I hear that a lot that people will move a fish off a certain structure and then go back during Sunset/Moonset (feeding window) and successfully get a fish to eat. It seems to be all over the musky world. (Also along the lines of Jason's example).
Obviously this kinda contradicts the idea that the fish are moving along migration routes if the fish stays on the structure all day and never moves to it's sanctuary.
1. Could light levels have anything to do with the fish's ability to determine if a lure is food, or if its a Plastic thing with hooks going through the water? (why Jason would move fish on a bulldawg vs a Bucktail which may move fish in a darker situation)
2. Could the same people come back on the fish almost immediately with a different approach and trigger the fish instead of waiting for a "window"?
Ok go Tigers! I've gotta stop thinking about fishing for a second and focus on the best team in Baseball.
Yes, coming back to area's where you have moved fish works quite well during the moon periods, but it also works other times not just moon period.
When it gets dark, most fish sense by vibration so they are mostly going off of senses
your second question, yes someone else could come through an area with a different bait and possibly trigger a fish, or you could go through the same area you just went through with a different bait and maybe trigger another fish.
I know ive followed behind several random musky people at murray before and hooked fish. Im sure lot of other guys have done the same.
"Chris Musselman" said:
Obviously this kinda contradicts the idea that the fish are moving along migration routes if the fish stays on the structure all day and never moves to it's sanctuary.
If you come back to a spot that you've moved a fish on before and then catch a fish there, can you say with any certainty that it's the same fish? A good spot will be used by many fish, at different times.
I guess my vocabulary is a little off, I just started reading the book.
I find that everything Buck mentions makes so much sense, but Muskies that follow but don't bite has me stumped. You know a fish's location but can't get him to bite. But everyone is so convinced that Moonphases has so much to do with it and they seem to provide good evidence of that. Yet like you say one group of guys can pass over fish or move a fish and the next guy through the spot catches a fish.
My ultimate question is can light have effect on a "bite" only because a muskie has a lesser ability to determine if it is food, and be less of a factor on fish movement?
But if we know light effects fish movement, wouldn't it be a little bit of both, and therefore when the fish are in the shallows AND the light level is correct = "Feeding Window"
Just had my Eureka moment 😀
"Jim tenHaaf" said:
I believe that if a muskie just follows, you have done something wrong. Remember what Buck says – The 2 key factors are depth and speed. So when a muskie just follows, then sinks back to the depths, your lure was either the wrong depth, wrong speed, or both!
Sorry to jump in on this without knowing a lot about it, but is this saying if you have a fish follow you are doing something right with lure type/action and color??? just asking because I often convince myself I need to figure out lure type/action or color change after a fish follows like its curious and doesn't eat. I never really thought of depth and speed as being more important.
That's just the thing sometimes those things hold true, sometime they don't. The best way to get better and how fish react in different situations on your favorite lakes is to spend the time on the water.
From what I've gathered just from Will's input and Spoonplugging is that Moonphases are unreliable even though they are preached by the majority of muskie fisherman, and "feeding windows" come from many other factors, mostly light and movement.
But you're right the only way to form a good opinion is to get the experience myself and being aware of both ideas will allow me to determine which is more correct. Hell there could be evidence to both, such as moon phases causing movement, ect…
I've gotta stop trying to form opinions and finish the book first and get more experience.
Are you saying that fish are never inactive or that inactive fish cannot be caught during a window?
Thats what I'm trying to figure out… And I can't draw any conclusions until I finish the book, fish more, and start thinking about those things. I just want to have a more concrete understanding of a window, and why they happen. MoonPhases aren't good enough for me, and obviously spoonplugging puts the rest of of the pieces together.
"Chris Musselman" said:
From what I've gathered just from Will's input and Spoonplugging is that Moonphases are unreliable even though they are preached by the majority of muskie fisherman
I'm still undecided on whether the moon phase plays a role. Many guys attribute their big fish to being right around a moon phase. But, if they plan 90% of their time on the water during a moon phase instead of the middle of the day… well – duh. That's like saying, "I only catch fish between the hours of 1 and 2 in the afternoon." And the only time you are ever on the water (save 1 time per year) is between 12:45 and 2:05. 🙄
Also, many guys will say they caught their muskie within 30 minutes before/after:
-Moonrise
-Moonset
-Moon Transit
-Moon Underfoot
-Moon Overhead
-Sunrise
-Sunset
-Moon Zenith
There's really not much time in the day outside of that 1 hour window where the moon or sun isn't something!
"vano397" said:
[quote="Jim tenHaaf"]I believe that if a muskie just follows, you have done something wrong. Remember what Buck says – The 2 key factors are depth and speed. So when a muskie just follows, then sinks back to the depths, your lure was either the wrong depth, wrong speed, or both!
Sorry to jump in on this without knowing a lot about it, but is this saying if you have a fish follow you are doing something right with lure type/action and color??? just asking because I often convince myself I need to figure out lure type/action or color change after a fish follows like its curious and doesn't eat. I never really thought of depth and speed as being more important.
No, just the opposite. (Usually. This is just my *unscientific* reasoning). Take Murray for example. You can be casting a bucktail while your boat is in 30 FOW and a muskie doesn't come up behind it until it's 20' from the boat. Did that muskie come from 15' down? Because that bucktail was 15' above its head, was it the wrong depth?
Take, for example, a "throwback" lure. What is it, normally? Most guys choose a lure like a twitchbait, or a glider. Not a fast moving Double 10 bucktail. If a fish follows in on your bucktail, and you grab a Shallow Invader and pitch it back in the direction the fish came from, twitching it back to the boat, you are immediately changing your speed. I've had it countless times where switching to something slower caused the fish to eat. But, sometimes it's complete opposite. I've had fish follow on a glider, and then inhale a bucktail that was burned at Mach 1 right past it.
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