# Muskie Newbie



## NightcrawlerNick (Jun 7, 2019)

Hey guys - looking to go after Muskie and could use some guidance. I was out on Caesars Creek Saturday morning trolling large spinners in 10-20' of water but no luck. Are they deeper this time of year? Was hoping to find some weed beds to cast into but didn't find much. I moved down here from Michigan so not real familiar with the local lakes yet. I mostly targeted Bass and Pike up in Michigan, but I hear that Muskie are common down here. Appreciate any tips or advice!


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## REEL GRIP (Jan 11, 2013)

Leesville and West Branch are your best bet for Musky.


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## kingofamberley (Jul 11, 2012)

NightcrawlerNick said:


> I hear that Muskie are common down here


well there's your problem


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## NightcrawlerNick (Jun 7, 2019)

kingofamberley said:


> well there's your problem


Really? DNR page says they do a lot of stocking of Muskie.


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## Harry1959 (Mar 17, 2011)

I have only been regularly musky fishing fishing for 3 years. CC seems to have at least a decent population of musky. I only caught 2 at CC last year, both right around 45 inches. Both in June and trolling i5-7 Foot deep. They are in there. On some days I have seen 10-15 musky. However I have not had any luck sight fishing for them. Most of us quit fishing for them when the water temps get up to about 80 due to high mortality rates. If you haven’t musky fished much, watch some videos on unhooking and releasing.


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## NightcrawlerNick (Jun 7, 2019)

Harry1959 said:


> I have only been regularly musky fishing fishing for 3 years. CC seems to have at least a decent population of musky. I only caught 2 at CC last year, both right around 45 inches. Both in June and trolling i5-7 Foot deep. They are in there. On some days I have seen 10-15 musky. However I have not had any luck sight fishing for them. Most of us quit fishing for them when the water temps get up to about 80 due to high mortality rates. If you haven’t musky fished much, watch some videos on unhooking and releasing.


Thanks for sharing Harry. How about Cowan? Ever catch Musky there?


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## Harry1959 (Mar 17, 2011)

Not at Cowan, they used to stock them there decades ago, haven’t for a long time.


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## MuskyFan (Sep 21, 2016)

Caesars is a good lake without having to drive hours. There are a lot of fish in there even if no one catches a lot of them. Many are caught by bass and saugeye fishermen. Musky fishermen are closed lipped about caesar and not a lot of secrets are shared online. But there have been several over 50” caught in the last couple of years. Many 40” fish are caught. There may be a couple of state records swimming around according to two ODNR officers I talked to last year. Is it true? Won’t know till one is caught. 

There is not a lot of weeds in the lake. Used to be more 10 yrs ago but not now. The number of falldowns has grown with the erosion of the banks. 

There are several “community” locations that hold fish but they move around a lot. The best times are coming up but so is the water temps. So it’s a double edged sword. 

Cowan used to be stocked but no longer by the ODNR. There is some rumors that it is being stocked by relocated Caesar fish but again it’s just rumors. There are still fish in Cowan but few and far between. I haven’t fished it in years because I can’t stand dealing with moronic sailboat crowd who think the lake is theirs and theirs alone.


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## maltI (Mar 28, 2019)

If you want a real challenge, go for the musky in the rivers and creeks around here.


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## Southernsaug (May 23, 2019)

Cast the weed beds or troll the edge of drop offs and humps. Run a couple lines one back and 8-10 feet deep and one in the prop wash down about 5-7 feet. Don't be afraid to run 3mph. Big baglys or other shad baits I have done well with chartreuse colored lures as well. Persistence is the biggest key. Muskies will go on binges and one day you'll get three and another work all day for nothing. I always done well mid day 10-2.


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## Fish Ohio (Aug 10, 2018)

Both times I hope the door must be at Caesars Creek I was bass fishing. DNR told me that this is usually the case for most of the muskie caught in that lake


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## Scott Mullins (Aug 14, 2019)

NightcrawlerNick said:


> Hey guys - looking to go after Muskie and could use some guidance. I was out on Caesars Creek Saturday morning trolling large spinners in 10-20' of water but no luck. Are they deeper this time of year? Was hoping to find some weed beds to cast into but didn't find much. I moved down here from Michigan so not real familiar with the local lakes yet. I mostly targeted Bass and Pike up in Michigan, but I hear that Muskie are common down here. Appreciate any tips or advice!


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## Scott Mullins (Aug 14, 2019)

Try crank baits 
Nailed 1 last 2 weekends. 
1 33”
1 48”


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## NightcrawlerNick (Jun 7, 2019)

Scott Mullins said:


> Try crank baits
> Nailed 1 last 2 weekends.
> 1 33”
> 1 48”


Nice. If you don’t mind me asking, were you trolling or casting?


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## Scott Mullins (Aug 14, 2019)

NightcrawlerNick said:


> Nice. If you don’t mind me asking, were you trolling or casting?


Trolling. 
Caught 1 on a flicker minnow.
The big one on a jake.


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## Scott Mullins (Aug 14, 2019)

Also caught a huge walleye on flicker minnow.


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## slabseeker (Mar 7, 2012)

NightcrawlerNick said:


> Hey guys - looking to go after Muskie and could use some guidance. I was out on Caesars Creek Saturday morning trolling large spinners in 10-20' of water but no luck. Are they deeper this time of year? Was hoping to find some weed beds to cast into but didn't find much. I moved down here from Michigan so not real familiar with the local lakes yet. I mostly targeted Bass and Pike up in Michigan, but I hear that Muskie are common down here. Appreciate any tips or advice!


There is certain times of the year, water temps, storm fronts, shad hatches


NightcrawlerNick said:


> Hey guys - looking to go after Muskie and could use some guidance. I was out on Caesars Creek Saturday morning trolling large spinners in 10-20' of water but no luck. Are they deeper this time of year? Was hoping to find some weed beds to cast into but didn't find much. I moved down here from Michigan so not real familiar with the local lakes yet. I mostly targeted Bass and Pike up in Michigan, but I hear that Muskie are common down here. Appreciate any tips or advice!


The key to muskie fishing is persistence on pursuing them. Really the only difference between muskie and other freshwater sportfishing is that they can feed at will. You probably trolled by several muskies the other day that gorged on shad moments before or maybe just ate a 2 pound saugeye. They are king of the waters they reside. Think of it this way. Out west, there is no mammal or animal that can out power the Brown bear and all is prey. Same with the muskie nothing in the same waters can escape its speed and attack. They are a predator and built superbly as one. Most fish are a opportunist as a muskie is a pursuer. They are a very aggressive and territorial and this is why you get many follows with no strikes. That's why a figure 8 at boatside is so successful on follows. Their really not hungry just instinct to strike, aggravated, territorial etc.. Of course this is just my opinion and theory on muskie behavior. So patience and confidence in what your doing is the key to eventual success. Good luck!!


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## NightcrawlerNick (Jun 7, 2019)

slabseeker said:


> There is certain times of the year, water temps, storm fronts, shad hatches
> 
> The key to muskie fishing is persistence on pursuing them. Really the only difference between muskie and other freshwater sportfishing is that they can feed at will. You probably trolled by several muskies the other day that gorged on shad moments before or maybe just ate a 2 pound saugeye. They are king of the waters they reside. Think of it this way. Out west, there is no mammal or animal that can out power the Brown bear and all is prey. Same with the muskie nothing in the same waters can escape its speed and attack. They are a predator and built superbly as one. Most fish are a opportunist as a muskie is a pursuer. They are a very aggressive and territorial and this is why you get many follows with no strikes. That's why a figure 8 at boatside is so successful on follows. Their really not hungry just instinct to strike, aggravated, territorial etc.. Of course this is just my opinion and theory on muskie behavior. So patience and confidence in what your doing is the key to eventual success. Good luck!!


Makes sense Slab, much appreciated. What do you mean “figure 8 at boat side?” It’s also becoming clear to me that my 10’ fishing kayak ain’t gonna cut it.


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## NightcrawlerNick (Jun 7, 2019)

Scott Mullins said:


> Trolling.
> Caught 1 on a flicker minnow.
> The big one on a jake.


Thanks Scott. Yeah I’m not set up for effective trolling yet.


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## Legend killer (Apr 20, 2011)

NightcrawlerNick said:


> Makes sense Slab, much appreciated. What do you mean “figure 8 at boat side?” It’s also becoming clear to me that my 10’ fishing kayak ain’t gonna cut it.


Its becoming clear you need to do a little research.


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## 1MoreKast (Mar 15, 2008)

Try not to get too intimidated by some of the veterans on here. I would for sure familiarize yourself with musky fishing by spending a good few hours watching renown fishing channels on YouTube or a few articles online. The figure 8 is motion made right at the boat to entice a strike. Some say it will exponentially increase your chances at seeing or hooking up. I don't know that I would feel comfortable fishing in a kayak for these fish. 

If I were you, I'd go bass fishing. You'll have a good chance of hooking up with one, and catching other fish along the way.


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## sjwano (Sep 13, 2018)

You can troll and catch Muskie out of a kayak. It’s not the ideal setup but can work - see the attached I took a few weeks ago at CC. I agree casting is a better bet if you’re in a regular paddle setup, and be prepared to land/release a large angry fish.


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