We returned to Upper Long for another day. Better results but still not enough love. Water temps at 49.1 to 54.5 with the wind mixing it up and changing it constantly. Fish were however aggressive and hitting. We started off by losing a heart breaker on a new Shallow suspending prototype of the Rippin Shad. Michelle had a good hook set but it was a good fish and it shook her off. I had one pound a Crane 205 but no hookup. We finally put one (35 incher) in the net rolling a fireperch Rippin Shad in 15 feet of water about 9 feet down. 3 mph gps. trolling down wind. We lost another good fish trolling prior to that one. These fish will be entering the spawn in another couple days . I wish we had another day but thats Muskie fishing. Talking to a couple who were kicking our butts trolling we found out they had caught 8 fish the day before all trolling small baits including a huge fat 48 inch pre spawn female. They boated 4 that we could see. We should have trolled more and casted less as it seems the fish were still spread out and suspending in 14 to 21 feet of water. W e did try casting deep divers and Bulldawgs but that is no way to cover water. I marked a lot of bait and large hooks just off the breaks. This lake almost requires the angler to use Bluegill shaped lures in the 3 to 6 inch range as most every other offering was ignored.. Not a sniff on bucktails or Bulldawgs. Little cranes and little Bagley micro baits got some attention but it was the 4 inch Rippin Shad that got it done. Tuff Shads, Bad shads and SS.Shads got attention. Brads teardrops should work well there. Once again we watched a 42 inch class fish take a bluegill right out of the air over the top of Michelles lure this time. Exciting stuff but it doesnt put fish in the net. One thing is for certain these fish in the spring are small bait oriented . I could have left 80% of our lures at home. Mike
Ha Ha Ha , more like a trudge than a roll. 600 miles for one 35 inch fish isnt exactly a roll. But we are learning something about this lake. Mistakes made include fishing too big, casting too much worthless shoreline and not arriving early enough in the morning. W e are going to try it once more before our opener. Right now Michelle is all alone in 1st place in Womens masters as none of the other gals in her division have turned in a fish yet. So far so good but we need more production on these long trips to make them worth the money spent. We now know the 5 major areas where the Muskies hold in this lake and that really narrows the water down on a lake this small. The good thing is the high winds are mixing it up and keep the temps down so it will delay the spawn a little longer. I am thinking we have one more shot before they start spawning. There are some real good fish in this little lake according the Muskies inc records. So far we have seen a couple of mid 40's and that was pretty cool.
We started off with such an outstanding day on Osterhout only to be returned to reality by one small Indiana lake. Thats Musky fishing, one day you are on top of world and the next you cant find the secret. Any way thanks for the good words. W e are fishing this entire summer so Ill be on the boards alot more this year. W e look forward to running into all of you this season. Tight lines, Mike and Michelle
Sounds like a fun lake, thanks for the good info. I was hoping for a post of my own, was down at Melton Hill, TN, this past weekend to visit family but also fished one and a half days for just two lookers. Very humbling, it made me appreciate my small home waters, that lake at tens of thousands of surface acres and hundreds of miles of shoreline had me pretty lost. But it was still fun and there's always plenty to learn from every try, whatever happens.
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