If you have not read this article yet......................

[Red Childress]

it is a MUST get. In-Fisherman magazine ran an article titled, Muskie Movement Breakthrough, in its latest edition (Volume 41/NO. 3 June 2016) discussing muskie movements you likely have never experienced or suspected. I read tons of research data and this is one of the most informative muskie studies I have ever seen. If you are a troller, read it tomorrow.

It was a head-scratcher for me.

[ppalko]

Very interesting. Do any lakes in Western PA sport a significant cisco population as that seems to be the driving force of musky movements that were revealed. The fact that the fish are moving so predictably on a daily basis is amazing as is the seasonal migration during winter to shallow water and the the movement out during ice out. The smallmouth article in the same issue is also a good read.

[Red Childress]

The cisco relationship will really not apply to WPA lakes but the sun's influence on clear water fish movements probably does. During my spotlighting days here on the river and Kinzua, we saw many fish up shallow gorging on piles of shiners and possibly juvenile walleyes that were present as well.

[ppalko]

I fish Keystone Lake alot and that article certainly rings somewhat true for situations there although I bet with Perch, Crappie, and Bluegill being a significant forage base for musky there, movements of musky are a little different as a result. Also dealing with Tigers there changes things as well especially in light of the significant differences noted in that article concerning musky and pike. What I think makes the most sense to me is that a huge key to success in any musky situation is to figure out a pattern for a particular body of water. Then be prepared to adapt if siuations in that environment changes. Noticing the changes are all so key. A classic example of a pattern on the river was the warm water discharge at the old power plant at Starbrick. Pretty predictable place that was removed and then things changed a bunch in that area as a result. Last year on Keystone, weed growth was really different due to all the rain and the fish were in a significantly different pattern from the previous year. Noticing the change was a key to finding fish. Funny how much of a scientific approach one can take to fishing, or just trust instincts. Red, you are so lucky as you get a ridiculously huge sample size to develop a basis for patterns.

[ttabaleulb]

I finally got a chance to read the article. WOW!! On a couple lakes that I fish on a somewhat regular basis, some of the movement mentioned in the article makes a lot of sense. I have a fresh picture in my mind of one such scenario. At daybreak last Fall, I saw fish breaking the surface chasing bait all over the place. As usual, got a bit of a later start than I wanted. Get into some action for about the next hour and then everything just stopped dead once the sun got up so far. That same situation basically took place for the next couple of days that I got to fish there too. Didn't matter if it was clear or overcast.

I haven't been a huge fan of night fishing with the flyrod, but I might have to do some experimenting this year.