NumenOn the Water
Date: 11-27-15
Date: 11-27-15
Body of Water: M Lake
Boat: Numenon
With: Alone
Target: Muskellunge
Time: 10:45 AM - 3:15 PM
Conditions: Gray, spitting, 38-40 F with northerly winds to 15 mph or so; clear, 46-47 F water
Temperatures dropped 20 degrees or more overnight, but it was the day after Thanksgiving, and I was looking for a fish to cap off my Muskie Season. Despite the strong cold front moving through, the winds never got too bad, and boat control was never an issue. I was willing to be flexible, but I suspected that I would be going big and throwing a Bulldawg most of the day. That was confirmed when a nice 40-inch or so Muskie followed my dawg to the boat on my third or fourth cast. She was very lethargic and never seemed too interested, but she'd followed my bait off the deep weed edge, and I was confident I would raise some other fish, too.
I did glimpse another follower well below my bait on another weed edge. She, too, was disinterested and simply glided away.
I did try various jerk- and twitch baits over the remaining weeds and edges with no sign of moving a fish. I worked the Bulldawg over weeds, along edges and out over the abyss. There were plenty of apparent bait fish suspended in certain areas, and my bait sure looked like a mythical ciscoe, reportedly present in this lake. I even trolled a three rod spread along deep weed edges and through bait pods for an hour or so without triggering a fish.
I knew I likely had one more shot at fishing over the weekend, so when all three boats on the lake converged on the same spot at the same time, it was too easy to just go to the ramp and save my energy for the next trip.
Temperatures dropped 20 degrees or more overnight, but it was the day after Thanksgiving, and I was looking for a fish to cap off my Muskie Season. Despite the strong cold front moving through, the winds never got too bad, and boat control was never an issue. I was willing to be flexible, but I suspected that I would be going big and throwing a Bulldawg most of the day. That was confirmed when a nice 40-inch or so Muskie followed my dawg to the boat on my third or fourth cast. She was very lethargic and never seemed too interested, but she'd followed my bait off the deep weed edge, and I was confident I would raise some other fish, too.
I did glimpse another follower well below my bait on another weed edge. She, too, was disinterested and simply glided away.
I did try various jerk- and twitch baits over the remaining weeds and edges with no sign of moving a fish. I worked the Bulldawg over weeds, along edges and out over the abyss. There were plenty of apparent bait fish suspended in certain areas, and my bait sure looked like a mythical ciscoe, reportedly present in this lake. I even trolled a three rod spread along deep weed edges and through bait pods for an hour or so without triggering a fish.
I knew I likely had one more shot at fishing over the weekend, so when all three boats on the lake converged on the same spot at the same time, it was too easy to just go to the ramp and save my energy for the next trip.
What do I have to say about this?
This lake is tough, but it has some monstrous fish in it. That is enough to keep me returning. One of these trips, one of these old fish will make a mistake, and I will have my chance here again.
This lake is tough, but it has some monstrous fish in it. That is enough to keep me returning. One of these trips, one of these old fish will make a mistake, and I will have my chance here again.
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