T-Billy

Zoom if I gotta go with factory baits, but I prefer the baits I make for the most part.

I'll be trying them out on a chatterbait thursday night. I've been finding muskie really shallow at night lately, so I bought some mag shakee blades, and some heavy wire 6/0 hooks to make some upsized baits. I've been getting lots of follows but not many bites on the bucktails in the dark. I'm hoping to change that ratio with big profile chatterbaits. Hopefully get some BIG bass bites on 'em too.

Coffee, water, sammich, snacks of some sort. I'm normally out there at least 8hrs, and often 10 or more.

Funny you should mention this, my guide buddy and I were discussing this the other day. He texted me this pic. LOL. I've seen them look worse. Teeth aren't the only hazard. Those gill rakers will get ya too.

Yeah, I understood your point, and agree that their girth gets exponentially more impressive as they get longer. I was just making the point that they don't need to be 40" before they get "shoulders on them". I'd say this 30 something qualifies.

I've never caught much out of it. Broadleaf pondweed stays green late into the fall around here, and isolated patches of it can be lights out after everything else has died off.

Ah yes.... There's nothing quite like a nice refreshing cup of BEAVER FEVER!!! ?

That's all I've thrown for several years now and I don't see it changing. It gets bit in all lighting conditions and water clarity. If they'll bite a worm, they'll bite a black one.

Congrats!!! That looks like a TON of fun!!

Awesome morning on the water with my bride. @gimruis nailed it. The big orange T got'r dun this morning. We fished from 6 till 11:30 and went four for four. Every fish that bit went into the net. We had 8 more follows, but it was two fish that followed four times each. They were both acting aggressive, but just wouldn't commit. 33-36-40 for me, and the highlight of the trip, getting to net my wife's 38". I was so happy to see her get one!!! As I mentioned they want the bait moving FAST lately and she just doesn't have the strength to generate as much speed as I can. She had five follows and zero bites last week, but the Lord blessed her with a nice fish this morning.

For sure, but time of year plays a big part too. Those females that have a good amount of egg production AND are stuffed full of schooling baitfish in the late fall through early spring get positively obese. That 48 in my avatar was a March fish just weeks away from spawning. 40#'ish fish, maybe a bit over. State record is only a couple inches longer, but that fish's girth is just absolutely ridiculous. OH state record 50.5" 55.13#.

This hasn't been my experience. The TRD bug has out ptoduced the TRD stick every time I've fished them both.

10-4 @gimruis. Our fish get a TON of pressure, but our densities are much higher than yours for sure. My #1 lake is only a little over 1100 acres and is probably the most popular in the state for muskie. There won't be a parking space left by 7am tomorrow. People drive hours to fish there. Lately speed has been the main factor for getting bit. The cranks I'm throwing are small by muskie standards. I'm burning them just as fast as I can make that reel go round, and the IPT on all those reels is 30" or over. The tendinitis in my elbows is on fire, and my hands and wrists are thrashed, but I'm catching more than anyone I've talked to other than my guide buddy. I'm outcatching those guys simply by outworking them, by a wide margin in most cases.

Hmmm... Could be. I'll be sporting the T tomorrow. ? We are blessed here in my area as far as muskie fishing goes. Five lakes within an hour of me that have them. My favorite lake is only 15min from my house. They don't successfully spawn in most of our reservoirs so the ONDR stocks them. The last survey I saw, my favorite lake has a population density of about one per acre. The bay I've been spending most of my time in lately has about 20 acres of weeds in the back. I haven't been seeing many big's but the 30 somethings are really stacked up in the deeper milfoil and coontail. Bigger fish will move in as the water cools. I was just looking through my pics. I'm currently at 16 over 30" on the year, and the fishing's only gonna get better from now till iceover. Fingers crossed for an epic fall.

Roger that. They get air smallmouth can only dream about. I had a 45" do a backflip last fall, then come right back up and tail walk like a tarpon. It gets real crazy when they go ballistic like that on a foot and a half of line after biting on the 8. It was a much tougher bite today. I caught this nice thick 36" on a bucktail early on. I lost another about the same size that bit a Llungen .22 Short crank a little bit later while reaching for the net. It's hard to stay tight on em and get that big net ready at the same time. Had five other follows, but they were back to bolting when they saw the boat. Wouldn't have anything to do with following into the 8. Water's really clear. I could see bare spots on the bottom in 12'. Gonna get the wife out again tomorrow morning. Hopefully they're in a more cooperative mood.

Ark Invoker Pro 7'4" XH F is the best all around heavy cover rod I've ever used. Plenty of power for all but the heaviest of cover, light, very sensitive for a rod of it's power, and well balanced. I have a couple of 'em, and pretty much always have at least one on the deck.

LOL. When I set the hook on that 34", the first thing it did was launch into a 5' high backflip, then three more jumps. Three of the five hooked today were on the 8. Some big time fun.

What a fun morning!!! 34-35-38 in the net. Lost a mid 30's while trying to net it, and had a 40ish come off just a few seconds after I hooked it in the 8. Had another dozen or so follows. Water temps are down a couple degrees, with some cooler weather on the way. Fish are really starting to move back into the bays. I've found a couple of spots where they're stacked up in milfoil and coontail in 10'-13' of water. I've been burning a Llungen Lures "Chad Shad" over the tops of this stuff. My guide buddy (who designed this crank) says this pattern is just getting started and will get hotter, and hold up clear through October. My fall bass numbers are going to suffer greatly. LOL. These slimers are highly addictive, and may well drive me to the poor house. I'll be slime covered, with aching elbows, wrists and hands, and grinning from ear to ear when I get there. Chad Shad in "Tiffany" color pattern. I like it, and the fish seem to as well. It's natural looking, but with all the glitter in it, it throws a ton of flash in the sunshine.

My neighbor lady saw me in my crocs with socks and told me that officially makes me an old man. LOL.

Get some of these Berkley Fusion 19 weedless wacky hooks and throw those worms anywhere you want. I like the 1/0 size. The fluoro weedguard is very effective and durable.

Atta boy!!! Congrats on an epic day!!! What's that big purple wake bait? I'm finding a bunch of muskie super shallow at night, that looks like something they might like. Nevermind!!! Lol.

Yep. Makes a BIG difference in reducing twist and wind knots. Also, if it's a big ol tangle of a wind knot, it's toast, just cut it off. With braid, if it's just a loop that's tight at the base, grab the line on either side of the loop and pull hard. It'll often come out, and the line is still good to go. I only replace braid when it gets too low on the spool. Fading is part of the deal with most braids. It's still good to go. In my local waters it's actually less visible once it fades to a light green. Not that the fish care.

I've thought of this before Katie. Your biggest asset in accessing those big beautiful bog bass is also your biggest liabilty. That light canoe is the only way you can access those fish, but it really limits the amount of force you can put into a hookset, and also the amount of pressure you can apply to winch em out of the jungle. Kind of a catch 22. You catch a ton of quality fish, so my advice is just keep doing what you're doing.

@Big_Easy_Bassin, I didn't care for the B-Hittay for chatterbaits either. I like it ok for lipless, but even there, I prefer the 7' grinder. The B-Hit is my least favorite in the Tharp lineup, and I have most of them. The H Invoker is quite a bit stouter while still having a soft tip. I use it for all my single hook moving baits.

Well... That's a bird dog not a wabbit dog silly. What do you expect?