WA Fall Tiger Musky

[Bluegillslayer]

The first weekend of October im dedicating both days to nothing but attempting to put a tiger in the boat. The lake in question is Newman Lake which is about a mile from Idaho I believe. The lake itself is not the largest, and I'm pretty sure the whole thing can be fished in two days. The lake hosts a few bays as well as lots and lots of docks for cover. I'm not sure about how much aquatic cover will still be alive when I arrive so currently the game plan is hitting up docks and such. As far as lures go I have a micro double cowgirl, red devil spoons, micro bulldawg, Classic dressed Mepps #5, and a smaller "Mcglide" type bait plus other random swimbaits as well as the gear to handle them. I also have a large landing net and gear for hook removal. This body of water is stocked with Tigers often so there are most definitely fish to be caught. A Lot are caught just by bass fishing. Other fish / prey in the lake include largemouth, crappie, bluegill, perch, rainbow and brook trout. I'm willing to take any information regarding these fish, especially from the esox guys! Thank you!   

[gim]

I may be able to help you.  I've spent the past 7 seasons patterning these hybrid muskies in a number of lakes in the greater Twin Cities area.  I've boated almost 30 of them since 2017 myself, and about a dozen more that someone caught with me.  I caught 7 last season.

This is what I've learned.  Bear in mind that they are a muskie, and they are difficult to catch.  For starters, there's not that many of them.  Second, they are an apex predator and the window of opportunity is brief.

Rapid weather changes are good.  If its warm and sunny for days, with an incoming system of low pressure, get out there.  Rain and/or clouds is your friend.  Sunny warm days are useless unless you're targeting a time period of higher activity like sunrise/sunset or moonrise/moonset.  Ideal temperature range is 65-75 degrees.

You're on the right track with smaller lures.  Since they do not grow to the size of a pure strain muskie, they are smaller and will often be more willing to take smaller lures.  I sometimes see guys tossing big double bladed cowgirl bucktails or pounder bulldawgs for them.  That's over kill.  Not that you would never catch one doing it, but you're only targeting the biggest muskie in the lake with that strategy.  I downsize my approach and catch them ranging in size from 25 inches up to 40+.  A 40+ inch tiger is a trophy.  My PB is a 41 incher in 2020 and I had a replica made of it.

Big bass tackle will generally suffice unless you hook into a giant.  Then it might be a problem.  But for most of them, pike size tackle will work.  Medium heavy rods, 30 or 40 pound braided line, and steel or fluorocarbon leaders.  Spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, glide baits, swimbaits, jerk baits, crank baits, even a topwater like a plopper or buzzbait will work.  I have done some damage with a black spinnerbait in recent years.

I've only been muskie fishing three times this season, tomorrow is my fourth.  I've only caught one but it was a good one, a stout 38 incher in July.  I also tend to catch quite a few northern pike when I'm after them.  Most are smaller, but every once in a while I catch a decent pike.  Here are a few from the past couple seasons, first one is the one I caught in July.

 

[Bluegillslayer]

Thanks a bunch. This definitely points me in the right direction. 

[Susky River Rat]

I honestly never fished for tigers different then I fished for pures. Reg and mag bulldawgs. Reg and mid dussas. 6 and 8”

phantoms. Personally I’d be ripping bulldawgs as hard as I can this time of year. Suicks also work great too around any shallower cover.  Don’t be scared to fish very aggressive. 

[T-Billy]

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.

[Further North]

Great advice, I won't add anything other than to confirm you don't need giant baits/lures to catch muskies.

My three most successful lures over time have been 5" Strike King Smokin' Roosters, #5 Mepps and a a one ounce Doctor Spoon, with the smaller Doctor Spoon coming it right behind them.

Oh yeah: Use wire bite guards.  I tie 25# - 30# tieable wire leaders right into my main line braid with FG knots, or in the case of single strand Knot-2-Kinky, which is virtually invisible, an Alberto Knot.  This means there's no upper swivel to run into your guides, which you'll do, sooner or later.  I tie in a snap with a swivel at the end (in my case a Mustad Fastach because there are no moving parts in the snap so they can't fail) to make swapping lures out.  The exception to this is the rod I have rigged for Smokin' Roosters - on that one I tie a three wrap Trilene knot in the tieable wire directly to a 5/0 EWG Swim Bait hook (I like red Gamakatsu) and swap out the baits when they get beat up.  I use a 1/4 oz. Stainless steel weight, and a pink bead to stop the weight from beating up the knot.