T-Billy

Well there ya go @gimruis, all ya gotta do is whack a giant buck on opening day, then you can muskie fish. ?

I feel for ya. Some states have some silly fishing regulations. Get out there and throw an A-rig with some 4.8 Keitech Fat's on it if you get a chance this fall once the water gets into the low 50's, all the way down to high 30's. Ya might just experience the best muskie fishing you ever have. It's easy fishing compared to blades and cranks too. Just find some big baitfish schools around structure and SLOW roll that thing.

Early December fish. 40 degree air, 40 degree water. Happy Hillbilly. Late fall is monster season. EARLY spring is also monster season.

Fluoro being invisible underwater is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on bass fisherman. It being low stretch comes in second.

Weather, more elbow room on the water, and a higher potential for a BIG bite.

Congratulations!!!

Beaver type bait on a flippin rig is #1 for me in that situation. Heard all my life that fish avoid dead grass. Figured out a couple years ago that's a load of bull.

Got on 'em pretty early this morning with three aggressive follows on a crank shortly after daylight. They were following close and snapping at it , but just wouldn't commit. Moved to some shallower milfoil and managed these two on #8 blades. First fish came about 08:30, second around 09:30, then a drought until I called it around 13:00. Both pretty thick fish for this time of year. 36" and 39". Back to the grind for the next five days. Forecast is looking good though. Water might be below 70 next trip. Saw some small shad schools today. They'll be putting the feedbags on soon.

Brothers from other mothers? ? ? My wife showed my grandkids a pic of me from my high school yearbook, now they want me to grow a mullet again. ? ZERO chance of that happening.

Straight 30# or 50# Sufix 832.

Words to live by.

I wouldn't normally bother with taking a pic of a 28", but after cranking for nearly 9hrs for THIS bite... oh it's getting it's picture taken, AND posted!!! LOL. Bout a half hour later I caught this 36". Meanest muskie I've ever caught. They'll usually shake their head to pull away from you when your trying to slip your fingers under their gill plate to pick 'em up. This fish was actually snapping at my hand while I was trying to get a handle on her. Took her 5 or 6 tries, but she got me. She's so mean, I named her Marci, after my sister. ?

LOL. I bow only to Jesus. That said, I'd go broke fast fishing for money against those other three you mentioned.

I keep you and Dee on my prayer list as well Hammer. God bless y'all.

Your dad and my maternal Grandpa were a lot alike. Your description of your dad fits my gramps to a T. Gramps was a radio man in a B-24 in WW2. They hunted german subs over the English channel. He's been gone 35 years, and I still miss him something terrible. He was the greatest role model in my life. I was very blessed to have him, and a couple great uncles who took an interest in me in my life. My dad was an alchoholic bum.

If there are deep weeds available, burning a crank through and over them has been the ticket here in OH for the past month. Coontail and milfoil in 10-14 feet is where I've been finding them. Water's in the mid 70's here, and they want it moving FAST. The Llungen .22 Short has been the allstar for me, with a double 8 bucktail getting honorable mention. This pattern has put 25 fish between 30" and 46" in the net since early August.

Speed and/or direction changes, something all your examples have in common.

Weightless T-rigged flukes and senkos skip REALLY well and will come back out through darn near anything. They also get bit by all sizes of fish and don't cost much if you do have to break/cut them off here and there. ?

Works well much of the time.

Me either, and I've fished alot of 'em over the years, especially at night.

Throw 'em in the dark. Single best nighttime bait EVER!!!

Yeah. Not cheap, but worth every penny. https://wbmuskyshop.com/products/rs-nets-muskie-mag-net-shipping-included It was a toss up between the Muskie Mag and the Clam Colossus. https://www.muskyshop.com/products/nets-clam-colossus-large-musky I went with the RS because it's handmade here in OH, and they're a sponsor of my guide buddy. I don't think you can go wrong with either net. Maina swears by the Colossus. Big boatside livewells that make dealing with those big slimers SOO... much easier than a smaller hoop net. Great for taking care of the fish too. They get a chance to chill out and recover while setting up the phone for a quick pic. They're only out of the water maybe 30sec.

Roger that. There's some lows in the 40's forecast this week and next.

It dawned on me yesterday, that it was this week last year that I started catching muskie on my favorite shallow point while night bass fishing. So... I got there about an hour before daylight to check it out. There were lots of fish porpoising both shallow and just off the break. I fished the whole point with a bucktail with nary a follow, made the switch to an 8" Jointed Believer and put two in the boat in about 15min. 33" and 31". This spot should continue to hold fish until turnover, so I left to do a little scouting for next week. First couple spots didn't pan out, but I found a couple more later in the morning with deep milfoil and coontail. Both are short, deep cuts off the main lake basin where they can quickly move shallow to deep. Again, both of these spots should be consistent producers until turnover, at which point it'll become all about the Bama Rig. I'm starting to get a fall milk run figgered out for these critters. 31" and 36" No bigs but we have a pretty major cool off forcast, starting tomorrow. The bigger fish should start moving up in the next couple weeks. Fingers crossed for my most epic fall of fishing yet!!!