Last updated on August 25th, 2018 at 02:20 pm
In order to put into perspective and bring some reality to your Musky fishing experience, we are going to take things a little backwards here. We’re going to start as if you already have your trophy fish on the end of the line. You have fought long and hard and now you have him up along the side of the boat. Now what? Ready for some of our best muskie fishing tips?
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Best Muskie Fishing Tips
Unlike a Bass, Perch or Bluegill, a Musky is not the kind of fish that you can simply reach over the side of the boat, grab him by the gills and simply lift him into the boat. If you try that you are sure to get your fingertips lacerated severely. No matter how much you think you tired him out during the battle, he is sure to have plenty of energy, and as soon as the muskie sees the boat, you’re in for another battle. So how are you going to finally land this trophy? With a very big net, for sure!
Muskie Fishing Tips: A Proper Net
You see, when you fish for small game fish, in comparison to a large Musky, the net you normally carry is just too small and not very efficient for the task at hand. So the first of our muskie fishing tips is “make sure you have a big enough net to get him in the boat”. You will certainly lose that muskie if you have to struggle with a rod in one hand, an undersized net in the other, and a twenty pound plus fish violently thrashing about.
Click Here For Our Recommended Muskie Nets
Muskie Fishing Tips: Do Your Homework
So with that first lesson in mind, as to how you are going to land that big trophy of yours, we will rewind and go back to the beginning of our muskie fishing tips and tricks. Start off by doing your homework. Before you step one foot inside the boat, take a look at a lake map and check out the structures. Are there any inlets or streams coming into the lake? Do you know where the shallows are, the deep areas, and the drop offs of the lake? Doing some advanced leg work will certainly pay off in the long run. Leg work like talking to the folks at the local bait shop can be highly valuable. They will be the ones with all the local info on successes and failures of local muskie fishermen. They’ll also know which muskie lures the fish have been hitting on, or at least what lures they are buying.
Muskie Fishing Tips: Get To Know The Lake
Another one of our top muskie fishing tips is to tour and get to know the lake you will be muskie fishing on. Just take a ride out onto the lake with map in hand. Don’t go out with the intent of musky fishing. Concentrate on getting to know the lake, the structure points, land marks etc. Bring a pen and mark these things on your map. Just enjoy the water for the first time on the lake.
Muskie Fishing Tips: Ensuring Safe Catch And Release
Muskies are a fish that is normally a catch and release fish. Unless you are going to mount it and hang it on the wall, you are more than likely going to put it back into the water. You will want to do that with a healthy uninjured fish, so you can catch it another time. So here are some suggestions to make sure that happens.
Most musky lures come with three treble hooks. We suggest modifying them by removing the center treble hook. This removal will not decrease your chances of catching a muskie by any large margin, and when it comes time to remove the hooks from the musky’s mouth, you will have one less treble hook to deal with. Also on each treble hook, remove one or two of the barbs. There is nothing more troublesome than trying to get a hook out that is sunk with two sides of it beyond the barbs. Bring two hook disgorgers or pliers, as they generally do not float. Should you drop one into the water, you will have nothing but regrets should you land another fish, no matter what the species.
Because of the size of these fish, the Musky, there is a good chance that when they strike at your lure they will completely engulf and swallow the lure deep into its mouth. To get it out, you’re going to need what is called “jaw spreaders”. This tool will hold open the jaw while you finesse and dislodge the muskie lure. All of this care and caution will make sure that you will be returning a healthy Musky back into the water. Fish handling gloves would not be a bad idea either. They come with a rubber coating to protect you from the Musky’s razor sharp teeth.
Muskie Fishing Tips: Be Ready To Measure Your Trophy
One last thing is to bring along with you a tailor’s cloth tape measure. They’re cheap enough, and can be discarded after use, or just left on the boat. The reason for this is that Musky is highly regulated species with specific size limits. If you have to make a guess as to what the size is, that’s not a very good idea. So get yourself some double stick tape. Remove the backing on one side and put it on the tape measure roll it up and when you get to the boat, whether it is yours or a rental put it in a convenient spot on the inside of the gunnel by peeling off the other side and sticking it in place. However, if the boat you have or will be renting already has a readily accessible and convenient tape measure in place. Simply store this one in your tackle box.
It sounds like a lot of things to carry on board with you while muskie fishing. But in reality, they do not take up much room in your muskie tackle box and when the need arises, you will certainly be glad you had access to them. If you read, study, and follow these simple muskie fishing tips, your chances of landing that monster Musky will certainly increase.
Check Out These Other Resources For More Great Muskie Fishing Tips.
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