Conditioned fish sounds a little too polite to me. I like to call them "Combat Trained Fish". Let's face it, the fish that we strive to catch, each day we go out, has generally been caught before. The bigger the fish, the odds are less and less in your favor. This is where another approach can only be called, another tool in your arsenal. Although most of my experiences have occurred in Canadian waters, as a guide I have noticed similar results in parts of Wisconsin, Illinois, and parts of Indiana. The beast reacts the same, almost anywhere you fish for them. Let's start by saying that some of you, may already use some of these tactics, but there are also many of you who don't. Those of you, who have already seen the results, work in your favor!
Once we reach peak, or close to peak surface water temperature (75degrees) the real test begins. Memory banks have to be tapped into now. What did I do in the past when things were tough? One idea that could come to mind is to re-examine what kind of structure you are already fishing.
More often than not, there are two or even three weed lines around any particular type of structure. Do you know where they are? The idea here is that the bigger combat trained fish are accustomed to seeing baits flying by, from shore outwards, and avoid these baits or presentations. If you have noticed in your own boat, the guy who throws that cast at a weird angle into the weed bed, only because nothing was happening straight in, usually is the guy who gets the first action. Here you thought it was just luck. Try positioning your boat as safely as possible, as close as you can get to the top of the structure. Cast out to the second and third weed lines, out into the deeper water, and retrieve from deep to shallow. When I say deeper water, it doesn't have to be a whole lot deeper, a couple of feet to even a twenty foot difference. The tendency is to get a cast's distance away from where" you "think things are, then pitch and chuck your favorite baits. Weed fishermen, often have the technique but use the wrong boat position. Straight in, is not necessarily the best way to cast, the idea here, is to parallel a weed line, keeping the bait weed free, and in the strike zone for a longer period of time.
I notice people each day out, that are sitting right on top of the secondary weed lines and casting from the exact location of their bigger fish. Move out, to the equivalent of two casts distance away from your visible structure. The first thing you will notice is that you will catch a lot less Pike and what I call "Pinners," smaller Muskies. Let's look at something that we all know about but don't necessarily do right. We all know that eddy's, always hold fish of some kind. How do you know which ones hold Muskies? Watch your panfish fishermen, and where they are fishing. The big Muskies are closely hanging around the outside edges and feeding on the fish that are fleeing the area.
My plan of attack would be to start looking for the deeper points with really sharp turns facing right into the wind. The deeper the water on these shoreline points, the more the more you can count on there being a Musky sitting right on the edge of that rougher water. I've seen some years where it didn't matter how rough or how calm it was, the eddy, was the only cast you had to make to see if somebody was home. The rougher the water, the better the chance you will catch a fish rather than just see one. These are monster fish spots, boat control is a must. You know that fish is going to come straight at you and under the boat, experience comes in handy now! When it is extremely rough, and these big fish are feeding, they don't like to get bounced around either, yet they also know there is a lot of easy food coming! The presentation of preference here is to imitate the natural flow of food, from the rough to the calm.
Wind, wind, and more wind. Some fishing trips were called disasters because of high winds, yet, they could have been, memorable ones. Wind in itself, is a key trigger for combat trained Muskies, they cannot hear you nearly as much as usual, because you are not using your trolling motor as much, only to keep the boat in position rather, than pulling it along. The water crashing on the rocks and so on, seems really noisy to us, and although they don't hear it the same way, the added activity and disturbance in the water confuses them just enough that they have to concentrate on staying in the most opportune spot, rather than being on the prowl. We don't know exactly where the fish go, when they are not home, are they out feeding or are we to late to interest them in another appetizer. When I say, a fish is not home, it is because many of the Muskies I fish, whether it be for myself or a party I may be guiding, have distinct locations that they show themselves more. Odds of catching this fish go up, for the simple fact, you kind of know exactly where to cast your first cast or two. Most good Anglers have learned where the likelihood of the first cast should be thrown, as this is when those combat trained fish are the most vulnerable, particularly in heavily fished areas. People generally tend to try and avoid the wind if at all possible, when actually that's where the fish are. The food chain is the most visible to the human eye right at that point. Plankton is stirred up, minnows and crayfish start to feed, then the Perch and so on, until we reach "Mamooo".
When you think boat control is impossible, don't fight it! Use it to your advantage. You don't need your trolling motor, except to maybe keep it semi perpendicular to where you are casting. Use a drift to get in as many good casts as you can. It might only be three or four casts before you have to move the boat with the engine. The important thing to remember when casting here is, to cast well ahead of the boat, in such a fashion the bait works for you, rather than you burning in the last half of your retrieve, because it is already behind the boat. If you don't feel you covered the spot well enough, go back and do it again. Even though I believe in the gun and run approach, if I stop to fish a spot, I won't leave until we have covered it properly.
Let's get even more dangerous! Looking at those long, extended points that reach into the main body of water. Those points that are so shallow, we avoid them like the plague! With the price of our equipment being what it is today, we tend to stay away from those spots. Once again, it is the least likely spot for you to fish under windy conditions, never mind calm conditions. I've caught multiple Muskies on one point several times. Those rocks and clumps of coontail hold huge Muskies as well as small Muskies. The trick, once again, is to start way out and work your way in to as safe a depth as you possibly can, using your depth finder of course. Take into consideration that the swells between the waves, that might not offer you enough water so you don't bottom out. One must be careful, but the reward can be tremendous! Looking back, it reminds me of a day I had the pleasure of fishing with Rob Manthei. It was a pretty windy day, and Rob was pumped up real good. He knew that things could happen that day. We didn't get much time to fish together, but it was definitely happening. Out of the first three spots, we had two follows. Both fish were over 45" and just enough to tell us we were on the right track. At that point I had mentioned to him that I had an idea where a really big one would be, only problem being, that point only had three feet of water, extending over 150 yards from shore. With the waves about three feet high, I swear we could see the bottom in some of the swells. Rob wasn't too keen about putting his Ranger in close to shore, this is when I said to him, "We don't want to be way in there" we want to stay way out, and move in with a slow drift. Trying to keep our balance while casting was seemingly impossible, when all of a sudden Rob got a smash, from a fish that came rocketing out of the water, and seemingly went about eight feet across the waves before he finally submerged again. This fish was of superior quality. As Rob set the hook, the bait unfortunately ripped loose and flew back to stick in my leg. Not even feeling the pain yet, I looked at Rob and he looked at me and asked "How big was that"? To this day, I have never seen such a huge fish go completely airborne for such a distance. Rough water spells danger, but it also pays big dividends. You must remember to look at these spots thoroughly in calm conditions before attempting to fish them in rough conditions.
Make the best of your next fishing excursion regardless of the conditions, remembering that you are out there for fun, not an endurance test. These are by no means the only areas that combat trained fish are caught; let's just say that they are worth looking at.
Click the mailbox to e-mail. Last updated on ... March 22, 2002