# First time muskie fishing



## drjongy

Going to try muskie fishing next week for the first time. I was looking at leaders and was wondering if I should go titanium or use an 80-100 lb flourocarbon leader. My friend has two boxes full of tackle but I did buy about 4 items myself...was wondering if anyone wanted to tell me what their "go to" lure is. Thanks.


----------



## SODSUCKER

I have had better luck with the flourocarbon the fish do not see it as well, but the better benifit is the action of your lure is much better.
good luck and if you catch or even see one you will be spending a lot more time and money than you have available. So you might want to be sick that day just to save yourself a lot of grief.


----------



## drjongy

SODSUCKER said:


> Good luck and if you catch or even see one you will be spending a lot more time and money than you have available. So you might want to be sick that day just to save yourself a lot of grief.


That's funny...I've actually had a couple people tell me that. I give my two buddies a hard time because they get so excited about having a follow and not even catching a fish over the course of a weekend. I am looking forward to giving it a try, though.


----------



## SODSUCKER

Don't say that I didn't warn you. It happened to me. Let us know how it turns out.


----------



## njsimonson

Yeah, I guess I should have added that in my msg to you DRJ. You'll find yourself buying a few new things.


----------



## lvmylabs

drjongy, Where are you headed? Are you heading out this weekend?


----------



## drjongy

No, it's going to be next Thursday night, Friday and Saturday. We're going to see The Tragically Hip at the 10KLF in Detroit Lakes next Friday night, so the plan is to fish DL and possibly Pelican. I'm certainly open to any suggestions or comments, however.


----------



## lvmylabs

I will be on DL tonight around 6:00. My brother has fished Pelican a couple of times this year and had some nice fish follow (40+), but he hasn't landed anything yet.

Good Luck


----------



## BrianLucky13

Both Pelican and DL have been slow the last 2 weeks. I fish a lot and have only seen a few fish and caught one 51.25 incher. The fish are getting pounded on DL. I think the fish are suspended of the breaklines. Thats what happens when its a small lake and there is always people fishing. Also if you fish after dark you might have more luck cause the fish feel more comfortable!!

Good luck!!!


----------



## drjongy

Well, I've already spent over a hundred dollars and all I have are 4 lures and a couple leaders. Just a few days away....kind of getting pumped to try this type of fishing.


----------



## SODSUCKER

Do you have a rod and reel big enough to handle those big lures that you purchased? What kind of leaders and lures did you buy?


----------



## drjongy

SODSUCKER said:


> Do you have a rod and reel big enough to handle those big lures that you purchased? What kind of leaders and lures did you buy?


I do have a couple muskie rods and reels that I bought a few years ago that I have been using for catfishing on the Red. One Shimano and one St. Croix rod, both have Abu Garcia reels.

I don't know the brand names, but I bought a couple flourocarbon leaders, one titanium, and one "solid" leader that I guess is used for pulling jerk baits. For lures I bought a big Rapala x-rap, a Salmo lure that looks like a panfish, a Musky Buster Water Spider, and a lure I believe they call a Cowgirl. My buddy has a huge tackle box full of lures...I tried to buy things he didn't have. I'm anxious to try this water spider lure, the thing has these metal "wings" that stick out the side about 4 inches. Looks pretty crazy to me that anything would bite on these lures...they're all so big!

My buddy always gives me a hard time and tells me what we call "keepers" walleye fishing, he calls "bait".


----------



## SODSUCKER

Make sure that your line is fresh and big enough to handle those big muskies that you are going to catch. I have lost a couple of $20 lures and $6 leaders becuae my line broke when I was casting, it makes a loud snap and then you just sit down and think there goes another $30. It kind of ruins the moment. Also take a map and mark all of the follows and releases. that way you will know where she lives next time.


----------



## drjongy

SODSUCKER said:


> Also take a map and mark all of the follows and releases. that way you will know where she lives next time.


I sure hope we have some follows and releases. Leaving tonight and should be on the water by 7:30. We're going to fish for a couple hours after dark. Wish me luck....I'll post up on Monday and let you know what happened.


----------



## SODSUCKER

What!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why are going to make us wait until Monday? ;-)

Good luck


----------



## drjongy

Well, it was a good time but no muskies for me...no follows either. My buddy did catch a 37 incher. Neat looking fish out of that lake...the fish was spotted. I did end up catching a couple northern and one nice largemouth. The lure that caught the muskie as well as the northern was a Double D (dynamic diver). We ended up stopping at Sportman's Warehouse on the way back and I dropped about $200 on a couple new tackle pieces and a tackle box. I might have the fever a little bit!


----------



## lvmylabs

Congrats Drjongy,

It sounds like you caught the bug. Weather permitting. I will be hitting up DL Wednesday night after work. I have heard that DL has been slow this year. Hopefully it starts to pick up.

Have a great afternoon and don't forget the figure 8 :beer:

Tight lines

Jim


----------



## SODSUCKER

drjongy,
Sounds like you had fun. I remember when I only had a few hundred dollers worth of stuff. As soon as I can get my motor fixed I will be out to DL again. Thanks for the update.


----------



## drjongy

SODSUCKER said:


> ...I remember when I only had a few hundred dollers worth of stuff.


 :rollin:

I believe that, those muskie lures are sure spendy! Good thing you don't lose many while fishing. I see there is a wide variety of price ranges for this stuff. One thing I noticed this weekend was my friends more expensive tackle had better movement than my cheaper stuff...for example, I bought a Storm kickin' minnow but it didn't have near the action a lower speeds than my friends more expensive minnow (sorry, don't know the brand name). One lure that really had a lot of flash was a Double Cowgirl, but boy was that thing a workout to fish...really put up a lot of resistance on the retrieve.


----------



## SODSUCKER

drjongy,
Try muskiefirst.com for some used baits. I have purchased a few from there. And haven't been disappointed yet. Keep your hook sharp, and NEVER trust a hook that has been factory sharpened.


----------



## lvmylabs

Yeah the Double cowgirl will make a man of you. (No pun intended) By chance what color where you using? I will post an update Thursday. I will be fishing tomorrow night if everything goes well at work.


----------



## drjongy

I was using black with copper blades. I just ordered another one online that is blue/black/silver with nickel blades. At Sportman's Warehouse I bought a Shallowraider, a depthraider, a Double D, and a Topraider.


----------



## lvmylabs

I have a purple and white one for DL and an orange and brown one for Miltona.

Great lures


----------



## drjongy

I've heard lots of good things about the Double Cowgirl, and I enjoyed fishing it actually, so I want a few different colors. A lot of my other tackle seems to be Joe Bucher stuff because of my friends influence. About 6-7 years ago my buddy bought Joe's Champion boat. Went out to Wisconsin to pick it up and had a look around his shop and had him sign a few lures as well as the boat before he left. Even the fish finder/GPS had all his waypoints left in it...but they were mostly in Wisconsin.


----------



## waterwolf

> so I want a few different colors.


Try not to get to caught up into colors, just think dark and bright.

Just my :2cents:


----------



## lvmylabs

Try not to get to caught up into colors, just think dark and bright.

That statement is worth more then two cents. Anyone can benifit from that advice.


----------



## ForeverAngler

I caught my first and only muskie in 20 feet of water that was insanely turbid. Like, 2 feet visibility, maybe a little less. And it was on a solid black jointed plug.

Just an example of how neon colors in dark water isn't always what gets your fish.


----------



## drjongy

Well, I must have the bug. Instead of running to Devil's Lake this afternoon like I would normally do we're going to Elk Lake and give muskies another try. I really want to at least have a follow, and it sounds like this lake is crystal clear, so it would really be fun watching one behind the lure. I'll let you know how it goes.


----------



## ForeverAngler

Be careful with your casts on those clear bodies of water, the fish spook alot easier, even pike.


----------

