by dahlberg » Sun Feb 15, 2009 5:14 am
Hi g
Great question. Biologically muskies and pike fill the same niche and are thus at odds with each other. Most disturbing to those of us who love muskies and could take or leave northerns is that in the long run northerns have the edge. This is especially true in waters that have limited spawning habitat and they use the same nursery.
The reason is that northerns spawn two weeks or more before muskies do. The baby pike get enough of a head start that they are capable of eating the freshly hatched muskies. Nasty!
As far as night fishing, it's usually the answer in situations where fishing pressure and/or heavy boat traffic has effected the game. Topwater, bulged bucktails like the big cowgirls are top choices.
You can certainly try fishing all day AND all night, but in light of a 15 year decline, I'd suggest picking a new lake!
best,
L
Larry Dahlberg
The Hunt For Big Fish