# spring muskie spots



## noodle8177 (Sep 24, 2007)

hi am planning a spring trip somewhere in ohio for muskie and was wondering where the best lakes are in spring time for muskie never have fished for them been bass fishing for around 15 years but some friends want to do a spring fishing trip and trying to find the right lake thanks for all info


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## Muskie_Guy (Mar 14, 2007)

Which month ? Some nice fish come early at Saltfork. Clearfork maybe for numbers.


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## Bester (Dec 29, 2007)

First Sat. of June on Lake St. Clair! About the best Musky fishing you can find imho.


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## Muskie_Guy (Mar 14, 2007)

yeah you got that right.. if your gonna leave Ohio in June LSC is it. I've been up there and couldn't get on for 3 days the waves were soooo bad. ut it's the #muskie fishery in my opinion... size and numbers .. ya never know what you're gonna get next


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## Muskie_Guy (Mar 14, 2007)

But Saltfork in May aint to shabby either


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## noodle8177 (Sep 24, 2007)

sory for not telling the month i am going in april around the 18 leaving my house on a friday and staying at clearfork till sunday night if its a good lake any good places to stay there close by that aint out rageous can i cast and catch muskie most people tell me to troll and i hate trolling i leave like 30 minutes from the ohio river near point plesant wv so any lake north will be a drive but it will be fun even if we dont catch nothing thanks for all the info


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## Blue Pike (Apr 24, 2004)

noodle
I can&#8217;t really help you with the April Musky fishing. At that time of the year the pre spawn bass and Walleyes keep me pretty busy, not much time for the musky until late May or June. This of coarse is subject to change.

I would like to make a suggestion if I may.

Fore your safety as well as the Muskie&#8217;s. The damn fish have teeth.

Relese Tools
I gather from your post that this fishing trip is maybe a one time deal.
So I&#8217;m not going to suggest getting some high dollar ($50) bolt cutters or anything like that. But get some things out of your home tool box. 

Almost everyone has a pair of side cutters/wire cutters, take them with you, you may need to cut hooks or split rings.

Needle nose pliers. The bigger the better, you need a lot of leverage to get the big hooks out. The forceps that we use on bass and Walleyes, they don&#8217;t get it. Way to small, and did I mention, the damn fish have teeth.

A net, a big net. Take the biggest net you can get your hands on. Maybe one of you buddies has a Salmon net or Catfish net you can use for the day. You want to keep the Muskie&#8217;s head in the water, use the net as a holding pen.

Some things you may or may not already have.

Baker Hookout&#8217;s 
They won&#8217;t last for ever, the jaws bend on the big hooks. But at six buck a pair, what the heck. If you use them two or three times it&#8217;s worth it.

Jaw speeders
These thing are great. They let you get in a fishes mouth and work on getting the hooks out with out the fish clamping down on your hand. 
Baker, the same people that make the hookouts, sell them for about five bucks. No I don&#8217;t work for Backer, and did I tell you that Muskie&#8217;s have teeth.

That&#8217;s about it. Don&#8217;t forget you camera, Musky pictures are pretty cool.

About catch and release

Unlike most Musky fishermen I&#8217;m not going to try and tell someone what to do with their fish. 
It&#8217;s your fish, do with it as you please.

But I will say this. Dead fish stink and you don&#8217;t ever get a chance at catching it again. A picture is worth a thousand words.

Good Luck Hope you do well.


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## esox62 (May 19, 2006)

noodle, check out www.centralohiochaptermuskiesinc.org lotta clearfork guys there..ive never been there, tried last june and my van blew up..lol.


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## esoxhunter (Apr 7, 2004)

the bays on the north side of Clearfork should be good at that time of year. I'd also consider casting Leesville.


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## noodle8177 (Sep 24, 2007)

how far is Leesville from clearfork we are goint to tey to be at clear fork around 5 on friday and try to get some fishing in then and then fish all day saturday but could go to a new lake on sunday if there is a new on close thanks for all the help


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## BITE-ME (Sep 5, 2005)

I'm an Ohio guy, but you might want to try Cave Run. 

The water will just be starting to warm up here in Ohio. The temps at Cave will be a little warmer, which will equate to more action.


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