One of my Goals this season is to finish in the top 25 in Mens Masters. Sounded easy when I looked at last years standings. Catch 50 fish and do it right? Not as easy as it looked. Those 7 skunks put the hurtin on my chances but I am clawing my way back into the top 25. Im at 28 right now.
The reason I posted this however was the battle at the top that I am watching between two long time rivals. John Dennis and Maurice Potvin. Jeff Hansen and Chris Haley are also in there but I have watched 4 lead changes in the last two weeks. Potvin already has 102 fish and Dennis has 92. These guys are working the south shore of Lake St. Clair. This is the same area Michelle and I worked in 2006. The exact same thing was going on then. Lots of 34 inch average fish being caught on Tuff Shads in 15 to 16 feet of water. Mostly Males? Michelle and I moved out to 17/18 feet and fished Slashers and our average was much bigger. Ours were mostly Females. Someone needs to take advantage of this as I cant. Matt Firestien(Catfish) told me once that the big girls are in the middle of the lake. I wonder if this is a male female thing. If I ever get back there Im going to try to keep a log of the smaller fish I tend to see in close and see if they are males or just younger fish. Mike
"Will Schultz" said:
Would you rather have 100 fish that averaged 34" or 50 that average 42"?That contest will always be dominated by those that can fish the most. I think Maurice is out there nearly every day, and when you can catch 20/day that's just silly.
Or how about close to 100 that average 46"…..But thats with Pete shaking fish under 48 off all the time…
Personally I would rather catch one 50 pound fish . What I am saying is no one is doing what Michelle and Did in 2006 and that is moving outside of where those guys are catching all the small ones and reaping the harvest of bigger fish. The third Belle river hump which is not on all the maps. This was the central point that we worked off for three 50 inch fish that year. We were always in sight of the Ohio Crowd and we caught bigger fish every time.
But yes as Will said the Masters will always be won by guys who can fish all the time. Retired etc. My hope is to keep my average where it is or raise it some maybe get over 40 inches. I want to place in the top 25 on my terms fishing inland lakes and not go to St. Clair more than once. Mike
I'm not really at all interested in that contest but thought it was cool to follow you and Michelle when you guys were competing. Really, I could also care less about my average as long as I'm catching fish. I don't get out as much as lots of other people, I just like to make the most of my time out there. They're all fun to catch to me. As far as LSC, well i wish there was an inland lake closer than 2hrs away so I could go stick piggies there too……oh well, I guess I'll have to stick with the BIG, STUPID, fish of the DR and LSC. LOL
"Kingfisher" said:
Personally I would rather catch one 50 pound fish . What I am saying is no one is doing what Michelle and Did in 2006 and that is moving outside of where those guys are catching all the small ones and reaping the harvest of bigger fish. The third Belle river hump which is not on all the maps. This was the central point that we worked off for three 50 inch fish that year. We were always in sight of the Ohio Crowd and we caught bigger fish every time.
But yes as Will said the Masters will always be won by guys who can fish all the time. Retired etc. My hope is to keep my average where it is or raise it some maybe get over 40 inches. I want to place in the top 25 on my terms fishing inland lakes and not go to St. Clair more than once. Mike
I don't think I would say no one is doing it, there are plenty of guys that ignore the small fish on the south shore and only fish mid-lake. Those would be the same guys that consistently place and win the MOMC tournaments.
"Chasin50" said:
And the fish in the middle of the lake are not stupid:) You better bring your "A" game… lots of patience, and every trick in the book.
Are they smarter? or is there just less of them out there? I know the Momc guys have been doing that for decades. It seems that group from Ohio does not. With the new chapter of Muskies inc I see more guys who are running higher averages now but they fish a different area. Potvin does have two fish over 50 inches on tough shads but his average is still only 34 inches.
My post was sarcasm in case anybody missed that. I was referring to some things I have been hearing/reading lately regarding Lsc. The lake is huge and has numbers to match. But when they don't want to bite, it can be tough like anywhere else. I've trolled the south shore a few times. Had good days but also have had days where only a few fish were caught. Now if I could spend multiple days a week out there, of course the numbers would be there. If you only get a day here or a day there, it can be frustrating. Weather, wind, pressure depending on where you are, all play a factor. I think the notion that all you have to do is show up and put a bait in the water is ridiculous! And if you're going to travel a few hours and think that is the way it's going to be, you could get disappointed. Now I don't have a drop in the bucket of experience compared to Will, Chad, Mike and others that have fished out there. They have tricks up their sleeves that can change everything. But I do consider myself a very good student and I soak up everything possible that is there for me to learn. I don't just go out there and drift around and get lucky. You guys do have a point regarding the amount of time those guys spend out there racking up the points for the Muskies Inc. contest. But hey, the only thing to be jealous about is the amount of time they get to spend fishing. The amount of time they get to spend fishing arguably, the worlds greatest muskie fishery at the moment. So, instead of making reasons why this guy is doing this and that guy is catching that, get out there and enjoy it! Who knows how long it will last?!?! Just don't expect the fish to jump in the boat.
I know it can be very tough out there as I have been there a handful of times and haven't had that great of success, but I still think it is a ridiculous fishery compared to others. Just look at some of the numbers caught on opening day out there; 9 fish caught, 7 for 9, 10 fish boated, etc. You're not going to get those kinds of numbers from the inland lakes. The trolling numbers are unbelievable out there as last year I think a boat caught 45 fish the first day or weekend. That would be a great SEASON for most of the inland lakes.
Exactly Jason. And that is why it is perhaps the worlds greatest muskie fishery at the moment. Now if you went to the worlds greatest inland muskie fishery, sure you might see those kind of numbers. The pressure along with fish getting trained to seeing baits would be the only prohibitive factors. Unless of course the inland lake was thousands of acres…….
"Hamilton Reef" said:
[quote="ricky sox wrangler"]…..the only thing to be jealous about is the amount of time they get to spend fishing…..
That is the point. Time and money are the two major restrictions with the rich man's sport of musky fishing.
No, it wasn't MY point. Perhaps my point was off topic. My bad for that…..
"Hamilton Reef" said:
[quote="ricky sox wrangler"]…..the only thing to be jealous about is the amount of time they get to spend fishing…..
That is the point. Time and money are the two major restrictions with the rich man's sport of musky fishing.
Rich? Not so sure about that… Crazy enough to work all winter, maybe a second job or overtime, to cover the upcoming expense involved with another muskie season? Sure.
I don't think muskie fishing is much different than any other hobby/obsession. Sure, fishing panfish isn't going to be very expensive but a serious walleye or salmon angler is going to have the same expenses.
"Will Schultz" said:
. Sure, fishing panfish isn't going to be very expensive but a serious walleye or salmon angler is going to have the same expenses.
No kidding, muskie fishing is a bargain compared to big lake salmon fishing and a ton of people do that. I'm glad I'm not out there every weekend and fishing tournaments like I used to. Plus with muskie fishing I never have to clean fish! 
or catch many fish for that matter 🙄
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