# Muskies: Creatures of Habit?



## blance (Apr 5, 2004)

This is perhaps a dumb question, so please bear with me as a newbie to muskie fishing. I've been hitting several spots on a local lake in NE Ohio (West Branch) and several times I've made eye contact with muskies prowling these areas. The latest was Sunday on my way home from the outing and decided to stop at West Branch as I was passing by. I finally made it over to the bay by the dam that worm drowner has mentioned several times and while casting the back end of this bay I look to my left and there sits a fish slightly below the surface cruising along close enough to note the color of its fins and count the markings on its body. I'm assuming this fish was looking for dinner. At the moment, All I had on was and orange bucktail with a yellow blade (on my least favorite casting setup) I was tossing around as a search bait so I turned and fired a cast in front and beyond this fish to see is I could tempt it with this bait. Hey, I figure what did I have to lose. The fish aparantly seen my movement and bolted. After spending another hour casting at this brush at the back of the bay with no success, I started thinking. Vickie (my girlfriend) and my daughter were catching a bunch of small bluegills on nightcrawlers a little while after I seen this fish. I assumed his presence in this bay was for dinning on those very same bluegills. The question is, what are the chances that this fish visits this bay every day around some given time looking for dinner? I read an article a while back about Howard Wagner (http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/outdoors/20010120muskie8.asp) in which the writer makes it sound as if he had been stalking this fish over the course of a few days. Is this the case where once you locate a fish and begin noticing times when you see it, you can start using it's daily routine to track it? Or perhaps is that just the writer adding a little flair to the article? Basicly, if I see a fish cruising a weedline in a bay at say 3 PM, what are the odds that that fish visits that same weedline each day somewherre around 3 PM?

Thanks

Barry


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## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

I know some of these guys can answer better than I, but from what I understand, muskies are territorial. I've read numerous articles referring to how guys will mark on a GPS every spot a musky is seen, then fish each spot daily until that fish is hungry. Let us know how it turns out if you go back.


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## blance (Apr 5, 2004)

perhaps I found an answer to my question:


http://www.thecontentwell.com/Fish_Game/Northern_Pike/Pike_Myths.html



> _Myth #6 - Ive seen the same muskie in the same spot many times.
> 
> _Although muskies have a smaller home range than pike, they move about more than most anglers believe. Just because you saw a muskie in a certain spot today is no guarantee it will be there tomorrow. The larger the body of water, the larger the muskies home range and the more they tend to roam.
> 
> A certain piece of cover, such as a fallen tree, may hold a muskie most of the time, but it may not be the same fish. Even when a muskie is caught and removed, another similar-sized fish is likely to move in because the spot offers the right combination of food and cover for a fish of that size.


Also found some other good info on this site. For anyone that is interested here the link to the full article

http://www.thecontentwell.com/Fish_Game/Northern_Pike/Pike_index.html

Barry


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## Jackfish (Apr 15, 2004)

I've fished alot of pike & I know they are similar to muskies... for pike it seems that it may not be the exact same fish, but one of a similar size... from my experience it seems it is not only the spot & time of day, but the prevailing conditions (wind + sun + time of day) that may draw a fish... if you can replicate all three go and catch 'em.


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## Spike (Apr 10, 2004)

I know they have a habit of *not* getting caught by me!


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## Muskie/Hunter (Jun 20, 2004)

Well thats why they call it Muskie Hunting Just like Deer Hunting or any big game hunting, you use their feeding areas and cover are to bag a deer use the same things to hunt the Muskie. Just a little something I came up with. 
"bait fish attract fish, fish attract big fish, big fish attract Muskie" thats something I came up with to tell my brother whos just starting out Muskie Hunting. Thanks for your time.


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