Classic Musky: Efficient Systems for Musky Fishing
This is an article I wrote in 2005 about efficiency. This was focused on musky fishing but applies to most other species of fish as well.
Efficient Systems for Musky Fishing
Efficient Fishing: effective fishing as measured by a comparison of production with cost (as in energy, time, and money). If there were ever a sport where efficiency is key, I’d say musky fishing is it. A sport where catching one fish in a 12 hour plus day is often considered a success. Serious musky guys have 3- & 4-digit collections of lures. Sparkly boats with big motors. $350 fishing reels. But what it comes down to is that the next cast could be the one that changes your life. Are you ready for that? Really? There are a lot of elements that are important in musky fishing; understanding the fish, different presentations, weather, moon phases, structure, and all these items are important to your success, but often they are at least partially out of your control. Unless you can pick your days to fish, which 95% of us can’t, you must make the best of what is available. So, what can you do to increase your odds? Control what you can, yourself and the methodology, the system you use for fishing. If you become a more efficient angler, you will put more fish in the boat regardless of the varying conditions and elements year in and year out. I promise.
Fish where the fish are
You need to fish where the fish are, well that sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? But think about it a little more closely. On any given day, there will be fish, regardless of species, on every type of structure in that lake. At any one time there will be fish in weeds, fish on rocks, fish in open water, and fish transitioning between them. So theoretically on any given day you can fish any given structure and have an opportunity to catch a musky. But there will be, percentage wise, more fish on one of those structures than the others. To efficiently contact fish, you need to fish where most of the fish are.
How do you find them? The key is doing as much homework as you can before you go fishing. Maps are good, look at it close, look at it from farther away, circle stuff, make notes, draw where you think fish will be, north wind here, south wind there. Call people, talk to as many good anglers as you can in the area you are going fishing. There is always somebody who has more time to fish than you, what have they have been seeing. Don’t be shy, fisherman like to talk about fishing. You don’t need details, you’ve already memorized the map, when they say weeds, six areas pop into your mind. Know what the weather was the day before, was it blowing from the south yesterday? Pay attention to local conditions, look for baitfish, take in the surroundings, digest them.
Make your own hay. What? Fish where you think the fish should be. Not necessarily where the other fisherman are fishing. Don’t be the sheep, be the wolf. You have done the research, you have the knowledge. Make concise decisions and execute. You will be successful. Historically my best fishing areas are places where there are not a lot of fishermen, but are plenty of fish. Fish are not attracted to people, people are attracted to fish, and more often than not other people. Sometimes the sheep get lucky, but eventually the wolf always eats the sheep.
Be prepared to make history on your next cast
I am prepared to go fishing you say. But are you really? Is the first time you’re going to throw that new bait on a proven musky holding spot? Do you know what that bait is going to do? Will it cast accurately; if you wad it up in a clump of weeds or hang it on a rock you might have just moved the fish of your dreams off the structure. What if a fish follows, how does it figure 8? Is that a new rod & reel, with new line? You’ve never fired a cast with it before? A little windy, stiff line, new reel, this has backlash written all over it. I know it has happened to me.
Most people don’t practice musky fishing. I do, and I think more people should. I like to go to a non musky lake and work with new items until I have a feeling that I understand them. Cast different baits with that new rod & reel, how it reacts to different weights and profiles, how does it cast into the wind. How is this new bait or that one, does it cast accurately, how does it work at boat side? Now when you pull up to that good looking musky spot you have just improved the likely hood that your cast will land where you wanted, and the bait will work as intended, if a fish moves you are ready, you are more efficient. You are controlling the situation. Another thing that practicing on a non musky lake will do for you is help your focus on the bait. Since you already know there will not be a musky following, you will tend to focus more on your technique.
Pick a spot to cast to, then follow through with the cast and retrieve. Don’t just fire casts out there, and don’t make a cast unless you plan on following through with the whole thing. If you want to look at the floor of your boat, or the loon, or the deer on shore, or the soaring bald eagle, wait until the retrieve is over. Give yourself the opportunity to be successful. Before the next cast, take a deep breath and enjoy the moment, then cast again. Not paying attention cost most anglers several fish a year. And for some reason they seem to be the big ones. Staying focused is very important.
Use the best equipment possible
Contrary to popular belief, using the best equipment possible has little to do with money. But has everything to do with having the proper equipment. Your opportunities at big fish are limited whether you are a pro or a beginning musky angler. You need good equipment to increase the likely hood you get your trophy fish to the boat. Most guys get caught up with the fancy boats, custom made rods, the latest 27 ball bearing reel, having the newest bait, Joe Blow super pro has this, I need that, but if your $2 hook is not sharp say bye bye to monster musky. I like to work backwards from the fish. The key is in the details.
Do I have dependable hooks, are they sharp, are they the right size for the bait? Check your hooks, a lot, and make sure you check every single hook point; they get damaged more often than you think.
How about the bait, is it of a quality design, will it handle a big fish. Fortunately now days most built for musky baits are pretty good, but some still have cheap hooks and split rings, it is a good idea to upgrade. Be cautious with lesser baits, they can be a heartbreaker.
How about your attachment device, split ring or a snap of some kind? This is can be a gray area, certainly a point of argument, but I believe a quality split ring is the best way to attach a bait to your leader. It gives the least opportunity for failure. But I tend to use a high quality snap for ease of changing baits. I have seen guys with practice make changing with split rings look pretty easy, so to each his own. When using high quality snaps, if you inspect them and change them often I think you are reasonably safe.
Next the leader, is yours a quality one designed for musky, if not get one. Leaders are once again a somewhat debatable subject. There are quality stranded, fluorocarbon and titanium leaders, but I do know fish can’t bite solid wire in two, and there are no crimps. They do kink and bend and need replacing more often than some other types, yes, but that brings me to the next item, your knot. Bent wire leaders and tying new knots seem to compliment each other.
Use good line. Everybody has a personal preference, but one of the name brand super braids in the 80-100lb test range works well. I like to cut off the last few yards of the line and retie after every day or two of fishing, or when replacing a leader. Check after a fish is caught or you set the hook on a rock. You probably can’t retie too much. This is the part of the line that takes the most abuse. Another thing you can do to get the most out of your line, since casting you actually only use 30 yds of line or so most of the time, is unspool and put the line on the reel the other way. Kind of like using both ends of the rope.
Get a quality rod. This does not mean it has to be $300. Are application specific custom made rods nice? Yes. Are they worth the money? Yes, I think so. Do you need them to get a musky in the boat? No. It just makes it more pleasant. Any good quality reputable rod will work. Get the best you can afford, it will work. Let’s put the saved money elsewhere.
Like the rod, get a quality reel. Money here typically does buy quality, and usability, but there is definitely some bang for the buck to be had. You cannot be having reel trouble on the water. Reels of any sort have to be properly taken care of or they will fail on you at the worst possible time. Clean and maintain them, and most of the popular reels will last you a long time. Having reels malfunction on the water is one of the single fastest ways to lose efficiency.
Get the best tools you can afford. Get a quality net, a net with a big treated bag is almost essential. When you get that big fish to the boat you want something of a quality design that is good for the angler and the fish. Keep that net ready, have it in a designated spot so you can get to it the same way every time you get a fish. Have all of the release tools ready, jaw spreaders, long nose pliers, and hook cutters. Have all of this stuff prepared before you catch a fish. You should not be looking for the pliers; you should know where the stuff is. Have a camera ready, get a picture and get the fish back in the water.
Get the best boat for your type of fishing you can afford. Boat control is the forgotten tool. Are you fishing small lakes or vast open waters? Do you cast mostly or like to troll? Do you like to fish in the wind or hide from it? I believe it is better to get the size boat you need for the body of water you fish most often, and that may mean you have to get a used boat. But a used boat of the proper size is better than a new boat that is undersized. You only have so many fishing days available, you should get a boat that allows you to go fishing where you want when the time becomes available. Granted on some large bodies of water there are times when it is just not fishable, but get to the level you are comfortable with. Another thing with boats is get the biggest best trolling motor you can afford. It seems you can never really have enough power. Same goes with batteries, there is nothing worse than pulling up to a good spot only to not have enough trolling motor power to fish a spot effectively. Good electronics are also important, but you can get quality units very reasonably these days. I would put the money in the trolling motor first. Keep the boat organized, have designated places for items. Murphy will win if given the opportunity, especially in the heat of the moment.
Understand your Baits
It is very important to understand what you are trying to do when fishing and what lures allow you to do that. Some baits are pretty universal in the way they fish, some are very specific. The key is to understand that and actually apply that to the fishing situation you are in. Say you are fishing some heavy weeds, is a twitch bait that gets fouled every other cast the right bait, or would a spinnerbait or large bladed bucktail be more appropriate. It is also very important to understand what particular baits can do in all situations. How shallow can you work it, how accurately does it cast, how do you get it through weeds, does it snag on rocks. You would be amazed how versatile some baits are, and how un-versatile others are. One thing I like to do is pick a more versatile bait like a spinnerbait or something when fishing unfamiliar spots. This reduces the likely hood of hanging the lure on some type of unknown structure element. Maximize your opportunity. On areas you are familiar with you can then bring out the more specialized bait.
Another thing with baits, is get rid of the ones that don’t work for you. I mean just get rid of them. Every lure, especially hard bodied lure like cranks and jerks, has its own personality. They all work a little differently, some good, some not so good. Keep the good, dump the rest. You can have five of the exact same plastic bodied crankbaits, and one of those baits is likely to work better than the others, for whatever reason that particular bait matches your style of fishing and it will just work. Or a topwater that has just a little different plop that will outfish 10 others just like it. With the internet today it is easy to buy and sell baits, take advantage, another mans junk could be your treasure.
Be Yourself
Like a lot of other people my age from Minnesota, growing up and being intrigued by fishing I am kind of an In-Fisherman disciple. I remember watching Doug Stange fishing with Dick Pearson and Doug Johnson and sitting glued in front of my TV in awe. They make it look so easy. They are so smart. So as I got older and became serious about musky fishing I kind of started studying habits of the legendary musky fisherman. Dick & Doug, Al & Jim Linder, Joe Bucher. I was watching videos, reading books & old magazine articles. What I quickly learned is that all of them have their own unique way of catching fish. Some base their success on different theories, one fishes fast, one fishes slow, some were very aggressive with their baits, others just kind of reel them in, one uses this bait, the other uses that, fish over here, fish over there. What I soon learned is each of them is simply prepared and confident in their own system. I believe their systems, as well as other successful anglers systems will be successful on all bodies of water most times of the year. Because the system, and the efficiency that you execute it with, is the one thing you can control.
I think it is also important to fish with what you like. If you like to fish with bucktails, and have success with that, make that your primary weapon. Learn their application inside and out. If you like cranks, learn to fish them in all conditions. If you really like topwaters you might be surprised how good they can be in unlikely situations. Just fish and have fun. It is more efficient to fish with baits that you believe in, have confidence in, and know how to use. You will stay more focused and be prepared to handle different circumstances that may come about.
Believe in the System
Succeeding with an efficient system is in the details, enough little things eventually add up to something good. I like to think of an efficient system like having a solid defense. It can’t always win the game all by itself, but often enough it can keep you from losing it.
Efficiency is not so much a thing, as it is a way, a way of systematically doing things to help make you be more successful. The details become routine. It helps you take advantage of the opportunities that Mother Nature affords you. We can’t control the weather, the moon, or even in a lot of cases when or where we get to go fishing, especially if you are fishing with someone else. We as musky fisherman have enough variables to overcome with the limited opportunities we get, we need to be prepared. Create a system, increase your efficiency, pay attention to the details and you will with out a doubt become a more successful fisherman.
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