As a newbie I've noticed there seems to be some basic rules of Muskie fishing that everyone seems to know…….but me. I'm hoping some of the more experienced guys can help me out here. I recently discovered that all muskie lakes aren't mud puddles like my home lake, Hudson. So I'm curious about the following:
1 – When fishing clear water is it better to select darker or more colorful baits? (I've been going with the colors)
2 – Do you downsize your baits in clear water?
3 – Do you change your retrieve speed in clear water?
4 – Are all of the above decisions more heavily influenced by other factors like weather, water temp, etc……?
Any info would be appreciated.
The basic rule for me is the clearer the water the more dull and or natural the color pattern. I catch more fish on My tan Perch Little Claw than any other lure or color when fishing clear waters. I believe that this is because the lure looks more like the real thing to a fish. Now if you get dark cloud cover and you have clear water things can change. Golds and yellows seem to start getting more attention. On the waters of St. Clair I fished several different clarities of water over 8 days. The resulting big fish numbers were taken trolling a brown barred tan body with gold scale. We call it Coco perch. This pattern in the clearer areas of the lake was awsome and we popped a bunch of big fish. Now when we strayed out of the clean water and into the more mixed up stained water this pattern did not produce at all. At that time the yellow crackle frog and the yellow and brown Tuff Shad did the talking. I hear the term bright days bright lures. I dont buy into that. In dark stained waters Use Yellow,orange and White. In average stain use everything and in ultra clear water get natural. But hey anything could work at a given moment. Clear water bluebird day and some guy tosses a fire tiger something or other and catches the world record. Kingfisher
1 – When fishing clear water is it better to select darker or more colorful baits? (I've been going with the colors)
In clear water I like colors that are more subdued. Perch colors that aren't bright green but more gold/brown/yellow, almost what some paint as walleye. I'm also very fond of black in clear water particularly with dive rise jerkbaits and rubber.
2 – Do you downsize your baits in clear water?
Fishing pressure and weather dictates if I downsize, not water color. Downsizing is relative, if I'm on big fish water downsizing might be going to an 8" bait. I would rather fish in a way that I'm confident the fish rarely see instead of downsizing. However, the next question might require downsizing to get the speed or erratic retreive needed.
3 – Do you change your retrieve speed in clear water?
Great question. This will depend on fish location in the water column and if they're using cover. If they're high in the water but not in thick cover, speed is my favorite. I've caught plenty of fish over open water on a burned bucktail. If I need to entice fish from deeper water, I want an erratic slash bait – 9" Grandma is great for this. If they're tucked into cover you can't beat a twitch bait or a dive rise/dive glide bait.
4 – Are all of the above decisions more heavily influenced by other factors like weather, water temp, etc……?
Not really, I almost always approach clear water the same way.
I can't improve upon anything that's been said already, those words are the musky truth. But what I do want to add is basically just to put yourself in that muskie's fins, and think about what might make them eat. I want to do this because its fun for me. A muskie's vision is VERY good- in clear water you will see them track down baits from the side from 20, 30 feet away and I've even heard stories of further. That does not mean they will very often, but they can if they are motivated (hungry). So, in clear water that muskie is watching the world swim by- he sees every carp, catfish, sucker, perch, bluegill and shiner that comes within a 10 yard radius. They are all going about their business, but in the back of their mind they are all very careful not to get smoked by the muskies they know lurk. The ones that do get picked off are the ones that make a mistake- they are in the wrong place at the wrong time, or they make some movement that exposes them as vulnerable.
It may seem contrary, but the one that is vulnerable is the one that is darting, fleeing, scared. It might be becuase its injured, we all know predators target those, but either way that potential meal is preoccupied with something else and is in the throes of 'chaos and turmoil' (concept courtesy of Pearson). The ones slowly ambling along are the ones that are cautiously monitoring their surroundings. Unless they stumble right into the lap of a musky, they are safe and the muskies won't even pay them much mind. Because muskies can see all of this activity playing out in clear water, the crazy, FAST, erratic "I've lost my mind and control of my bodily functions" presentation will get hit more than any slow, straight retrieve.
Even though muskies are dumb, and when hungry they will smash anything that moves, clicks, splashes or clanks, they are just not THAT hungry very often. So, they follow. In clear water they follow a lot because they see this noisy, gaudy looking curiosity way far away and they cruise in for a closer look. But that is not the way they are programmed to eat something- to come sauntering right in on top of it like its asking to be eaten as it just continues on its merry way. Even the most vulnerable looking artificial bait will produce mostly follows if the musky sees it from a long distance, is not starving, and just comes strolling out to have a closer look. BUT, if you could know RIGHT where a musky is positioned, which direction it is oriented, did not condition the fish with several casts and offerings in its far-field of view, made the angle of approach of your lure such that the fish does not watch it come swimming in from a great distance, and retrieved that lure in a fleeing, darting, chaotic manner… bingo, every time! A musky surprised, by speed and by a fleeing fish squirting right into its strike zone, is a musky that will come unglued. woops, sorry I got carried away…
That was a cool description 
. Burn ,rip, twitch and cause caos. Did you know that short line trolling works so well because baitfish are disoriented by the prop and boat? The old myth was that Muskies were attracted to the prop. If that was the case many Muskies would be minus thier snoots. I have watched bait jump out of the water ahead of a top raider prop bait . Boats cause caos in baitfish and Muskies take advantage of this. Yes caos works. Kingfisher
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