Do you agree or disagree?

[JohnMG]

I made my first trip back to the flowage in 25 years last mid august (so long over due!). Would you agree or disagree with the following as I prepare for my next trip this August. 1.) Most musky will be weed related. 2.) Heavy weeds in late summer mean a lot of bulging bucktails and topwater. 3.) As a side question, what do people thnk of swim baits for multi-species on the flowage and will musky hit them? In short it took me much of the week to learn to fish the weeds without getting hung up. Am I concentrating on them too much?

[Dave Hardy]

Hmmm, a trick question, let me take a crack.

I both agree and disagree. Sure, you will find fish relating to weeds, and as your trip plays out, maybe every fish you contact will come from weeds. But one of the beauties of the Flowage is its diversity in structure. There is ample wood, rocks, bogs, channels/breaks, etc. that will all hold fish--of all species.

So, I suggest you stay tuned to this board as your trip approaches to gauge which structures some of the fish are coming from. When you do get on the water, don't get transfixed on any single structure--unless you are consistently seeing fish from that specific structure. Rather, hit a little of each type of structure until you feel like you are dialing-into a pattern. Then start to work it multiple ways (eg. edges, on top, etc.).

In all transparency, I am no Ty Sennett and have never claimed to be that damn good. However, having fished on the Flowage for over 20 years, I have learned that the muskie is a darn good swimmer and they tend to move around a bit. So, I recommend you move around a bit until you start to contact a few fish and then let your experience take you from there.

Regarding your other question, I can be of no help since I don't fish for any other species. Nonetheless, it will not hurt to give it a shot, as some escoid is likely to appreciate your presentation and decide to strike.

Good luck and let us know how you do.

Dave Hardy

[JohnMG]

Thanks much Dave! Your reply is very helpful. I used a swim bait as a search lure when I hit spots since I have no electonics. It helped me with figuring depth and structure. After a few casts I threw for musky but picked up some northern on those 1st casts with swim baits. Fishing alone was very enjoyable but I lost one at the boat when bending to get the net took pressure off the fish. The thread on "landing skis" helped my thinking for this year. Thanks again!

[Ifishskis]

As to electronics, there are many fishing forums out there where people are selling used electronics. Some of these guys/gals just have to have the latest and greatest of everything, and sell their "old" stuff very reasonable....just to get rid of it. I have bought electronics this way often.

IMO...if you can afford a trip to the Chip, you can afford $100 of electronics to help yourself. Feel free to send me a PM and I can provide you with a few sites to look at.

[SilverFox]

I have been fishing the flowage for 25 years, and my grandfather since 1956 (I have all his notes - and have studied them)... Remember, the Flowage was much different back then. There are weeds in areas now that were not there 20 years ago. My experience has been that the Muskies I contact have been relating to structure, primarily weeds (shallow or deep). I have seen a bunch on mid-lake humps and few on rocky points, but I have been most successful fishing the weeds.

Best of luck out there!

[RobertTB]

A wise young guide once told it to me this way: "Think of the weeds as a forrest. If you had to walk a dense forrest, would you rather be in the thick stuff or go along an edge where travel is much easier ? "

I pondered this young man's wisdom and decided I would fish edges and look for open pockets in dense stuff. This is what I do. However, I happen to suck really badly at Musky fishing, well..actually at catching...but I sure do have a lot of fun.

I am thinking the trick is to find the spot within the spot that Musky favor and then properly presenting a lure at the right time to entice said Musky to attack the lure. Unfortunately, when one does not spend a LOT of time on the water learning the spots and consequently the spot on the spot, one does lots of casting and not a lot of hook setting, which can be tiresome and frustrating. This is why I dearly enjoy hiring Mr. Sennett to take me to the spot on the spot ! Yay, Ty ! I also REALLY like it when my fishing buddies take me out in THEIR way cool and FAST boats and teach me how to fish. They are such good buddies, I buy them food and drinks sometimes.

I have not had a lot of success with swim baits. But, I probably don't give them enough of a chance due to the fact that I like bucktails and Suicks and this one Pacemaker I have that a lot of the paint has fallen off of. It's my favorite Pacemaker. The more I think about it, the more I think I only need one bucktail, one Suick and one Pacemaker, but that cheats me out of toting several tackle boxes and peering into them trying to decide which lure I want to cast next.

When Ty is forced to take me fishing, he usually fetches just one bucktail out of his huge tackle box and he sharpens the hooks in front of me so I can't blame his dull hooks when I miss a fish, then he trashes me when my hookset is too feeble to do any good. He knows how I fish, you see, as we have fished together a few times and he knows I WILL blame dull hooks. Plus, he knows I talk way too much and I don't pay attention and am asleep at the switch at the critical moment, so oftentimes he reminds me to "pay attention at THIS spot because we've seen a big one here". Then he goes and catches it just to prove to me that Musky can be caught. I love it, 'cause I get to net the fish. Not to his liking, of course, but we usually get the fish in the net at some point and I can watch him unhook it. He's very good at that, by the way. Then I ask him why I can't get a hit and he says I suck, that I slow DOWN the bait instead of speeding up, AND that my figure 8 just makes him sick. I so admire his brutal honesty. Don't even get him started on my casting...if you are lucky he'll just shake his head and laugh. Do you know how some snoboarders board "goofy foot" ? Well, I think I cast goofy hand and in my delusion, I happen to think I cast very well. Thinking is not my strong suit, but I do fine at deluding.

That reimends me, Ty..have you given any more thought to putting me on your Pro Staff ? You told me the fine folks at Ghost Tail congratulated me on being such a fisherman but they really didn't need me on their pro staff, which I find understandable. I field test that Pacemaker I got all the time and I can make it do things you wouldn't believe ! Oh, yeah..ummm, say..I slammed the tail of the Pacmaker in my pickup tailgate and it got bent a little. Do you think it can be fixed ? I already fixed my rod tip, but the Pacemaker has me a little baffled. I need help.

[Dave Hardy]

JohnMG,

My suggestion is that you definitely get a sonar unit--it is invaluable on The Chip. The Flowage has some spots that are obvious (Pete's, Kindergarten, Sand, etc.). However, I believe that you need to be precise with your boat position and thus your casts if you want to consistently see and boat fish. A good depth finder can help you with this precision. There is no doubt that you can catch fish without electronics, but you would be introducing an awful lot of luck into this equation with this approach.

Take-up Ifishskis on his help and find an affordable unit. If your budget allows for one with GPS, then I would recommend that feature too. Very few spots have straight edges and a GPS will give you an idea of how the edge runs--it will help you find and fish the inside turns, tips of points and maybe a spot or two you did not know existed. Nevertheless, if you cannot fit a GPS sonar unit into your budget, you should not be discouraged from buying something. Using a conventional unit, you can find and fish any spot with great effectiveness.

Let us know how you do.

[ChipVet]

When I started on the chip sonar units were not even invented and I went by my oar then I got the green box and I was in heaven. What I thought I knew about spots was that I had learned not much. Then I got a gps and sonar unit and started marking the edges of the weeds. Both of the units helped my sucess with the gps being the most help as I can just follow the x's. This would be the best if you can afford the unit but they are spendy. However a sonar unit will tell you depth and that would be a GREAT help as you can learn the depths the weed edges are at. Remember that the water level on the flowage is always flucuating so that will affect the depth you fish.

The lake has changed dramatically in the last 40 years and there is only about 5 % of the wood left; the usual best fishing now is the weeds which have also changed a lot. In the heat of summer I have often seen the fish go shallow but this is challenging to fish effectively but can be done. Many areas of the lake will hold fish so they need to be checked such as: humps, weeds, wood and rocky areas.

My advice is to get a sonar unit at a minimun you will not regret it. Should be able to get a cheap unit for around $100.

[Ty Sennett]

Robert, I can fix your bait when you come up here. As for the pro staff thing..............I'll consult with my boss.

JohnMG, Ithink everyone chimed in pretty good to help you out. For the swimbait part, I would say if you throw it long enough it will catch fish but for the most part swimbaits will only take up time that you could actually be catching more fish on other baits. I see swimbaits fading out in the next two years. They had their run though, that's for sure.