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FISHING ARTICLES
Finding The Fish By: Chris Harris Every musky angler dreams of a waterway filled with large muskies unknown to everyone else. What most anglers don’t know is that often this dream can become a reality with a bit of map work and driving. I guide in Eastern Ontario and when I bring most people to our fishing destinations they look at me as if I'm crazy and seem to think it's some kind of joke. The reason is the majority of the time the places I take them to look more like a creek worthy of small pan fish and not the fish of a thousand casts. After catching four or five muskies over thirty inches and a few more quite a bit larger that look is gone and in its place a look of amazement. These places aren’t uncommon if you know where to look.
Now that you have located your potential spots it is time to scout them out. This may often require a canoe or a johnboat to get into the smaller rivers. Once you reach the spot to be scouted there are a few helpful observations needed to be made to see if the place has potential. The first piece of information you should try to determine is the depth of the water. A fish finder or flasher can be quite helpful here but if not some measured fishing line and a weight can be used. An ideal spot should have an average depth of around ten feet with a few shallower areas as well as a few deeper holes. The second piece of information that should be determined is if there is sufficient oxygen and forage for the fish. A good way to go about this is to look to see if there is evidence of aquatic plants which would indicate oxygen, it can be hard to determine if there is sufficient forage so you will have to make an educated guess by looking at potential food for the baitfish such as frogs, minnows, nymphs etc. If you have these elements then there is a high probability that there will be musky present. Now you know where the musky are the fun part begins, catching them! From my experiences the river musky don’t seem that much different from their lake cousins. However I will mention a few methods for catching them, which I have had success with. The first tip concerns the location of these fish. Musky are opportunist and don’t like to work for their As far as bait goes almost anything will work. In the summer it seems that buzz baits and long plastics with a light jig head work well. After turnover and prior to summer large crank baits and small to medium size jerk baits take the majority of the fish. As it is in all types of musky fishing, in order to be successful the angler must be aware and prudent. Remember sharp hooks can make the difference and every cast could be the one in which the fish strikes, so be aware. River fishing for musky is quite the experience, very few things can compare to seeing a 50 inch musky follow a jig up to your boat in a river with a width sometimes only twice the size of the fish following your lure. Last but not least try not to laugh when the other anglers joke about the dried up creek your fishing in.
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