Pending Michigan Muskie Record

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Bubbajoe
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Pending Michigan Muskie Record
<p dir="ltr"><font face="Helv" size="2"><font face="Helv" size="2">Score one for small baits. </font></font></p> <p dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.fieldandstream.com/photos/gallery/fishing/2012/10/pending-michigan-state-record-muskie?photo=0#node-1001478815"><font face="Helv" size="2"><font face="Helv" size="2">http://www.fieldandstream.com/photos/gallery/fishing/2012/10/pending-michigan-state-record-muskie?photo=0#node-1001478815</font></font></a></p> <p><font face="Helv" size="2"><font face="Helv" size="2">This makes me wonder if &quot;Big bait = Big fish&quot; should be &quot;Big forage = Big bait&quot; It seems that the fish was likely keying on the smallies that were being targeted by Mr. Seeberger&#39;s party. Where as fish we saw last week were keying on larger suckers and wouldn&#39;t give anything under 12&quot; a side long glance. I also have no idea what the pressure is like on Bellaire so maybe the fish had become wary of larger offerings. One way or another a huge congrats to Mr Seeberger and company!</font></font></p> <p><font face="Helv" size="2"><font face="Helv" size="2">I am envious.</font></font></p>
TonyS
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To grow a Musky like that,

To grow a Musky like that, there has to be some big forage.  Awesome fish!  I do think there is a lot to the idea that put a bait in front of a fish when it is hungry and it will eat anything.  

 

The biggest pike I ever caught was memorable - it was 37" long.  It instantly swallow the whole quick strike rig on a 6-7" sucker.  So I harvested it.  Naturally I cut the gut open.  Inside was the following:

  • a couple 5" Shiners of some sort - probably goldens
  • an 18"+ Northern Pike
  • un-identifiable fish parts and mush

 

The lake used to be stocked with 12"+ Rainbow trout (put and take).  It hasn't been for many years, that fish was caught 3-5 years or so after the last trout stocking.  The lake had become in that time a "snake pit" of 15"-25" pike.  Apparently, the few big, old pike left started going canibal to suppliment the small forage otherwise in the lake.  

Bubbajoe
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I not surprised your fish was chowing on pike. I've heard of people soaking pike on quick sets for muskie. You'd have to think that a 37+ fish wouldnt hesitate to slurp down a smaller pike. They'd certainly go down easy! 
 
On the other hand I'm not surprised it had small shiners ether. There in lies the esox conundrum. Some times you had a clear forage base like Mike B just described. But what are the muskie caught on Millacs during walleye opener there for? The walleye or the small fish? 
 
Personally I think its both. They sit, wait, and snap up anything easy. Which doesn't make the choices any easier for the angler. 
 
Muskymags
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Big bait= Big fish

I know I haven't been living up to my screen name the last 3-5 years and I promise that will change next year, maybe even this fall yet?  Them damn roughies pulled me away for awhile.  But I have studied several studies and found that Muskies and Pike (maybe other species) prefer to eat meals about 25% their own size, so a 50" Muskie would prefer to eat a meal 12-13".  The study that showed this was showcased on several lakes including LOTW, Rowen, Cave Run in KY and a lake in Sconsin, can't remember the lake. They radio tagged and did several other study methods. The fish had to eat less and conserved energy, etc.  A couple years ago my wive had a giant hit this Smallmouth....

The top jaw went over the back shredding the dorsal and scrapeing the side, and the bottom jaw punchured the belly.  A massive Smallie hit by even more of a massive Muskie; it was insane!  On the flip side, a friend of mine caught a 49"er in a small creek with a Foxee Jig.  Supposedly Muskies prefer to eat smaller baits in the spring, have a summer peak for about a week or so around the 4th of July, and then forage heavy now during the fall cold weather period; at least in MN.  Everybody knows that Muskies almost enter a state of torpor, or at least fast for very long periods in the winter.  I think as spring waters warm, they snap out of it and need to feed to restore themselves and to gear up for spawning so they eat anything they can.  In the summer they eat when they need to, but larger meals allow them to eat less often however the warmest water temps (around July 4th) increase metabolisms and make them feed moreso to counter act it.  In the fall, like a bear they need to stock up on reserves for the long winter and begin feeding heavy once the water hits about 55 degrees until ice up.

In this study of Muskies it showed fish spending 90% of their time in shallow water rarely covering a few acres, the other 10% of their time was spent roaming all over the place and many times out into deeper water up to 60 FT.  The thought is they feed out deep gorging themselves for 10% of time on ciscos, walleyes, etc, and spend the other 90% of their time in warmer shallow waters digesting.  This is what they attribute the notorius "follows" with; the fish is intrigued by the bait, but is stuffed full from its earlier feeding binge still.  This is why many times if you come back on following fish later in the day, you can often envoke a strike, after they've digested.

Just my 2 cents and these are my observations.  I used to fish Ski's 5-6 days a week for about 10 years, until I stumbled onto this site.  I'm now feeling the inner burn to get back at it and will be huckin' and chuckin' again soon.

 

Sorry, just been thinking alot about Musk's lately and thought I'd do it up here.
 

Muskymags
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I've always struggled with this!

I can't get the pic to post.  It won't copy from photo bucket like it used to and it won't post up in the URL with the image tab thingy, so you'll either have to remember my wifes huge smallie that got hit or just imagine it....about a 7 pounder or so!