Cold water river muskies... and lure speed

Questions about Freshwater Fishing

Cold water river muskies... and lure speed

Postby TJones » Thu Dec 22, 2011 4:52 am

Hi Larry,
I do a lot of my musky fishing on rivers during cold water periods... I catch some fish every year, but always feel I could be doing better. Generally it seems like conditions have to be just prime for me to get a fish or two. Most of my fish come on jigs and other slow moving presentations like swimbaits--especially in 50 degree and below water temps. So that is generally how I fish... I have a friend who burns his baits, even in the winter time, and he seems to have no problem catching fish. Sometimes I feel I am missing fish, that I could have triggered by fishing fast but I just can't gain confidence burning baits in cold water.
Would you mind sharing what your experience has taught you about water temps and lure speed in regards to river muskies. Thank you in advance...And by the way, Merry Christmas! :)

Toby
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Re: Cold water river muskies... and lure speed

Postby dahlberg » Thu Dec 22, 2011 10:22 am

Hi T
General rules are general rules, and in water that's reached the low fifties slow is usually better but not always. One thing I can tell you for sure however, when fishing river muskies you will get far more bites if your lure is working with instead of against the current. This is true all season but it's especially true when the water gets cool.
I've have my best success with lures that do a slow zig zag, then hang suspended for a moment, especially when fishing blowdowns and logs or larger rocks.
In washout holes, long casts almost straight up stream along current breaks combined with and a slow lazy retrieve is always worth a shot. Mid-sized crank baits that will dive enough to tick bottom and large tubes fished in the same manner are also a good choice.
good luck!
L
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Re: Cold water river muskies... and lure speed

Postby TJones » Thu Dec 22, 2011 11:02 pm

Larry,
Thanks so much for your response… You have definitely given me some things to think about. It is a great thing to be able to contact you here on your site. Appreciate your help it greatly.
BTW, is there any chance you might be coming to the Northeast or East Coast at all this show season? I live in PA and would love to see one of your seminars; however the closest I could find was the Chicago musky show… Which is a tough sell for my better half, lol. Thanks again, Larry!

Toby
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Re: Cold water river muskies... and lure speed

Postby TJones » Thu Dec 22, 2011 11:30 pm

Also, I just wanted to add that I while I was out doing some walleye fishing one night last week, I had the pleasure of fishing with one of the guys who rigs boats for Rockproof, and who I presume mostly likely did some work on your River Rocket... They are awesome boats for sure. I have see them here locally on the Susquehanna and Juniata rivers. It will be cool to see you running one of their boats this season.
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Re: Cold water river muskies... and lure speed

Postby dahlberg » Fri Dec 23, 2011 11:35 am

Hi T
Don't worry about seminars or driving long distances. If there's something I can help out with, just use the forum!
best,
L
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Re: Cold water river muskies... and lure speed

Postby TJones » Sat Dec 24, 2011 10:34 pm

Good call Larry... No doubt I will be taking you up on that. Thanks again for you replies and for helping all of us guys out by sharing as much as you do on this forum. Have a wonderful Christmas!
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Re: Cold water river muskies... and lure speed

Postby mark_odegard » Tue Jan 03, 2012 2:13 pm

dahlberg wrote:
> Hi T
> General rules are general rules, and in water that's reached the low
> fifties slow is usually better but not always. One thing I can tell you
> for sure however, when fishing river muskies you will get far more bites
> if your lure is working with instead of against the current.

So you cast upstream? Do you have any sort of logic on why this is so, or is it based on your observations? I hadn't put a ton of thought into it, but I had always thought the opposite. Along similar lines, where does casting across the current rank compared to other approaches?

Mark
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Re: Cold water river muskies... and lure speed

Postby dahlberg » Tue Jan 03, 2012 5:20 pm

Hi M
In the fifty plus years I've been fishing river muskies I've only seen a couple hit on upstream retrieves with lures.
In rivers that have laydowns it makes lots of sense because your lure will be running parallel to more things.
Usually a moderate downstream angle is best. If you're drifting, a 90 angle is fine. If stationary a 90 degree angle will result in an upstream retrieve during the last half or two thirds of the retrieve, which is not so good.

best
L
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