T-Billy

Tammy whooped me again, for the third time in four trips. I don't know how much more my ego can take!!! I may need counseling. 😂 We got out for four hours after I got off work today. We caught three. 40.25" and a 30.25" for her, 35.5" for me. We also moved another six, including a heavy mid 40's. Water's down to 71 and things are starting to fall into place up in the creeks. Some quality fish starting to show up shallow. @A-Jay, Life's a b**ch and then you get the net. LMAO!!!

You need to DO MORE MUSKIE FISHING!!! 😉

Oops, somehow I managed to get my text inserted into the quote. I have no idea how to fix it without retyping everything. So...

Heck yeah, @A-Jay!!! Gotta love those FAT pre-spawn four footers!!!

@gimruis, the 8 is where they matter most IMO. With a 9.5' I can make nice wide 8's while standing straight up, with the rod butt tucked under my arm. No contortions required, and I'm in a position where I have lots of leverage on the hookset. As a side note: I'm very happy with my Daiwa Prorex rods. They're a lot of rod for the $$$. They're a bit overrated power wise though. I'd recommend buying one power up from what you think you need. While I'm on the gear subject, the Piscifun Alijos 400 is an unbelievable reel for the $$$. Every bit as smooth as my Tranx and Lexa's for a LOT less money. Other than the graphite palming side plate, it's absolutely on par. I have the better part of the season on a couple now with zero issues. In fact the only thing I like about the Tranx better is it's size, and that's only when throwing smaller baits. Both my Tranx clutches like to engage occasionally when casting, and they have the worst line lay of the three reels. I don't see any more of them in my future. The Alijos is pretty much I identical in size to the Lexa.

I prefer 9' - 9.5' rods, they give me the ability to make big 8's without doing gymnastics. 400 series reels. I'm 55 and haven't seriously worked out in 15 years or so. Musky fishing isn't easy, but it ain't two a days in the August sun either. The biggest toll is on the wrists and elbows IMO. 😉

Thanks for the update Andy. Happy to hear Lynn is continuing to improve. The prayers continue...

Nice!!! I'm in the same situation. I'm 1/4" behind ya. Those 50's are HARD to come by in our lakes, but a few get caught every year.

X2

Yup, I went and caught a bad case of Musky Fever. There is no cure, and the Muskie Gorilla has ravaged my bank account to an extent the bait monkey could only dream of. 😂 On the upside, I put my 60th of the year, over 30" in the net yesterday, and some of the best fishing of the year is right around the corner!!! Biggest of the year so far is this 46.5" caught under the August full moon.

I took a skunking yesterday. I had ten follows, two of them nipped at the bait in the 8, but didn't hook up. A bit of rain and low cloud cover this morning helped their mood a bit. I caught two ( 33" and 34.5"), lost another about the same size, and had three more follows. September's been tough, I'm happy to have this pair of little slimers.

Hope you feel better soon buddy.

Today is the last day of our most recent heat wave. Lots of 50's - 70's in the extended forecast to get water temps heading back in the right direction. Looking forward to the coming shallow bite, to be followed by FAT fish gorging themselves on the giant shad schools of November.

Don't sweat it, you'll do fine. Lock that drag down, keep your casts/pitches fairly short, set the hook vertically and winch away. Some days they'll be in those openings, or come to them, as you've experienced, others they'll be buried up in the thick stuff in a negative or neutral mood. You can get a reaction bite from those fish by dropping that bait right in their face.

I hear ya, and I think we all feel that way to some extent. It's why I fish the way I do. I'm really only interested in chasing big bass at this point, and once I got good at fishing the really gnarly cover, my average size went up considerably, while still catching good numbers. It's also a pattern that holds up from mid 40's in the spring until 38-39 degrees in the late fall. In the end, it's all about having fun and catching 'em the way you wanna catch 'em. After all, we ain't on the pro tour with a big paycheck on the line. 😉

A flipping rig, aka pegged T-rig, with a snelled straight shank flipping hook will fish through that stuff clean. A beaver style bait would be my first pick. 3/8 or 1/2 oz tungsten weight should work fine.

Flipp'n and pitch'n paradise right there.

I never thought about it, but I didn't see them here either, and my neighbor and I both have maples in our back yards. It's been a crazy year weather wise for sure. Super mild winter, historic April flooding then historic summer drought.

Cake and pie are my favorite ways to eat vegetables and fruits. 😋 Honestly though, I'm not a picky eater, and like a lot of different vegetables. Like most, I don't eat enough of them though.

What struck me as odd, is it's mostly the maples along the shore that are turning. The trees on the hills are mostly green. Yesterday I saw a large corn field already cut. That's normally a November or December thing around here. That poor farmer lost his whole crop. There'll be a shortage of hay this winter too, because of lack of growth. Tough year to be a farmer in Ohio.

It happens. When it happens to me, they get released to the grease. 😋

I've been called worse, and it's better than Musky-Billy. That makes it sound like I may have personal hygiene issues. 🤣

Nice work A-Jay. I've had to replace a couple bags on smaller nets over the years do to that same situation.

Great fish @A-Jay!!! Congratulations!!!

I've never seen maples turning this early before, but we are in the midst of a drought with much of the state ranked in severe to exceptional drought status. Many of our farmers are having a rough time of it this year, particularly in the SE part of the state.