Window of Opportunity

NumenOn the Water

Date:  10-8-15

Body of Water:  C Lake

Boat:  Numenon

With:  JVK

Target: Muskellunge

Time:  3:30 - 8:15 PM

Conditions:  Pretty mild but with an approaching cold front; 70 degrees F dropping to 55 or so; mild winds; 61 degrees F +/- water and pretty murky.  We stayed into full dark and got caught by some heavy rain at the dock as the South wind quickly swung to the North.

My latest report for this lake indicated Big Rubber along the deepest weed edges, but the water has cooled dramatically since that information was procured.   We’re also rapidly approaching the conditions in which I had enjoyed my C Lake Baptism last year; so I hedged my bets by alternating bucktails and topwaters over the weeds, too.  I tried to be on my “best” spot during the 5:15 PM moonset, but as far as I could tell, I'd not encountered a fish.  

At 6:30 PM I was joined by muskie friend JVK.  Given the observed water temp (60 is bucktail time!), he agreed to work over the weeds in our remaining Window of Opportunity. He threw a custom orange and black 2x10 bucktail while I covered water with top-waters * and smaller bucktails.  JVK announced a follower right at the 7:15 PM sunset.  It was a pretty hot follow, too,  a 40-incher that disappeared after a turn in the Eight.  But JVK kept his Eight going, and the fish came back in, swiped and missed, and disengaged again.  That was it for the night; I'll just have to wait until next time. 

What do I have to say about this?

I will probably forever remember this day for Ollie’s disgusting roll in some apparent bear crap and subsequent bath.  While I'd taken some time off work to be on the water a bit early instead of dealing with such things, this turned out to be nothing more than a slight delay with no real cost.  It should also be noted that I strangely didn’t mind switching the boat back over to muskies.  Is that because I am motivated by them, or because the switch was simply on my own terms?  

I also enjoyed picking JVK's brain on strategies, styles and execution.  He knows a lot more about muskie fishing than I do, and this night we were literally in the same boat.  He's a Master of Big Rubber, but he can't necessarily explain why; nothing beats experience and personal qualia.  He was fresh off a good experience on Lake St. Clair,  and he concluded that we’re generally doing it right; but that focusing on concentrations of bait was key.

It was awesome having a knowledgeable boat mate aboard. Our presentations complemented each other's, we were learning from each other, and we were focusing our efforts with synergy; and that's just not possible when fishing alone.

His C Lake hotspots generally correspond to mine and his fish appeared right on an existing waypoint from a previous encounter of mine.  I know I should spend more time with my sonar and figure why these spots are singling themselves out; and then use it to find more!

* I love the look of the Poe's Jackpot walking bait, especially now that I’ve minimized my leader hardware.  It's a slow bait, but I suspect a deadly one when presented to The Spot.  If I'm covering water or simply searching for fish, then I will stick with the prop-baits.