Muskies at night

Questions about Freshwater Fishing

Muskies at night

Postby cuzzinfish » Tue May 27, 2014 7:24 am

My brother and I are planning a night fishing excursion in about a month (Alum Creek lake in Ohio). While I'm sure muskies will bite at night, my first thought is to try topwater and stay away from more-visual baits without a lot of vibration. The resevoir, at this point, is more stained than clear (depending on the cove in some cases). Have you had success at night for muskies? Do you have any general tips? Lake maps show it has an abundance of varying structure including a deeper basin (down to 60'), steeper breaks, points, and winding creek channel that gets fairly close to the shoreline in spots.

Any info or advice is appreciated.
Robert
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Re: Muskies at night

Postby dahlberg » Tue May 27, 2014 9:31 am

Hi r
In many lakes night fishing is the clear ticket. It's especially true in places that get lots of traffic during the day. I'd suggest whopper ploppers, creeper and large double bladed bucktails. You might be wise to check times for moon rise and set and be there then. Personally, I'd focus on nights where moonset or moonrise has a close coincidence with sunset or sunrise.
best,
L
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Re: Muskies at night

Postby cuzzinfish » Tue May 27, 2014 9:46 am

Thanks Larry.
I appreciate the info. It's nice to have resource like you from whom anglers can get advice. Of course, I always look forward to watching your new shows and keep a few on my DVR. Keeping doing what you do. I'm sure I'll have more questions in the future. ;-)
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Re: Muskies at night

Postby dahlberg » Tue May 27, 2014 12:45 pm

Glad to help out any way I can. Good luck, let us know how you do!
best
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Re: Muskies at night

Postby Mike - Alumilite » Tue May 27, 2014 6:57 pm

Larry put me on my first night musky via an email question just like this ... almost the same answer ... shallow lake, lots of boat traffic, fishing pressure, yada yada yada. Came on a hand poured whopper plopper. I'll post the fuzzy pic on makelure.com's gallery. Best measurement was mid 40"er. Hope you get the same result! Please make sure to tell us how you do.

http://www.makelure.com/Lures.cfm

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Re: Muskies at night

Postby cuzzinfish » Thu May 29, 2014 9:14 pm

Nice catch Mike. Thanks for the well wishes. I see you went with black. Was this a conscious choice/recommendation from Larry? I know black tends to be the only color musky fishermen agree on. Since I will be night fishing for the majority, does the dark color provide an advantage in terms of creating a silhouette? Should I be concerned about matching the forage at all? My night fishing experience is mostly with catfish. I'd be happy to hear all opinions and experiences.
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Re: Muskies at night

Postby dahlberg » Thu May 29, 2014 9:24 pm

In all honesty, night fishing is not that different than daytime fishing except it's dark out and the fish are usually not as wary (especially in clear water) as they are in the daylight. And, of course you don't have water skiiers and jet skis ripping all over the lake.
I've tried to find a color they won't bite and have been unable to do so..., but you can't go wrong with black.

good luck, hope something goes bump in the night for you.
good luck!
L
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Re: Muskies at night

Postby cuzzinfish » Thu May 29, 2014 9:41 pm

Thanks again. All of that sounds great. Been anxiously awaiting this little trip for a while. Have a good night.

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Re: Muskies at night

Postby Mike - Alumilite » Sat May 31, 2014 8:37 pm

I read and have heard many times about black being easier for fish to differentiate or find easier at night. I assumed because it would give the best contrast toward whatever light is coming from the sky but don't know if it is true or not. So I would give much more weight to Larry's explanation than my unscientific understanding. The other reason ... also unscientific but relative was I had a lot of confidence in black since it was the lure color Larry and Josh had so much success with in the original year of fishing our cast Whopper Ploppers before River2Sea started producing them.

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Re: Muskies at night

Postby cuzzinfish » Tue Jun 03, 2014 7:18 am

Hey guys, still anxiously waiting for my trip. I bought a couple whoppers and couldn't stand not using them. So, I went for a little pre-dawn/dawn bank fishing below the dam because I heard rumors that a few muskie wash through. Caught this one on the the 'loon', 36, and had two more follows in a little over 2 hours. I'd call that a booming success. :)

Thanks

Robert

http://i1347.photobucket.com/albums/p71 ... 58d16a.jpg
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Re: Muskies at night

Postby Mike - Alumilite » Thu Jun 05, 2014 7:05 am

That a you! Good luck on your trip and please make sure to let us know how you do.

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Re: Muskies at night

Postby cuzzinfish » Fri Jun 13, 2014 9:11 am

Can't help but share. The whopper ploppers have been outstanding. Also had 2 missed strikes and 5 other follows in my own pseudowhiggley. Learned a lot from the shows and the makelure videos. Thanks again guys. http://i1347.photobucket.com/albums/p71 ... ssxcwa.png
http://i1347.photobucket.com/albums/p71 ... 86846b.jpg

Robert
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Re: Muskies at night

Postby dahlberg » Fri Jun 13, 2014 10:19 am

nice going! congrats and thanks for sharing!
keep casting..is that a pun?
best
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Re: Muskies at night

Postby cuzzinfish » Fri Jun 13, 2014 10:41 am

Clever!
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Re: Muskies at night

Postby bassfighter1 » Sat Jun 21, 2014 1:14 pm

Hey Larry,I've Caught Bass,Crappie And Catfish From Docks Do Muskys Fit This Category.
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Re: Muskies at night

Postby dahlberg » Sat Jun 21, 2014 1:39 pm

FOR SURE!! Especially early AM.
best,
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Re: Muskies at night

Postby cuzzinfish » Wed Jul 02, 2014 9:30 pm

No luck on the night muskies guys. Rain had the resevoir up a couple feet and super dark. No worries though. We changed gears and found a couple nice coves near the mouth of the main creek. Catfish is always better than no fish. 8)
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