# can you target bigger muskie?



## pokie (Oct 5, 2006)

I have been trolling Alum Creek Resevoir lately and having decent success with smaller muskie in the 27" to 33" range. My question is what can I do to try to target bigger fish? I troll around 4 mph with 5" and 6" crank baits that run between 5-14 feet deep. I have been fishing around 20' of water with the points coming up to 8 feet or so. Can I run bigger baits? Troll faster? Fish deeper? or do I just pray for a bigger fish to hit. Thanks for your replies and thoughts in advance. Adam.


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## Snakecharmer (Apr 9, 2008)

I'd go with the prayer route.......You can try bigger lures and then you'll hear about a crappie fisherman catching a 40"...Next time you catch a small one, I'd then try the same area but deeper....Good luck!


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## Muskie_Guy (Mar 14, 2007)

This time of year you can start to run bigger baits.... I was running a legend perch bait in August one year and got 2 big fish.... my 49 inch Muskie and a 37.5 in striper..... so It could make a difference... but on the other hand they get 50 inchers at Leesville on sissons


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## Whaler (Nov 16, 2004)

Keep trolling and fish a lot of open water. This time of year big ones will suspend out in open water and a lot of times they are deeper than normal.


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## esoxhunter (Apr 7, 2004)

if you manage to troll over 8' points without snagging up, you're baits are running too shallow. Get them down to 14' or better and you'll probably find some larger fish.
...but I'd avoid 8' on the depthfinder. Try to stay over 20'


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## pokie (Oct 5, 2006)

Thanks for the replies,

It looks like the concensus is to run my baits a little deeper. I will throw on some in-line weights and put some time in and see if I can find one in the 40 inch range . That would be nice. Thanks again-Adam.


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## fffffish (Apr 6, 2004)

*All *of my big fish 48" and up have been caught on lures less then 6 inches long fishing in open deep water 35 feet or more with lure down about 20 feet trolling at 4 to 5 mph in July and August


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## ShutUpNFish (Apr 17, 2007)

To keep it quite simple...Two things, IMO.

1 - Troll structure with deeper water handy and or open water baitfish.

2 - Fish waters known to have consistantly larger fish.

IMHO the size of the bait has very little to do with the size of the fish!

*A common mis-conception:* Catch bigger fish on bigger lures and in deeper water.


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## Muskyman (Jan 30, 2005)

"A common mis-conception: Catch bigger fish on bigger lures and in deeper water"
I couldn't agree more!


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## pokie (Oct 5, 2006)

Thanks for the replies,

I am going to be out at Alum Creek Thursday morning. My game plan is to add some in line weights and get my baits down a little bit, maybe 12-17 feet, and one line in the prop wash. I will report back and let you guys know how I did. BTW I fish out of brown Smokercraft side console with a 40hp Yamaha and 8hp Merc kicker on the back. If any of you guys see me say hi. Thanks-Adam.


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## MuskieJim (Apr 11, 2007)

What kind of lures to you troll most of the time? There are a lot of widely used muskie lures that can reach 12-15 feet no problem without any inline weights. I would try to long-line troll before I added weights. JMO. But yeah a lot of guys add weights, especially if they are speed trolling (Lake St. Clair).


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## pokie (Oct 5, 2006)

Got out to Alum today and trolled from 8:30 am to about noon and caught one 28" and one 30" muskie. I did add some 2 ounce in line weight to a super shad rap and I think it was getting down to about 12 feet. The bait that I have had the best luck with this year is a "Dick" in the perch color as well as the shad color. I met Dick at the Muskie show at the Buckey Cafe and bought a few of his hand made lures. Super nice guy and very helpful. Most of the muskie I have caught this year have been on his lures (I think about 7 boated in 4 trips and a few other rips). If you could recomend a few lures that dive 12-15 feet I would appreciate it. I do like trolling with "smaller" muskie lures in the 5"-6" range. Never had much luck with the bigger lures but would not rule one out. The thing that I changed this year that I think has made the biggest difference is going to a 6' flourocarbon leader. I used to use 3' steel leaders and have noticed a difference since the change. Anywho, Thanks for all the good info-Adam.


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## duckhound (Apr 10, 2004)

Fished wednesday with lil'ernies and small grandmas with fish hooked on both. The lil'ernies were hitting bottom at about 14-15 ft. The grandma not so deep... maybe 10ft with 80ft of line, but that one hooked the biggest one. I didn't get it in but clearly saw the dorsal fin and tail, and the fish was over 40 for sure.


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## Muskie_Guy (Mar 14, 2007)

Yeah if you are using heavy weight it increases the chance to loose your fish especially if it decides to jump.... lost my biggest fish this year that way






MuskieJim said:


> What kind of lures to you troll most of the time? There are a lot of widely used muskie lures that can reach 12-15 feet no problem without any inline weights. I would try to long-line troll before I added weights. JMO. But yeah a lot of guys add weights, especially if they are speed trolling (Lake St. Clair).


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## pokie (Oct 5, 2006)

I agree that in line weights are not the best option but in a pinch I had to get creative. I only own about 10 muskie lures and am trying not to go crazy buying lures (I know how addictive lure buying can be). I have noticed the Lil Ernies though and think I will be picking a few up soon. I would consider myself a multi-species angler and like to target many species incuding bass, walleye/saugeye, perch, muskie or anything that is biting. I do alot of drift fishing with live bait but latety have been putting in more time trolling for muskie. I hooked a large muskie(maybe 45" or better) casting at Alum last year that jumped about 4 feet out of the water right by the boat, gave me the middle finger, and threw the lure at me and ever since I have been seeking revenge. So I would consider all that have replied accomplisses  Nobody worry, I would not do anything to drastic just take a picture and let her go. Again, thanks for the replies. All the info is much appreciated. Adam.


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