Originally Posted by Osky
Originally Posted by Ky221
Originally Posted by Osky
Originally Posted by Ky221
Originally Posted by blairvt
Originally Posted by Ky221
Originally Posted by blairvt
only been pike fishing once, headed back in a few weeks. The other is my daughters best, she thought it smelled bad.
[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]
[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]
[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]
[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]


That's a very nice and clean Muskie.

Like the Gheenoe too😎
Caught on the New River in Virginia. Use to be an awesome Small Mouth river and occasionally catch a Muskie. Now, guys who know what they are doing catch 3 a day and the smallmouth are harder to come by. I mean on a good trip you could catch 100 smallies. Some good ones. They say the Muskies don't eat the small mouth but I don't believe it.

Lol they don't. At least not in a large part. Muskies 10-1 prefer soft rayed fish (suckers, carp etc). Been a ton of studies done on this subject. Where Muskies are shocked, then stomach contents flushed. I can't remember the percentages but when it comes to bass, bluegill, etc.....it's extremely low.

Ever notice that some of the best smallie and walleye lakes are also first class Muskie fisheries? Lake st Clair, lake of the woods, come to mind.

I would challenge that line of thinking. I guide from Minnesota to the northern limits of musky range in Canada for musky and can tell you they do not discriminate. They may have preferences but I have seen countless muskies attack smallmouth on the line from the Mississippi on north.
I have had many attack walleyes being reeled in as well. I know of many terrific smallie lakes in Ontario that have primarily Muskie, lake trout, and bass for game species and whitefish and Cisco for forage base where every client will have Musky hit bass on the line at some time during the day. It’s very common.
As they get larger in those lakes the trophy’s tend to move out deep and prey from below on the Cisco and whitefish schools. Trolling under those huge schools in open water produces wonderful musky and pike as well if they share the water.
Musky are eating machines period. We even have multiple instances i recent years of musky in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Canada attacking people with their feet hanging in the water while sitting on docks.

Osky




And there is a perfectly logical reason for that. It's a "fish in distress". Doesn't matter what the species is, a bigger fish sees a fish "fighting on a line" it's going to trigger the predatory instinct. You can challenge that line of thinking or you can look up Muskie diets and stomach contents that are actually factual and evidence backed. They are seemingly a fresh study released every year. Hard rayed fish are a VERY small percent of the diet.

Muskies will
Also hammer other smaller Muskies when on the line, same with northern pike.....but they are not part of the general diet and not negatively impacting other game fish populations. Again. Check LSC, lake of the woods, eagle lake, etc etc etc etc the list goes on. If that were the case....you could not have both a world class bass lake and a world class Muskie lake working together.



Eating machines LOL! Muskies are SUPER LAZY fish. And they in fact do not eat everyday. A big Muskie might go 2-: days between feeds. If they were eating machines they would be easier to catch. Because they are a pretty stupid fish.

As far as smoking toes off the dock. It's funny to me that when bluegill do it....it's cute. When a Muskie does it, he's a ferocious eating machine. If a fish sees something moving in the water, and thinks he can eat it.....he's going to. Idc what the species is.

I've spent all of my adult life around these fish....nothing conjures up more "stories and false assumptions" than a Muskie. Start chasing the fish, and you'll soon lay a bunch of this to rest.

I will believe my own eyes and experience, and also studies for sure, I do not claim to be an expert.
All of your adult life is terrific. I have worked on and guided on water for the mentioned fish since the summer of 69 when I started as a dock boy in the northern fly in camps of Ontario and Manitoba. While I am not the expert you are I will tap back on 50 plus years of experience.

You bring up examples of lakes like LOW. That is a massive lake where there are not enough musky overall to cause big changes. I’ve fished most of the water from Angle Inlet up to Kenora particularly ( a ton of it anyway ) and plenty of musky are there but not nearly enough to influence any fish population. Smaller waters they can and do. The same for the Mississippi down north of Minneapolis, plenty of room for all.
Your example of other species of fish nipping at toes seems to make my point.
Muskies are no more lazy than any other fish for the most part. Sunnies bite, and they don’t. Crappies the same, walleyes…etc. I have found changing weather conditions affect musky more than anything, full belly or not. A very skittish fish to be sure but that mode can be mitigated a bit by stained water, cautious fishing methods, long lining etc.

I’ve grown a bit tired of muskies other than the fantastic table fare they are. The vast majority of my clients now prefer fishing trophy pike versus musky and I enjoy it as well so maybe I’m too far behind the current musky wisdom these days. That’s fine.


A lifetime on the water and someone is telling me to start chasing fish. Thank you for that advice.

Osky

Ah, the classic I'm older than you and therefore know everything. Fwiw I fish water so small you can't even begin to imagine. Muskies have been there for eons, as have the bass. And the fishing is great .

Lol.I'll not bother wasting anymore time for you or myself. No matter how bright the light, some just don't seem to see it. Take care.