Moraine Outing?

[cband]

Anybody plan on attending the Moraine Muskie Association Outing at Arthur this Saturday?

[ThreeRiversEsox]

Yessir, I should be there for a little while, I have to leave early for a surprise birthday party.

[allegheny river kid]

I'm heading over.

[musky punch]

i plan on fishing the heck out of arthur a day or two over my Thanksgiving break if weather permits. can anyone give me any advice? have yet to pull one out of there/see a fish lol

[allegheny river kid]

I think the best advice i've been given on the lake is to put your boat back on the trailer and head elsewhere:) This is the first year i've even given it a shot because of being told how much pressure it gets and how hard it can be to get musky out of it. I've spent about 30 hours mostly trolling it this season with only one decent largemouth to show off and a few unindentified rips. The fish are there, its just knowing where to go and what to use, i have yet to figure that out:(

[Ivan]

Arthur is difficult, but I think it's more of being there at the right time. 30 hrs is a little less than 3 days of fishing and it is not unusual to come up empty at Arthur for 3 days of fishing. We used to fish the lake quite a bit the first year we really started muskie fishing and before we got a bigger boat in 1998. On most days you will not get anything but there are some very nice fish in the lake. My Dad and I both got 50"ers out of there that year. 1 in May and 1 in August. Last year I fished the lake two days and got 1 trolling on my first trip and 1 casting on my second trip, but that's pretty lucky percentages. Both were over 40". There seems to be a nice average size fish in Arthur and they are usually pretty heavy.

I have fished Arthur for about a total of 6 hrs on two different days this year with zero action, but that is to be expected. For me, Arthur is a close place to go when I only have limited time to fish. This weekend I can't fish Saturday, so I am going to give it a shot on Sunday. I usually have pretty high expectations of catching multiple fish when I hit the water, but at Arthur I don't ever expect anything. Then it's a big bonus when you do get one.

Best advice I have on the lake is to cast for the hottest month in the summer and troll the rest of the time. I think almost every fish we have ever caught trolling at Arthur has been on a Wiley also. Even though the water is dark, use natural colors.
Good Luck.

[musky punch]

I appreciate your responses. I've been to the MMA website and seen some pigs caught out of Arthur. I'm close to Pittsburgh so its the closest lake that has 'good' musky fishing. I try to get up to NWPA lakes whenever I can, thats where I've caught all my fish and the holy grail: Chautauqua!!

Whenever I went to Arthur this past summer, we trolled the submerged creek bed with jakes, grandmas, believers, etc. Casted topwaters, bucktails, basically all you can..! in the humps near that island thing, off in the weeds by the nicer known for musky arms of the lake. No follows, no fish!

DEAAAAAD SEA...

[Ivan]

There's plenty of bait, creek channels, submerged road beds, and railroad beds to troll. The 50 I got there came as I was trolling accross the top of road bed with a Wiley banging the bottom right at the highest spot, where it topped out at about 6'. More snags than anywhere I've fished too. Make sure you have a good lure knocker and even then, don't be surprised to loose a lure. Most of those unidentified rips that river kid mentioned earlier are most likely snags and not fish.

[allegheny river kid]

I agree i think timing plays a big part into being successful there. Ive snagged up many times there, knock on wood no lures lost yet but its only a matter of time. Im pretty sure the unidentified rips were the brush and other man made structures they have put in there too. The shot at catching a bigger then average fish is what keeps and will keep me going back.

[allegheny river kid]

5 muskies were caught between 38 and 44inches, i believe they were all caught trolling. Not sure of the exact number of participants but i think it was some where around 40 to 45.

[Ivan]

I heard the same results. I think we were the only muskie boat on the lake Sunday. Water temps are high 40's in shallower areas and low 50's in main lake. 8 solid snags. Gave up on one with the retriever, tied the line off on the boat cleat, drove away, straightened the hook out and got the lure back. We did get a 12lb hybrid striper trolling a perchbait 4.5mph. That one really surprised me. That is the first striper we've caught muskie fishing.