I Want To Catch A Muskie

[Joe_w1234]

*TL;DR at the bottom*

 

Hey everyone

Long story short I have a smallmouth river I camped at just a few days ago. Good smallmouth, and there are also lots of muskie in there. I want to catch one. I’ve got a few spots where I know there’s at least 4 muskie, and some big ones too. 

 

I will be wading with two others. I think I might be the only one who’s actually gonna target muskie in those spots that we know are muskie territory. They will be available to help out with landing the fish, since we do NOT have a net. I know this complicates things. We should be able to land the muskie using fish grippers right? One person grabs him with the grippers, then the one who caught the muskie will use pliers to unhook him. Then the angler grabs him the “right” way and lifts him up for the third person to take pictures. Then release. Does this sound best? The fish will be sitting in the water almost the whole time. Hopefully the muskie are nice and tired out and don’t give me too much trouble during this. Alternatively I could drag the fish onto a muddy/sandy bank but that doesn’t really sound good to me. We’re trying to minimize our chances of getting injured, especially since my older brother got his finger cut decently bad by a smaller one he caught by accident who wouldn’t stop thrashing when we were there the other day. And we’re 2 hours from the closest hospital so getting injured would be a bad idea. Also I’ll buy some 11 inch pliers to use. Should gloves be used? 

 

How exactly do you hold a muskie? I am 99% sure I know how to hold it, but 60% confident in my ability to do it correctly. 

 

Then there’s the gear question. I’m planning on dropping like 60 bucks at BPS to get some muskie baits and a leader. I’ll put those on my 7’2 heavy frog rod, which has 80 pound braid on it. Two questions here: what lures? I’m thinking I’ll just get two brown or orange spinners to look like a smallmouth. And what kind of leader? I’ve heard of using steel leaders or just super heavy fluorocarbon. 

 

Another thing I thought of: I’m worried about getting all the line peeled off my reel. It’s 80 pound braid, and since it’s so thick, there’s not a ton of it on there. (My reel is a regular SLX) I think I’ll need to chase the fish if it’s big? Anything else I need to know about fighting them?

 

As far as holding them for pictures, I’m planning on just the regular you see online, holding them horizontally by the belly and the chin. Then also a cool angle holding it by the tail and the belly right above the water with his head pointing towards the camera so you can see the teeth. That angle will look especially cool since I’m standing in the water with it. 

 

Any other tips about staying safe, or just in general about muskie fishing? Sorry this post is so long, I’ll add a TL;DR at the bottom. I think I know the answers to most of these questions, but I want to make sure I’m doing this right and staying safe, and hopefully you agree it’s a good decision to check myself here. 

 

TL;DR: I don’t know s*** about muskie fishing and want to catch them in a river. 

[Further North]

A few things, but I'll start with the most important:

Looking at where you live, I'm guessing that you're talking about Illinois, southern, or possibly northern Wisconsin.

Water temps right now are too warm, generally, to focus on musky right now.  Anything over about 75° and you're risking the fish...the bigger the fish, the higher the risk.

IMO, fishing for musky without a musky net is an exercise in frustration.  Been there, done that, and it just doesn't end well, for you, or the fish.  Please avoid dragging the fish to a bank. 

You absolutely need three things:

Jaw spreaders (big ones, I recommend these: https://www.muskyfool.com/toolsaccessories/p/outtooljawspreader )

Something to cut hooks with.  I use Knipex 8" bolt cutters.  ( https://www.menards.com/main/tools/hand-tools/shears-snips-bolt-cutters/knipex-cobolt-reg-8-bolt-cutter-with-notch/7131200sba/p-1444437030809-c-1550852385007.htm?tid=2125411723933154996&ipos=16 ) Nothing else comes close, but there are cheaper options.  Cheap ones from Harbor Freight will work, but you need them, period.

Loooooong needle nose pliers.  8" won't do it, unless you want your new nickname to be "Lefty".  I use these: https://www.menards.com/main/tools/hand-tools/pliers-plier-sets/masterforce-reg-15-triple-joint-needle-nose-pliers/68103/p-1503642864338-c-9156.htm?tid=6135679925076076382&ipos=15 .  This is a 54" musky a friend caught.  Imagine trying to dig a burried hook out of that mouth with 8" long pliers...



I'll leave lures to others, other than to say I've caught more musky on 7" Smokin' Roosters, #5 Mepps, and 1 1/8" Doctor Spoons than on anything else.  I also throw flies at them, but that's a whole 'nother subject.

You're not going to get spooled.  Musky don't run, or fight particularly hard (though the first few minutes, and the eat, are gonna be a lot of thrashing around, and big one is going to test you.

There are videos for holding them, watch them until you are confident.  anything more than 30 seconds out of the water, after a fight, is bad.  If the water is warm, it'll kill the fish more often than not, even if it swims away.

80# braid is fine, but you absolutely need a leader.  Use wire.  I tie mine into my main line using tieable wire (AFW Surflon is good, but there are others) with an FG, or an Alberto knot.  Much better than all the altenatives...smaller, lest complicated, and they hold great.  I tie a swivel clip (I use Mustad Fastach) into the business end with a Perfection loop.  I have more than one rod where this set up is well into its 2nd season, and fish for muskies and pike a lot...multiple days a week, usually.

You didn't talk about your rod other than calling it a "heavy frog rod" but medium heavy and up is fine...again, the fight, if your geared up right, isn't long, and if your line and leader are solid, they won't break.  Do not, under any circumstances, "high stick" your rod.  Keep your hands on the cork...a 20# musky will snap your rod like a match stick if you reach up and try to lever it in above the cork.

To refresh: Unless you're going north of me a long way (I live in NW WI) odds are good the water is too warm right now.  Let it get below 75° or so.  And get a net...it's worth it.  I use a 40" x 44" Frabil folding net, and keep one in each boat.  There's less expensive options, consider looking on Facebook Marketplace...I know of one that just sold for less than $100.

I hope that all helps.

Post here, or PM if you have more questions.
 

BTW: River muskies are the best.  Lake muskies can be bigger, but river fish are stronger, and way less pressured.

You are, if you're wondering, starting out exactly the right way: asking a lot of questions, and the right questions.

 

[Scott F]

If your goal is to just catch a musky, not necessarily a trophy size, DON’T buy any big musky lures. You can increase your odds of getting one by using smaller baits. Smaller lures will get more bites and you won’t need heavy gear. Spinners, floating Rapalas, and most bass baits will get them. You don’t need 80lb test, but sharp hooks and wire leaders are required. As was already said, jaw spreaders, and big pliers along with wire cutters that are big enough to cut the hooks you use will reduce the length of time you need to release the fish giving him a better chance to survive. If you have no experience handling pike or muskies, get a net. If you happen to get one, holding it by the jaw is the usual way, just be sure you don’t put your fingers too far into the gills. The gill rakers are like razors and will shred your finger tips. 

[Further North]

@Scott F is spot on, WRT to catching smaller muskies.  I caught three yesterday, all under 30" and had a blast.  The smaller fish are better fighters, and more likely to take to the air

...I forgot something:  I hate fish grippers, particularly for big fish.  They are, IMO, an injury waiting to happen.

Here's a video from Luke Swanson on handling musky.
 

 

[Joe_w1234]

1 hour ago, Further North said:

Water temps right now are too warm, generally, to focus on musky right now.  Anything over about 75° and you're risking the fish...the bigger the fish, the higher the risk.

 

Thanks a ton to everyone who replied already!

 

The river isn't that big, so we're not expecting to run into many fish over 40 inches. And as @Scott F said, I'm not aiming for a giant, mainly just to catch some. I don't know the exact water temps, but I think it's mid-70s.

 

We do have a smaller net that we were able to fit a 25 inches into without that much difficulty, but anything over 30 would be hard. I don't really want to drop a hundred bucks on getting a musky net that I'm barely going to use. So you think my last option is to just grab them by the back of the head/grab their jaw?

 

Question about the jaw spreaders: might big spreaders break the jaw of a smaller fish? 

Do I seriously need wire cutters? They're kinda expensive and I think the fish are small enough that we won't need them.

 

Thanks again to you both, I really appreciate it!

[jimmyjoe]

35 minutes ago, Sweet Tater Pie said:

Do I seriously need wire cutters? They're kinda expensive and I think the fish are small enough that we won't need them.

 

   They're not just for the fish. They're primarily for you. ?      jj

[Scott F]

Muskies are not common. Needlessly killing one can be avoided by having the proper gear. If you don’t want to get what is needed to insure both you and the fish stay healthy, either go with someone who has the right stuff or don’t fish for them. I understand wanting to experience what catching is like, but honestly, it’s not worth killing the fish just so you can say you caught one. 

[Deephaven]

The other reason to not buy true Muskie baits is that your frog rod won't have enough power to get the hooks to set into their jaw.  You need WAY more power than a bass rod to throw a true Muskie bait.  Think of a flipping hook on monster steroids and trying to get it to dig into a bone.  Muskies have beefy jaws and landing one safely requires a good hookset.

 

The only way to land one without a net is to land it on shore.  I've had to do that in a canoe before, but I was not targeting them when that happened.

 

As others have said, just upsize your bass presentation and see how it goes.  I've caught a lot of Muskies on bass jigs, although none over 45".  Sounds like you aren't in a spot where they will be much bigger anyways so the classic techniques for trophies you should avoid.

[gim]

53 minutes ago, Deephaven said:

As others have said, just upsize your bass presentation and see how it goes. 

 

You may honestly have a better chance of running into a smaller one by accident while you're bass fishing than using bigger specific muskie gear and actually targeting them.  When I target tiger muskies, I primarily use beefed up bass tackle and gear.  Pure strain muskie gear is over kill IMO as most of the hybrids are in the 25-35 inch range.

 

Even when I catch a 33 inch tiger muskie I use a muskie net.  Its just so much safer for both the fish and the handler.  If you don't have a muskie net, a hook-proof glove would be beneficial.  Remove the hooks as quickly as possible, take your photo, and release it quickly.  30 seconds or less is ideal especially this time of year.

 

As @Scott F mentioned too, they are not very common.  So don't go in there expecting to catch one in a short period of time.  They are a difficult fish to catch.  There are often short feeding windows and that is the only time you might get one to bite.  You could fish for days on end and not even see one.

[Randy Price]

I've been a musky fisherman for over 20 years.  I caught my largest musky bass fishing with a #3 Mepps with a silver blade and black skirt on 8# Berkley Nanofil line, no leader, using a 68MXF SC Avid rod and a 2500 Shimano Stradic.  

[Joe_w1234]

9 hours ago, jimmyjoe said:

 

   They're not just for the fish. They're primarily for you. ?      jj

 

I think this is where @Scott F was going as well, with my not wanting to spend money on wire cutters. I guess I'm just oblivious to why you need them. When would you want to cut the hook instead of just removing it with pliers? 

 

2 hours ago, Scott F said:

Muskies are not common. Needlessly killing one can be avoided by having the proper gear. If you don’t want to get what is needed to insure both you and the fish stay healthy, either go with someone who has the right stuff or don’t fish for them. I understand wanting to experience what catching is like, but honestly, it’s not worth killing the fish just so you can say you caught one. 

 

How would I kill the fish by catching it? I guess I just don't really understand this part. I get how fighting a giant 50 incher for such a long time that he's completely exhausted, then holding him out of the water for some minutes would kill it. But what about catching a 30 incher, unhooking it, and releasing it? I'm not trying to say I wouldn't kill a fish, or to deny anything you said, just trying to learn.

 

I do have a net, it can at least help with landing a bigger one whose whole body wouldn't fit inside. A 35 incher I could fit most of his body in the net, then have his tail hanging out, at least until I get a grip on him. That way I'm not dragging him anywhere on land.

 

43 minutes ago, Deephaven said:

As others have said, just upsize your bass presentation and see how it goes.  I've caught a lot of Muskies on bass jigs, although none over 45".  Sounds like you aren't in a spot where they will be much bigger anyways so the classic techniques for trophies you should avoid.

 

5 minutes ago, gimruis said:

 

You may honestly have a better chance of running into a smaller one by accident while you're bass fishing than using bigger specific muskie gear and actually targeting them.  When I target tiger muskies, I primarily use beefed up bass tackle and gear.  Pure strain muskie gear is over kill IMO as most of the hybrids are in the 25-35 inch range.

 

Even when I catch a 33 inch tiger muskie I use a muskie net.  Its just so much safer for both the fish and the handler.  If you don't have a muskie net, a hook-proof glove would be beneficial.  Remove the hooks as quickly as possible, take your photo, and release it quickly.  30 seconds or less is ideal especially this time of year.

 

What do you two think? Should I just get a smaller musky spinner to use? I'm not worried about getting them to eat, since they've never seen lures before, and 3 of them ate my brother's TUBE he was throwing. If they ate a tube, I'm sure they'll eat something actually made for them. 

 

Thanks everyone for replying, I appreciate all the help and advice.

[gim]

6 minutes ago, Sweet Tater Pie said:

What do you two think? Should I just get a smaller musky spinner to use? I'm not worried about getting them to eat, since they've never seen lures before, and 3 of them ate my brother's TUBE he was throwing. If they ate a tube, I'm sure they'll eat something actually made for them. 

A faster moving lure like an inline buck tail spinner or a spinner bait could certainly work.  I would use a leader though for sure.  Let us now how it goes and if you catch one post a photo.

[Scott F]

32 minutes ago, Sweet Tater Pie said:

 

I think this is where @Scott F was going as well, with my not wanting to spend money on wire cutters. I guess I'm just oblivious to why you need them. When would you want to cut the hook instead of just removing it with pliers? 

How would I kill the fish by catching it? I guess I just don't really understand this part. I get how fighting a giant 50 incher for such a long time that he's completely exhausted, then holding him out of the water for some minutes would kill it. But what about catching a 30 incher, unhooking it, and releasing it? I'm not trying to say I wouldn't kill a fish, or to deny anything you said, just trying to learn.

I do have a net, it can at least help with landing a bigger one whose whole body wouldn't fit inside. A 35 incher I could fit most of his body in the net, then have his tail hanging out, at least until I get a grip on him. That way I'm not dragging him anywhere on land.

What do you two think? Should I just get a smaller musky spinner to use? I'm not worried about getting them to eat, since they've never seen lures before, and 3 of them ate my brother's TUBE he was throwing. If they ate a tube, I'm sure they'll eat something actually made for them. 

Thanks everyone for replying, I appreciate all the help and advice.

One of the issues with small lures (and even big ones)and big fish is that they can easily take an entire crank bait into their mouth sideways. It can be tough getting the lure back even with pliers and a jaw spreader. Most dedicated musky guys just cut the hooks instead of spending time trying to get the hooks out. As was said earlier, in the warmer water, it doesn’t take much more than just the fight to wear the fish out to exhaustion and death. The more time you spend removing lures and taking photos the bigger the chance of killing the fish.  Another thing about muskies (and why guys are fanatics about them) is that they are just crazy. You could get one that doesn’t fight at all until you get him in the net. Then they go ballistic. A net that won’t even hold the entire fish could be a problem. They won’t lay quietly in the net while you work on them and can also go nuts while you try and hold them up for a picture. The point is, you need to be prepared. Inexperienced musky anglers often get hurt or hurt the fish they caught. One more thing, be sure you have a first aid kit!

[Further North]

12 hours ago, Sweet Tater Pie said:

 

Thanks a ton to everyone who replied already!

 

The river isn't that big, so we're not expecting to run into many fish over 40 inches. And as @Scott F said, I'm not aiming for a giant, mainly just to catch some. I don't know the exact water temps, but I think it's mid-70s.

 

We do have a smaller net that we were able to fit a 25 inches into without that much difficulty, but anything over 30 would be hard. I don't really want to drop a hundred bucks on getting a musky net that I'm barely going to use. So you think my last option is to just grab them by the back of the head/grab their jaw?

 

Question about the jaw spreaders: might big spreaders break the jaw of a smaller fish? 

Do I seriously need wire cutters? They're kinda expensive and I think the fish are small enough that we won't need them.

 

Thanks again to you both, I really appreciate it!

I fish several small rivers that routinely produce fish well over 40"...size of water is not connected to size of fish.

...Please get a net...you're not going to be able to handle an even slightly "green" musky by grabbing it...so you'll have to exhaust it...which'll pretty much kill it in these temps.

Jaw spreaders will be fine, the springs aren't strong enough to break jaws unless used improperly.  Jaw spreaders are in play not based on the size of the fish, but because Esox have a tendency to clamp down, and you can't just reach in there with your other hand and spread the mouth...

...and yes on the cutters.  Like I mentioned, you can get a cheaper set at Menards, Harbor Frieght, or even at your local hardware store.

1 hour ago, Randy Price said:

I've been a musky fisherman for over 20 years.  I caught my largest musky bass fishing with a #3 Mepps with a silver blade and black skirt on 8# Berkley Nanofil line, no leader, using a 68MXF SC Avid rod and a 2500 Shimano Stradic.  

I"ve had that happen too.

I look at those occurrences as gifts from the fishing gods, not something I want to employ as a targeted tactic.

This was an early season 42", on a 7" fly on an 8 wt. fly rod...there was a leader, because I run leaders on all my subsurface fly rigs, but I wasn't gunning for a 40"+ musky...

1 hour ago, Sweet Tater Pie said:

I think this is where @Scott F was going as well, with my not wanting to spend money on wire cutters. I guess I'm just oblivious to why you need them. When would you want to cut the hook instead of just removing it with pliers? 

Because there are times when you won't be able to get the hook out without tearing the fish up.

One more hint: Pinch the barbs on your hooks shut.   They come out a lot easier, and do virtually nothing for keeping a fish on the line if you keep pressure on.

[Further North]

1 hour ago, Sweet Tater Pie said:

How would I kill the fish by catching it? I guess I just don't really understand this part. I get how fighting a giant 50 incher for such a long time that he's completely exhausted, then holding him out of the water for some minutes would kill it. But what about catching a 30 incher, unhooking it, and releasing it? I'm not trying to say I wouldn't kill a fish, or to deny anything you said, just trying to learn.

Because, as I noted last night, water temps where you're fishing are likely too high.  Musky are not very temperature tolerant when stressed, and going after them with the goal of tiring them to the point where they can be handled rather than netting them increases the likelihood of exhausting them significantly.

[jimmyjoe]

1 hour ago, Sweet Tater Pie said:

I guess I'm just oblivious to why you need them. When would you want to cut the hook instead of just removing it with pliers?

 

   Because sometimes ...... just sometimes ...... things happen with larger hooks and larger fish that you thought would never happen.

 

  

 

   ..... and for your sake, I hope it never does.  ?     jj

[Further North]

1 hour ago, Sweet Tater Pie said:

What do you two think? Should I just get a smaller musky spinner to use? I'm not worried about getting them to eat, since they've never seen lures before, and 3 of them ate my brother's TUBE he was throwing. If they ate a tube, I'm sure they'll eat something actually made for them. 

 

Thanks everyone for replying, I appreciate all the help and advice.

As I mentioned last night, I've caught more musky on #5 Mepps, Strike King Smokin' Roosters and 1 1/8 ounce Doctor Spoons than any "musky" bait.  Lots of them on 6" - 8" flies, too, as opposed the 12" flies most folks think of as "musky flies".

3 minutes ago, jimmyjoe said:

 

   Because sometimes ...... just sometimes ...... things happen with larger hooks and larger fish that you thought would never happen.

 

  

 

Been there...

Had a strong gust of wind shove a fly off line last month, drove a 4/0 hook to the bend of the hook into the meat of my hand just below the thumb.

Since the barbs were pinched, I just pulled it out and went back to fishing.  It hurt a bit, and a bruise showed up later, but that woulda been a trip to a hospital if there'd been a barb on it...it was straight down into my hand...

58 minutes ago, Scott F said:

One of the issues with small lures (and even big ones)and big fish is that they can easily take an entire crank bait into their mouth sideways. It can be tough getting the lure back even with pliers and a jaw spreader. Most dedicated musky guys just cut the hooks instead of spending time trying to get the hooks out. As was said earlier, in the warmer water, it doesn’t take much more than just the fight to wear the fish out to exhaustion and death. The more time you spend removing lures and taking photos the bigger the chance of killing the fish.  Another thing about muskies (and why guys are fanatics about them) is that they are just crazy. You could get one that doesn’t fight at all until you get him in the net. Then they go ballistic. A net that won’t even hold the entire fish could be a problem. They won’t lay quietly in the net while you work on them and can also go nuts while you try and hold them up for a picture. The point is, you need to be prepared. Inexperienced musky anglers often get hurt or hurt the fish they caught. One more thing, be sure you have a first aid kit!

Really well said, lots of good advice in there!

[Steveo-1969]

48 minutes ago, Further North said:

Because, as I noted last night, water temps where you're fishing are likely too high.  Musky are not very temperature tolerant when stressed, and going after them with the goal of tiring them to the point where they can be handled rather than netting them increases the likelihood of exhausting them significantly.

First props to the OP for asking so many good questions before trying to catch a musky. It’s nice to see he’s concerned about the health of the fish when released.

 

With that said I hope the OP reads the above post a couple times until he really understands the high water temp concern. It was mentioned earlier in the thread but doesn’t seem to have sunk in yet.

 

I caught a 40” musky while wading for smallmouth on my local river in August a couple years ago. I tried to get her in as quickly as possible but it was still a 7 minute fight. And of course no net. After I released her she laid on the bottom for a couple minutes and slowly swam off. I really hope she survived but there’s a good chance she didn’t. In hindsight I probably should have just broke her off quickly before she got tired but, you know….. ??

[Joe_w1234]

Thanks @Steveo-1969, @Further North, @jimmyjoe

 

You’ve given me a lot to think about. I will look into getting a cheap net that I can use. Seems like that will make everything a lot easier and smoother. 
 

I have also heard of putting a rag over their face so they can’t see. Apparently they stop fighting and thrashing? 

[gim]

24 minutes ago, Sweet Tater Pie said:

I have also heard of putting a rag over their face so they can’t see. Apparently they stop fighting and thrashing? 

 

LOL, I think that is an old wives tale.  They do that to alligators and crocodiles.  Not fish.

[Joe_w1234]

5 minutes ago, gimruis said:

 

LOL, I think that is an old wives tale.  They do that to alligators and crocodiles.  Not fish.

Got it. So you think it wouldn’t work, or it would just fall off their face? Probably both lol

[Further North]

3 hours ago, gimruis said:

 

LOL, I think that is an old wives tale.  They do that to alligators and crocodiles.  Not fish.

[Deephaven]

7 hours ago, gimruis said:

 

You may honestly have a better chance of running into a smaller one by accident while you're bass fishing than using bigger specific muskie gear and actually targeting them.  When I target tiger muskies, I primarily use beefed up bass tackle and gear.  Pure strain muskie gear is over kill IMO as most of the hybrids are in the 25-35 inch range.

Exactly what I meant.  His frog rod will throw a 1.5oz spinnerbait perhaps, but will die trying to toss a 2.5+oz Suick or the like and have no capability to set the hooks.  Hybrids/smaller skis are like targeting large Northerns in MN.  Not big enough for real Muskie baits, but they sure like big bass tackle.

[Further North]

27 minutes ago, Deephaven said:

Exactly what I meant.  His frog rod will throw a 1.5oz spinnerbait perhaps, but will die trying to toss a 2.5+oz Suick or the like and have no capability to set the hooks.  Hybrids/smaller skis are like targeting large Northerns in MN.  Not big enough for real Muskie baits, but they sure like big bass tackle.

I spent a week on Lake of the Woods once, with a self-described Musky Nut.

By noon on the first day, it was obvious that they were not after big baits, as I was getting eats and follows on the three lures I mentioned above.

...he stuck with it, and didn't boat a fish all week...I boated 11, one just under 48", two over 45" and bunch of smaller ones...and so many pike and smallies I couldn't have kept count if I wanted to.

[Bluebasser86]

I'm not a big muskie fisherman, as much as I'd love to be, the closest ones to me are 3 hours one way. I've caught 13 muskie in my few trips I've made for them, 10 of them were while I was targeting bass instead of muskie. I've caught 2 on a bucktail, 1 on a big safety pin spinner, the rest have been on sqaurebills, or soft plastics. They seem to really like spinnerbaits, but the lakes they live in here have good amounts of standing timber and a muskie hooked in standing timber on 15lb mono and a bass spinnerbait rod never seems to end well. If I was really targeting them, the smaller sized bucktails see to attract a lot of attention without being too much for your gear since they tend to run in the 1oz range. Having the proper tools that others mentioned to handle them is important, and keep them in the water as much as possible. 

 

Not sure if for wading/river fishing, a pair of grippers attached to a cord might be an option? I'd have to defer to the guys with more experience with them to say if that would potentially injure the fish but that's how I deal with bass in the kayak when I need time to prepare to measure them and don't want to keep them out of the water longer than necessary.