagle... Eagle, I've been to a few times. we went a couple times, tried out the other two lakes, and then back to Eagle the last two times we went. I wouldn't mind trying Wabigoon again some day, or also the lake southeast of it (starts with a D, can't recall the name), but as I am familiar with Eagle, I'd like to go back there first. the 'ski fishing is good on a bad day and great on a good day. they might not hit the lures, but someone is catching something on the sucker, guaranteed. caught my Canadian personal best there (52.5) on a sucker (sadly, but it still counts!). I've eaten more walleye outta lake than I can count and on occasion I've caught some large northerns will fishing the 'eyes as well (which is a nice surprise as I prefer to use a light action rod for the 'eyes, so....). one thing I will say is Eagle for sure has more traffic than the other two combined, but luckily there's lots of room and lots of fish! one of these day I'll give Lake of Woods a go, I've always wanted to fish that lake! I haven't strayed north of the border with the exception of working with and shipping harness horses all over Western Canada back in the 80's but YES.....the best water in NA! The last 20 years have been spent on the north central MN waters of Leech,Cass,Big Winnie,Big V and a few other gems up that way,a trip up to the lakes you mentioned would require 6-8 more driving hours on top of the 8-9 I already endure and a roughly doubling of the trip's cost.......GREAT water though! Limits of Walleyes,Crappies and Northerns aren't outta the question either but that's what should happen when you pay through the ass for a guide! The best Muskiie guide I use tells me every Muskie hunter should fish the northern shield waters of LOTW at some point in their life so it's on my bucket list even though I can only bring in one bottle of Bourbon.....LOL! IF they ever let us infected bastards back in that is! I'm pretty fond of tolling nowadays since casting all day's a bitch and I can hold an adult beverage in one hand so I gotta get to St Clair,the Fox river around Green Bay's a good trolling bite from what I hear too.
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Post by davebrau on Oct 14, 2020 9:05:43 GMT -6
right on. I've been working on talking the special lady here into going up to Eagle end of Sept/early Oct. told her the last time I was there , I wore shorts most of the trip (she is concerned about 1: it being cold). I neglected to mention the weather for any other trips there though 😏. i also told her she could handle sucker duty (she is concerned about 2: being bored) and I'll cast for 'skis and also that we can do walleyes for a couple days (for a while 😉). might could even go for smallies... we will see how how it goes. gotta also worry about that little 'rona and closed border issue too. maybe 2022..... Wabigoon is definitely darker, especially closer to town. there some gigantic fish in that lake and the fish seemed more aggressive (imo) because of the less clear water. we have a bunch of fun on our trip there, caught a good week apparently! we caught a baker's dozen between 42-49 but only landed one over 50 (52). we saw a few that were mid 50s, though. naturally the biggest ones weren't as aggressive..... Lac Seul didn't go quite as well, but was still a good time, as fishing is pretty much always better than most anything else you can do, imo! we caught only a half dozen on that trip, but my old man did catch a 55 incher (his best), so that made it worth the trip alone! that, combined with the lack of really anyone else around for a whole week made that trip memorable despite the lack of catching. on both, we only went once and only went for 'skis, so I can't comment on any other types of fish you might wanna go for. we wanted to go back to Wabigoon, but the week we wanted was booked, so we went back to Eagle... Eagle, I've been to a few times. we went a couple times, tried out the other two lakes, and then back to Eagle the last two times we went. I wouldn't mind trying Wabigoon again some day, or also the lake southeast of it (starts with a D, can't recall the name), but as I am familiar with Eagle, I'd like to go back there first. the 'ski fishing is good on a bad day and great on a good day. they might not hit the lures, but someone is catching something on the sucker, guaranteed. caught my Canadian personal best there (52.5) on a sucker (sadly, but it still counts!). I've eaten more walleye outta lake than I can count and on occasion I've caught some large northerns will fishing the 'eyes as well (which is a nice surprise as I prefer to use a light action rod for the 'eyes, so....). one thing I will say is Eagle for sure has more traffic than the other two combined, but luckily there's lots of room and lots of fish! one of these day I'll give Lake of Woods a go, I've always wanted to fish that lake! I haven't strayed north of the border with the exception of working with and shipping harness horses all over Western Canada back in the 80's but YES.....the best water in NA! The last 20 years have been spent on the north central MN waters of Leech,Cass,Big Winnie,Big V and a few other gems up that way,a trip up to the lakes you mentioned would require 6-8 more driving hours on top of the 8-9 I already endure and a roughly doubling of the trip's cost.......GREAT water though! Limits of Walleyes,Crappies and Northerns aren't outta the question either but that's what should happen when you pay through the ass for a guide! The best Muskiie guide I use tells me every Muskie hunter should fish the northern shield waters of LOTW at some point in their life so it's on my bucket list even though I can only bring in one bottle of Bourbon.....LOL! IF they ever let us infected bastards back in that is! I'm pretty fond of tolling nowadays since casting all day's a bitch and I can hold an adult beverage in one hand so I gotta get to St Clair,the Fox river around Green Bay's a good trolling bite from what I hear too. ugh yes, they do charge a ton at some of those resorts up there Bob, but you can find a few that do housekeeping, (F that american plan and the $150-200 more per day they charge for that!), and if they charge in Canadian funds, you can save a bunch that way as well. thats why we go to the morson area. a couple places there are C funds and that helps immensely! i can stay a week up there for about the same price it costs if i do a week in minnesota.. sometimes cheaper! food for thought.. and i agree, i went out recently for a couple day trip, and my hands/back/ arms are killing me! stupid giant musky baits!!
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Post by hsbob on Oct 14, 2020 11:11:47 GMT -6
I haven't strayed north of the border with the exception of working with and shipping harness horses all over Western Canada back in the 80's but YES.....the best water in NA! The last 20 years have been spent on the north central MN waters of Leech,Cass,Big Winnie,Big V and a few other gems up that way,a trip up to the lakes you mentioned would require 6-8 more driving hours on top of the 8-9 I already endure and a roughly doubling of the trip's cost.......GREAT water though! Limits of Walleyes,Crappies and Northerns aren't outta the question either but that's what should happen when you pay through the ass for a guide! The best Muskiie guide I use tells me every Muskie hunter should fish the northern shield waters of LOTW at some point in their life so it's on my bucket list even though I can only bring in one bottle of Bourbon.....LOL! IF they ever let us infected bastards back in that is! I'm pretty fond of tolling nowadays since casting all day's a bitch and I can hold an adult beverage in one hand so I gotta get to St Clair,the Fox river around Green Bay's a good trolling bite from what I hear too. ugh yes, they do charge a ton at some of those resorts up there Bob, but you can find a few that do housekeeping, (F that american plan and the $150-200 more per day they charge for that!), and if they charge in Canadian funds, you can save a bunch that way as well. thats why we go to the morson area. a couple places there are C funds and that helps immensely! i can stay a week up there for about the same price it costs if i do a week in minnesota.. sometimes cheaper! food for thought.. and i agree, i went out recently for a couple day trip, and my hands/back/ arms are killing me! stupid giant musky baits!! The buds that do go up to Eagle and LOTW tell me what they spend and it's a LOT more than I spend buddy boy and a much longer drive too. I bring all my own booze and some food because that stuff is more expensive up in northern MN,we do three 'shore lunches' but we fish straight through and do em for dinner,$400 for half a cabin and $500 for three guided tips is my tab along with what I buy before I leave and no customs.....cough.....cough.....LOL! Yeah the fishing is better but I've still hung a bunch of Skis and each boat has a five gallon bucketful to clean when we're meat huntin',limits of Northern,Walleyes and Crappy happen more often that not and the Perch are comin' back after a few tough years too. I bring my own equip(God know I have it)but the other guys don't because the guides provide it and it's nice to have a guide pull right up on a spot and say "drop em here'......I can booze all I want without worry that way too.
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Post by vadarx on Oct 14, 2020 20:30:00 GMT -6
right on. I've been working on talking the special lady here into going up to Eagle end of Sept/early Oct. told her the last time I was there , I wore shorts most of the trip (she is concerned about 1: it being cold). I neglected to mention the weather for any other trips there though 😏. i also told her she could handle sucker duty (she is concerned about 2: being bored) and I'll cast for 'skis and also that we can do walleyes for a couple days (for a while 😉). might could even go for smallies... we will see how how it goes. gotta also worry about that little 'rona and closed border issue too. maybe 2022..... Wabigoon is definitely darker, especially closer to town. there some gigantic fish in that lake and the fish seemed more aggressive (imo) because of the less clear water. we have a bunch of fun on our trip there, caught a good week apparently! we caught a baker's dozen between 42-49 but only landed one over 50 (52). we saw a few that were mid 50s, though. naturally the biggest ones weren't as aggressive..... Lac Seul didn't go quite as well, but was still a good time, as fishing is pretty much always better than most anything else you can do, imo! we caught only a half dozen on that trip, but my old man did catch a 55 incher (his best), so that made it worth the trip alone! that, combined with the lack of really anyone else around for a whole week made that trip memorable despite the lack of catching. on both, we only went once and only went for 'skis, so I can't comment on any other types of fish you might wanna go for. we wanted to go back to Wabigoon, but the week we wanted was booked, so we went back to Eagle... Eagle, I've been to a few times. we went a couple times, tried out the other two lakes, and then back to Eagle the last two times we went. I wouldn't mind trying Wabigoon again some day, or also the lake southeast of it (starts with a D, can't recall the name), but as I am familiar with Eagle, I'd like to go back there first. the 'ski fishing is good on a bad day and great on a good day. they might not hit the lures, but someone is catching something on the sucker, guaranteed. caught my Canadian personal best there (52.5) on a sucker (sadly, but it still counts!). I've eaten more walleye outta lake than I can count and on occasion I've caught some large northerns will fishing the 'eyes as well (which is a nice surprise as I prefer to use a light action rod for the 'eyes, so....). one thing I will say is Eagle for sure has more traffic than the other two combined, but luckily there's lots of room and lots of fish! one of these day I'll give Lake of Woods a go, I've always wanted to fish that lake! my wifes a trouper, i drag her out early and often and she never complains... got lucky there i guess. have you ever been on Osbourne Bay on Eagle? was looking at trying there possibly one year.. and i see Wabigoon is not far from there either.. i just started going to Canada in 2015, and all the rocks and reefs still freak me out just a tad... crazy.... I've also heard Lac seul is a low density lake, so not many, but they get big in there though! Def another bucket list trip... and LOTW is awesome, but the area we go to, sabaskong bay area, has been getting pounded the last few trips... thats why i was looking at trying some other places up north... where did you stay on Wabigoon? we stay at buena vista resort in morson for our LOTW trips.. ive also fished st claire a handful of times, got skunked all but once, nabbed a 48 in one of the channels off the main lake because the wind was howling of course... seems musky fishing is all about the weather most of the time... its nuts.. now im ready to go! still have 2 weeks to wait though.... dammit! ha! the special lady here doesn't complain either....cuz i just let her sleep in the morning. she is good with going out in the evening, though. just not so much at 6 am..... which is ok with me. i bought a HUGE net a few years back so if I needed to net something I could do it myself in one shot. worked out thus far! she actually enjoys fishing, but she enjoys catching a lot more and thus the concerns as far as the 'ski fishing goes.... as we know, there are times when the catching is just a nice dream.... I don't believe I've ever made it that far south, but I'll be honest, there is a chance of it without me knowing. we have always gone out with the guides up there. my thought process on that has always been if I'm gonna spend the money to go up there and stay for a week, I'm gonna spend a bit more and make sure I'm getting to where the fish are. thus, I've probably not paid as much attention as I should have as far as where we were actually parked at. my focus has alway been casting and cranking. we stayed at Huber's on Wabigoon. no complaints. at Eagle, we've always stayed at Andy Meyer's. however, the last time i was there, one of the guides there (Scott Jaeger) told us when we were out on our last day that he had bought his own place and when I go back up, I'll probably go there cuz Scott is the man. North Shore Lodge is the name of his place, which looks to still being well. a quick gander a both websites tells me that AM is still bringing in the cash, so they probably have nicer accommodations, should you care about that sorta thing.... where did ya fish on St Clair? I've always preferred Anchor Bay, personally. that is where i got my feet wet, so that might be why.... but it is also where I've caught the most fish. launch outta the Selfridge launch and head to Grassy (someday to be known as Brunner, hopefully) Island... indeed, weather plays a huge part for the 'skis. especially on a lake like St Clair. i could go out there and blow on that damn lake and make waves, i swear.....
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Post by vadarx on Oct 14, 2020 20:33:58 GMT -6
I haven't strayed north of the border with the exception of working with and shipping harness horses all over Western Canada back in the 80's but YES.....the best water in NA! The last 20 years have been spent on the north central MN waters of Leech,Cass,Big Winnie,Big V and a few other gems up that way,a trip up to the lakes you mentioned would require 6-8 more driving hours on top of the 8-9 I already endure and a roughly doubling of the trip's cost.......GREAT water though! Limits of Walleyes,Crappies and Northerns aren't outta the question either but that's what should happen when you pay through the ass for a guide! The best Muskiie guide I use tells me every Muskie hunter should fish the northern shield waters of LOTW at some point in their life so it's on my bucket list even though I can only bring in one bottle of Bourbon.....LOL! IF they ever let us infected bastards back in that is! I'm pretty fond of tolling nowadays since casting all day's a bitch and I can hold an adult beverage in one hand so I gotta get to St Clair,the Fox river around Green Bay's a good trolling bite from what I hear too. ugh yes, they do charge a ton at some of those resorts up there Bob, but you can find a few that do housekeeping, (F that american plan and the $150-200 more per day they charge for that!), and if they charge in Canadian funds, you can save a bunch that way as well. thats why we go to the morson area. a couple places there are C funds and that helps immensely! i can stay a week up there for about the same price it costs if i do a week in minnesota.. sometimes cheaper! food for thought.. and i agree, i went out recently for a couple day trip, and my hands/back/ arms are killing me! stupid giant musky baits!! I've done both, and while it is nice to have someone cooking for ya, it's even nicer to cook yourself and use the extra cash to have someone drive ya to the fish!
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Post by vadarx on Oct 14, 2020 20:37:39 GMT -6
ugh yes, they do charge a ton at some of those resorts up there Bob, but you can find a few that do housekeeping, (F that american plan and the $150-200 more per day they charge for that!), and if they charge in Canadian funds, you can save a bunch that way as well. thats why we go to the morson area. a couple places there are C funds and that helps immensely! i can stay a week up there for about the same price it costs if i do a week in minnesota.. sometimes cheaper! food for thought.. and i agree, i went out recently for a couple day trip, and my hands/back/ arms are killing me! stupid giant musky baits!! The buds that do go up to Eagle and LOTW tell me what they spend and it's a LOT more than I spend buddy boy and a much longer drive too. I bring all my own booze and some food because that stuff is more expensive up in northern MN,we do three 'shore lunches' but we fish straight through and do em for dinner,$400 for half a cabin and $500 for three guided tips is my tab along with what I buy before I leave and no customs.....cough.....cough.....LOL! Yeah the fishing is better but I've still hung a bunch of Skis and each boat has a five gallon bucketful to clean when we're meat huntin',limits of Northern,Walleyes and Crappy happen more often that not and the Perch are comin' back after a few tough years too. I bring my own equip(God know I have it)but the other guys don't because the guides provide it and it's nice to have a guide pull right up on a spot and say "drop em here'......I can booze all I want without worry that way too. I've always brought my own gear too, Bob. not a fan of using someone else's shit unless I have to! I've got enough lures to pay for 2 or 3 more trips up to Canada, lol.....
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Post by galaxytrash on Oct 14, 2020 20:58:56 GMT -6
my wifes a trouper, i drag her out early and often and she never complains... got lucky there i guess. have you ever been on Osbourne Bay on Eagle? was looking at trying there possibly one year.. and i see Wabigoon is not far from there either.. i just started going to Canada in 2015, and all the rocks and reefs still freak me out just a tad... crazy.... I've also heard Lac seul is a low density lake, so not many, but they get big in there though! Def another bucket list trip... and LOTW is awesome, but the area we go to, sabaskong bay area, has been getting pounded the last few trips... thats why i was looking at trying some other places up north... where did you stay on Wabigoon? we stay at buena vista resort in morson for our LOTW trips.. ive also fished st claire a handful of times, got skunked all but once, nabbed a 48 in one of the channels off the main lake because the wind was howling of course... seems musky fishing is all about the weather most of the time... its nuts.. now im ready to go! still have 2 weeks to wait though.... dammit! .....i bought a HUGE net a few years back so if I needed to net something I could do it myself in one shot.
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Post by vadarx on Oct 14, 2020 21:38:37 GMT -6
.....i bought a HUGE net a few years back so if I needed to net something I could do it myself in one shot. 😅 maybe a bit bigger than that.....
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Post by davebrau on Oct 15, 2020 5:52:47 GMT -6
my wifes a trouper, i drag her out early and often and she never complains... got lucky there i guess. have you ever been on Osbourne Bay on Eagle? was looking at trying there possibly one year.. and i see Wabigoon is not far from there either.. i just started going to Canada in 2015, and all the rocks and reefs still freak me out just a tad... crazy.... I've also heard Lac seul is a low density lake, so not many, but they get big in there though! Def another bucket list trip... and LOTW is awesome, but the area we go to, sabaskong bay area, has been getting pounded the last few trips... thats why i was looking at trying some other places up north... where did you stay on Wabigoon? we stay at buena vista resort in morson for our LOTW trips.. ive also fished st claire a handful of times, got skunked all but once, nabbed a 48 in one of the channels off the main lake because the wind was howling of course... seems musky fishing is all about the weather most of the time... its nuts.. now im ready to go! still have 2 weeks to wait though.... dammit! ha! the special lady here doesn't complain either....cuz i just let her sleep in the morning. she is good with going out in the evening, though. just not so much at 6 am..... which is ok with me. i bought a HUGE net a few years back so if I needed to net something I could do it myself in one shot. worked out thus far! she actually enjoys fishing, but she enjoys catching a lot more and thus the concerns as far as the 'ski fishing goes.... as we know, there are times when the catching is just a nice dream.... I don't believe I've ever made it that far south, but I'll be honest, there is a chance of it without me knowing. we have always gone out with the guides up there. my thought process on that has always been if I'm gonna spend the money to go up there and stay for a week, I'm gonna spend a bit more and make sure I'm getting to where the fish are. thus, I've probably not paid as much attention as I should have as far as where we were actually parked at. my focus has alway been casting and cranking. we stayed at Huber's on Wabigoon. no complaints. at Eagle, we've always stayed at Andy Meyer's. however, the last time i was there, one of the guides there (Scott Jaeger) told us when we were out on our last day that he had bought his own place and when I go back up, I'll probably go there cuz Scott is the man. North Shore Lodge is the name of his place, which looks to still being well. a quick gander a both websites tells me that AM is still bringing in the cash, so they probably have nicer accommodations, should you care about that sorta thing.... where did ya fish on St Clair? I've always preferred Anchor Bay, personally. that is where i got my feet wet, so that might be why.... but it is also where I've caught the most fish. launch outta the Selfridge launch and head to Grassy (someday to be known as Brunner, hopefully) Island... indeed, weather plays a huge part for the 'skis. especially on a lake like St Clair. i could go out there and blow on that damn lake and make waves, i swear..... ya she'd prefer to stay in bed, but when we go out in Florida, we are usually on the lake before the sun comes up.. but musky and walleye we go later.. and i hear ya on the net, i'll see if i have any pics of my latest giant net. i had the Kahuna, but that thing took over my boat, so i bought a collapsible one and put the kuhuna bag on it. ya osbourne is far south, just saw some fishing shows on it, looks nice and out of the way, might try that some year.. and i'll def check out those other places. i know Andys is nice, but those places are a little spensive for me.. i drag my boat up there, so i try to do housekeeping whenever possible.. im not exactly sure where we fished on Claire, we have always used guides there since its so massive and just looks like a big bowl, and like you said, can get really rough, really quickly! ...south end i think? both canadian and US waters?? im not really familiar with that lake, i just show up at the launch the guides tell me too! and pay out the ass and get blanked usually..... :/ it seems musky, more so then most fish, are really affected by the weather. always a crap shoot when you plan your trips.. i try to go for 2 weeks because it never fails, i drag a cold front with me where ever i go!! here ya go Galaxy, you can see some of my giant net here! my wife can actually stand in mine. shes tiny.. good to know if she ever goes overboard, ill just scoop her up!
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Post by galaxytrash on Oct 15, 2020 6:05:42 GMT -6
yep. that's a biggun'.
you ever try just dragging that net behind your boat? : )
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Post by davebrau on Oct 15, 2020 7:19:55 GMT -6
yep. that's a biggun'. you ever try just dragging that net behind your boat? : ) ha, nope i have not! but the neighbors always get a kick when they see me loading up my boat for a trip and i drag that behemoth out.. they are like, what the hell are you fishing for??? us musky fisherman are dumb.. stupid fish....
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Post by vadarx on Oct 15, 2020 15:02:40 GMT -6
yeah, I hear on Andy's, Dave. they are pricey. nice place, though. fun fact: in 2013 I (naturally) had my Cup champs gear on most of the trip. one day, in the lodge the new owner says "hey, we just had someone from them here a few weeks ago". that someone, after seeing pictures, was John McDonough.....
as far as St Clair, have you trolled or did someone take ya casting? I know the VAST majority of the guides there will take people trolling. personally, while it certainly saves on wear and tear on the joints, I hate trolling for muskies. kinda takes the fun outta seeing them following your lure up to the boat..... I've never tried the Canadian side. I've never needed to go much further than Anchor Bay, personally. I know the dumping grounds are a good place as well and along the river mouth and the many channel mouths.... pissed at myself for not buying one of ole Bob's maps back in the day. if you could get your hands on a book or two of his regarding St Clair, it would surely help your cause! unfortunately, they are about as rare as hen's teeth and he died a couple years ago, so no more website.... thankfully I've got a few Runners still, though.....
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Post by davebrau on Oct 15, 2020 18:27:04 GMT -6
yeah, I hear on Andy's, Dave. they are pricey. nice place, though. fun fact: in 2013 I (naturally) had my Cup champs gear on most of the trip. one day, in the lodge the new owner says "hey, we just had someone from them here a few weeks ago". that someone, after seeing pictures, was John McDonough..... as far as St Clair, have you trolled or did someone take ya casting? I know the VAST majority of the guides there will take people trolling. personally, while it certainly saves on wear and tear on the joints, I hate trolling for muskies. kinda takes the fun outta seeing them following your lure up to the boat..... I've never tried the Canadian side. I've never needed to go much further than Anchor Bay, personally. I know the dumping grounds are a good place as well and along the river mouth and the many channel mouths.... pissed at myself for not buying one of ole Bob's maps back in the day. if you could get your hands on a book or two of his regarding St Clair, it would surely help your cause! unfortunately, they are about as rare as hen's teeth and he died a couple years ago, so no more website.... thankfully I've got a few Runners still, though..... ya, most of the resorts are costly, especially if you get the american plan.. i've thought of going to Andys to do a fall sucker fishing trip though.. saw a show where they did that and caught a ton of em actually, might be fun
and i have always casted when ive been out with guides or myself for that matter... im like you, trolling isnt any fun and the only times ive tried it have been when it was just too windy to cast, so there really was no other option.. im hoping the weather is decent for our last trip, it can be cold, just no 20-30 MPH winds please!!
and im not familiar with st clair at all, ive been out there 2 or 3 times with guides and thats it. afraid my 165 alumacraft wouldnt be big enough for that lake!
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Post by vadarx on Oct 15, 2020 20:02:20 GMT -6
yeah, I hear on Andy's, Dave. they are pricey. nice place, though. fun fact: in 2013 I (naturally) had my Cup champs gear on most of the trip. one day, in the lodge the new owner says "hey, we just had someone from them here a few weeks ago". that someone, after seeing pictures, was John McDonough..... as far as St Clair, have you trolled or did someone take ya casting? I know the VAST majority of the guides there will take people trolling. personally, while it certainly saves on wear and tear on the joints, I hate trolling for muskies. kinda takes the fun outta seeing them following your lure up to the boat..... I've never tried the Canadian side. I've never needed to go much further than Anchor Bay, personally. I know the dumping grounds are a good place as well and along the river mouth and the many channel mouths.... pissed at myself for not buying one of ole Bob's maps back in the day. if you could get your hands on a book or two of his regarding St Clair, it would surely help your cause! unfortunately, they are about as rare as hen's teeth and he died a couple years ago, so no more website.... thankfully I've got a few Runners still, though..... ya, most of the resorts are costly, especially if you get the american plan.. i've thought of going to Andys to do a fall sucker fishing trip though.. saw a show where they did that and caught a ton of em actually, might be fun
and i have always casted when ive been out with guides or myself for that matter... im like you, trolling isnt any fun and the only times ive tried it have been when it was just too windy to cast, so there really was no other option.. im hoping the weather is decent for our last trip, it can be cold, just no 20-30 MPH winds please!!
and im not familiar with st clair at all, ive been out there 2 or 3 times with guides and thats it. afraid my 165 alumacraft wouldnt be big enough for that lake!
fall sucker fishing, yeah that shit is fun as hell. it is awesome to see them chase it up to the boat, but setting the hook and then holding on is right there with it! first time i was out with a guide up there doing the sucker fishing, he says " OK, when you feel the weight of the fish, yank that thing as hard as you can.... OK wait, you are a bigger guy, so maybe not as hard as ya can, but pretty hard, eh?" lol. the anticipation is the best. get the slack in slowly and yank it.... and then it is, depending on the size of the fish, "holy shitttt!" 😅 having fished a similar way for pike growing up in da UP, I was like "I got this" but the first one.... I was "ok, mayyyybbeeee I don't..." 😂 anyway, if you ever go up there, spend a little extra and make sure they bring em with. we usually cast and the guide will hold the pole in the back, so if ya draw em up to the boat, they might take the sucker instead. I've gone out a couple times and done just the suckers but we've always had better luck casting and having 1 sucker out and then taking turns. I would be interested to know where they took you out there casting on LSC. I have a hard time believing it wasn't Anchor Bay. that is by far the most popular spot. it is usually pretty weedy, so the trollers usually aren't around. I was reading an old article on Musky Bob earlier. he was one of the first guides that took people casting on St Clair (if not the first) and he talked about liking to take people there because he was able to get folks in on the fish that the trolling guides weren't able to. lots of weeds, lots of fish! I'd say your boat would be just fine for that area, just as long as you picked a good day to go. i had a buddy there that let me use his boat back in the day and it wasn't much bigger than yours. just gotta watch the weather, which of course is easier to do when it isn't hours away..... where are you headed on your last trip?
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Post by vadarx on Oct 15, 2020 21:26:47 GMT -6
yep. that's a biggun'. you ever try just dragging that net behind your boat? : ) ha, nope i have not! but the neighbors always get a kick when they see me loading up my boat for a trip and i drag that behemoth out.. they are like, what the hell are you fishing for??? us musky fisherman are dumb.. stupid fish.... lol..... without fail, every year someone else staying at the place in da UP comments about my net. "what the hell is that for?!" I tell em I don't like to miss.....😉
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Post by davebrau on Oct 16, 2020 6:02:07 GMT -6
ya, most of the resorts are costly, especially if you get the american plan.. i've thought of going to Andys to do a fall sucker fishing trip though.. saw a show where they did that and caught a ton of em actually, might be fun
and i have always casted when ive been out with guides or myself for that matter... im like you, trolling isnt any fun and the only times ive tried it have been when it was just too windy to cast, so there really was no other option.. im hoping the weather is decent for our last trip, it can be cold, just no 20-30 MPH winds please!!
and im not familiar with st clair at all, ive been out there 2 or 3 times with guides and thats it. afraid my 165 alumacraft wouldnt be big enough for that lake!
fall sucker fishing, yeah that shit is fun as hell. it is awesome to see them chase it up to the boat, but setting the hook and then holding on is right there with it! first time i was out with a guide up there doing the sucker fishing, he says " OK, when you feel the weight of the fish, yank that thing as hard as you can.... OK wait, you are a bigger guy, so maybe not as hard as ya can, but pretty hard, eh?" lol. the anticipation is the best. get the slack in slowly and yank it.... and then it is, depending on the size of the fish, "holy shitttt!" 😅 having fished a similar way for pike growing up in da UP, I was like "I got this" but the first one.... I was "ok, mayyyybbeeee I don't..." 😂 anyway, if you ever go up there, spend a little extra and make sure they bring em with. we usually cast and the guide will hold the pole in the back, so if ya draw em up to the boat, they might take the sucker instead. I've gone out a couple times and done just the suckers but we've always had better luck casting and having 1 sucker out and then taking turns. I would be interested to know where they took you out there casting on LSC. I have a hard time believing it wasn't Anchor Bay. that is by far the most popular spot. it is usually pretty weedy, so the trollers usually aren't around. I was reading an old article on Musky Bob earlier. he was one of the first guides that took people casting on St Clair (if not the first) and he talked about liking to take people there because he was able to get folks in on the fish that the trolling guides weren't able to. lots of weeds, lots of fish! I'd say your boat would be just fine for that area, just as long as you picked a good day to go. i had a buddy there that let me use his boat back in the day and it wasn't much bigger than yours. just gotta watch the weather, which of course is easier to do when it isn't hours away..... where are you headed on your last trip? ya i figure thats a good way to get the wife her 1st musky as well, its similar to what we do in the spring down in florida. we drag giant shiners around for huge largemouth.. shes a little concerned about the size of the fish though.. and thats what i do, ill put out a sucker and cast, and yep, a couple of times i had a follow and the sucker went off right after.. i was on webster lake a few weeks ago doing just that, and i tried a couple of smaller indiana lakes for the first time as well, Loon and upper long. tiny lakes. had a good follow at loon, then i went to upper long around noon, basically to just check it out, and i popped a 37" 15 minutes into fishing! go figure. so were going to go back there and try, and theres another little lake nearby we may try as well. upper long is only 88 acres! crazy. and they may have, i really have no idea where we were, i was just looking at the map, and i cant remember where we launched.. we def fished the canadian side once last year around this time.. caught one dink. wasnt crazy with our guide, we threw the same 2 baits the whole time... and who is musky Bob? im not familiar with him.. heres the little guy i got on that pond last week...
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Post by galaxytrash on Oct 16, 2020 6:20:12 GMT -6
musky bob. i'm not the greatest fisherman...but i've heard talk of musky bob. he showered but once a year so the story goes....
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Post by hsbob on Oct 16, 2020 9:25:11 GMT -6
yeah, I hear on Andy's, Dave. they are pricey. nice place, though. fun fact: in 2013 I (naturally) had my Cup champs gear on most of the trip. one day, in the lodge the new owner says "hey, we just had someone from them here a few weeks ago". that someone, after seeing pictures, was John McDonough..... as far as St Clair, have you trolled or did someone take ya casting? I know the VAST majority of the guides there will take people trolling. personally, while it certainly saves on wear and tear on the joints, I hate trolling for muskies. kinda takes the fun outta seeing them following your lure up to the boat..... I've never tried the Canadian side. I've never needed to go much further than Anchor Bay, personally. I know the dumping grounds are a good place as well and along the river mouth and the many channel mouths.... pissed at myself for not buying one of ole Bob's maps back in the day. if you could get your hands on a book or two of his regarding St Clair, it would surely help your cause! unfortunately, they are about as rare as hen's teeth and he died a couple years ago, so no more website.... thankfully I've got a few Runners still, though..... ya, most of the resorts are costly, especially if you get the american plan.. i've thought of going to Andys to do a fall sucker fishing trip though.. saw a show where they did that and caught a ton of em actually, might be fun
and i have always casted when ive been out with guides or myself for that matter... im like you, trolling isnt any fun and the only times ive tried it have been when it was just too windy to cast, so there really was no other option.. im hoping the weather is decent for our last trip, it can be cold, just no 20-30 MPH winds please!!
and im not familiar with st clair at all, ive been out there 2 or 3 times with guides and thats it. afraid my 165 alumacraft wouldnt be big enough for that lake!
Different strokes I guess. I personally like feeling of that tight wobble of an 8" grandma or jake I feel @2.5 MPH and my guy on Cass trolled exclusively come mid-late October with great results. More Northerns than Skis most of the time but that can be said for casting too. I drowned my share of suckers and I like a disappearing bobber as much as the next guy but I'd personally rather troll......both work well in the fall.
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Post by davebrau on Oct 16, 2020 9:58:48 GMT -6
ya, most of the resorts are costly, especially if you get the american plan.. i've thought of going to Andys to do a fall sucker fishing trip though.. saw a show where they did that and caught a ton of em actually, might be fun
and i have always casted when ive been out with guides or myself for that matter... im like you, trolling isnt any fun and the only times ive tried it have been when it was just too windy to cast, so there really was no other option.. im hoping the weather is decent for our last trip, it can be cold, just no 20-30 MPH winds please!!
and im not familiar with st clair at all, ive been out there 2 or 3 times with guides and thats it. afraid my 165 alumacraft wouldnt be big enough for that lake!
Different strokes I guess. I personally like feeling of that tight wobble of an 8" grandma or jake I feel @2.5 MPH and my guy on Cass trolled exclusively come mid-late October with great results. More Northerns than Skis most of the time but that can be said for casting too. I drowned my share of suckers and I like a disappearing bobber as much as the next guy but I'd personally rather troll......both work well in the fall. im definitely getting closer to becoming a troller than a caster though Bob! just gets too hard chucking those giant baits all day as i get older and more out of shape.. i just like seeing the fish follow and getting them to go in the 8, thats a rush man.. who do you go out with on Cass? i've known a guy, Kevin Cochran for about 15 years now, good kid, super nice and a great guide...
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Post by hsbob on Oct 16, 2020 11:00:36 GMT -6
Different strokes I guess. I personally like feeling of that tight wobble of an 8" grandma or jake I feel @2.5 MPH and my guy on Cass trolled exclusively come mid-late October with great results. More Northerns than Skis most of the time but that can be said for casting too. I drowned my share of suckers and I like a disappearing bobber as much as the next guy but I'd personally rather troll......both work well in the fall. im definitely getting closer to becoming a troller than a caster though Bob! just gets too hard chucking those giant baits all day as i get older and more out of shape.. i just like seeing the fish follow and getting them to go in the 8, thats a rush man.. who do you go out with on Cass? i've known a guy, Kevin Cochran for about 15 years now, good kid, super nice and a great guide... I've heard great things about Kevin and will use him myself in the future since Brian Jones no longer guides in the area. Brian worked hard for me and I was never 'on the clock' with him,it was usually up to me to cry uncle. The only thing better than a follow hittin' on a figure eight is when the one you DON'T see explodes from under the boat......wet my knickers the first time it happened. A lotta trollers use rod holders and I guess that's easier but I love the feeling of a hit when holing the rod myself,it's also easier to tell when you're fouled.
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Post by vadarx on Oct 16, 2020 12:26:10 GMT -6
fall sucker fishing, yeah that shit is fun as hell. it is awesome to see them chase it up to the boat, but setting the hook and then holding on is right there with it! first time i was out with a guide up there doing the sucker fishing, he says " OK, when you feel the weight of the fish, yank that thing as hard as you can.... OK wait, you are a bigger guy, so maybe not as hard as ya can, but pretty hard, eh?" lol. the anticipation is the best. get the slack in slowly and yank it.... and then it is, depending on the size of the fish, "holy shitttt!" 😅 having fished a similar way for pike growing up in da UP, I was like "I got this" but the first one.... I was "ok, mayyyybbeeee I don't..." 😂 anyway, if you ever go up there, spend a little extra and make sure they bring em with. we usually cast and the guide will hold the pole in the back, so if ya draw em up to the boat, they might take the sucker instead. I've gone out a couple times and done just the suckers but we've always had better luck casting and having 1 sucker out and then taking turns. I would be interested to know where they took you out there casting on LSC. I have a hard time believing it wasn't Anchor Bay. that is by far the most popular spot. it is usually pretty weedy, so the trollers usually aren't around. I was reading an old article on Musky Bob earlier. he was one of the first guides that took people casting on St Clair (if not the first) and he talked about liking to take people there because he was able to get folks in on the fish that the trolling guides weren't able to. lots of weeds, lots of fish! I'd say your boat would be just fine for that area, just as long as you picked a good day to go. i had a buddy there that let me use his boat back in the day and it wasn't much bigger than yours. just gotta watch the weather, which of course is easier to do when it isn't hours away..... where are you headed on your last trip? ya i figure thats a good way to get the wife her 1st musky as well, its similar to what we do in the spring down in florida. we drag giant shiners around for huge largemouth.. shes a little concerned about the size of the fish though.. and thats what i do, ill put out a sucker and cast, and yep, a couple of times i had a follow and the sucker went off right after.. i was on webster lake a few weeks ago doing just that, and i tried a couple of smaller indiana lakes for the first time as well, Loon and upper long. tiny lakes. had a good follow at loon, then i went to upper long around noon, basically to just check it out, and i popped a 37" 15 minutes into fishing! go figure. so were going to go back there and try, and theres another little lake nearby we may try as well. upper long is only 88 acres! crazy. and they may have, i really have no idea where we were, i was just looking at the map, and i cant remember where we launched.. we def fished the canadian side once last year around this time.. caught one dink. wasnt crazy with our guide, we threw the same 2 baits the whole time... and who is musky Bob? im not familiar with him.. heres the little guy i got on that pond last week... View Attachmentthose are some little lakes! hope you guys have some good luck there. yeah, that would get old pretty quick. gotta switch things up after a bit... what were ya throwing? when I used to fish LSC there were 3 main lures I liked to use. Dawgs work well, imo. I've read articles recently (while trying to find some about ole Bob) saying that they work because most everyone is trolling with straight line lures out there, so something that gives more of a variety can get em enticed to bite. I would agree, as i caught a few out there on them. of course, they are heavy as hell....lol. second and third on the list are both care of ole Bob.... first is a 1 oz gold Red-eye. more than likely you will get scoffed at most any other place if you produce one of these, but I swear to ya, they work, especially on LSC. my dad busted one out on our first trip up to Eagle and the guide laughed and was like "ok". we had been seeing some but no takers. he landed about 45 incher on his first cast.... which was funny but also kinda sucked cuz the guide's ego must've been hurt cuz he was kinda of a prick the rest of the day.... that was the first and last time we went out with him. anyway.... last but not least, my favorite lure to use on LSC, specifically Anchor Bay, is the Brunner Runner. these are probably hard to find nowadays (a quick Google search had 1 result). if you head to LSC again, I would ask whomever you go out with about them and if there is an equivalent being made in the area (I'm sure someone is replicating it). i would post a picture of one, but all of my gear is at my folks place, so..... here are the best articles I could find about Bob. he was an old-school guy, didn't advertise. he wrote a bunch of books, a couple of which I wish I had copies of. he was a character, but a really good guy once ya got to know him. he passed away a couple years ago after fishing for 'skis on LSC into his 90s. they started a tournament in his honor in 2019. 1source.basspro.com/news-tips/muskie/4788/muskie-bobwww.google.com/amp/s/daverichey1.wordpress.com/2011/08/10/a-living-muskie-legend-bob-brunner/amp/
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Post by vadarx on Oct 16, 2020 12:30:06 GMT -6
ya, most of the resorts are costly, especially if you get the american plan.. i've thought of going to Andys to do a fall sucker fishing trip though.. saw a show where they did that and caught a ton of em actually, might be fun
and i have always casted when ive been out with guides or myself for that matter... im like you, trolling isnt any fun and the only times ive tried it have been when it was just too windy to cast, so there really was no other option.. im hoping the weather is decent for our last trip, it can be cold, just no 20-30 MPH winds please!!
and im not familiar with st clair at all, ive been out there 2 or 3 times with guides and thats it. afraid my 165 alumacraft wouldnt be big enough for that lake!
Different strokes I guess. I personally like feeling of that tight wobble of an 8" grandma or jake I feel @2.5 MPH and my guy on Cass trolled exclusively come mid-late October with great results. More Northerns than Skis most of the time but that can be said for casting too. I drowned my share of suckers and I like a disappearing bobber as much as the next guy but I'd personally rather troll......both work well in the fall. I am with ya on holding that rod, Bob. screw a pole holder, I wanna know what's going on back there when I am trolling!
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Post by davebrau on Oct 16, 2020 12:52:57 GMT -6
im definitely getting closer to becoming a troller than a caster though Bob! just gets too hard chucking those giant baits all day as i get older and more out of shape.. i just like seeing the fish follow and getting them to go in the 8, thats a rush man.. who do you go out with on Cass? i've known a guy, Kevin Cochran for about 15 years now, good kid, super nice and a great guide... I've heard great things about Kevin and will use him myself in the future since Brian Jones no longer guides in the area. Brian worked hard for me and I was never 'on the clock' with him,it was usually up to me to cry uncle. The only thing better than a follow hittin' on a figure eight is when the one you DON'T see explodes from under the boat......wet my knickers the first time it happened. A lotta trollers use rod holders and I guess that's easier but I love the feeling of a hit when holing the rod myself,it's also easier to tell when you're fouled. yup, i went out with him probably the 1st or 2nd year he started guiding, seems to have them pretty dialed in now.. even though it isnt like it was in the early to mid 2000s, its still good.. i had that happen on our trip up there! not familiar with that lake so i had the boat over a nice cabbage bed and one came outta nowhere from under the boat and scared the bejesus outta me! had more than a few show up right when i was pulling the bait out of the water as well.. dummy! this conversation is giving me the itch! wish i was going this weekend now!!!!
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