# West Branch this Weekend



## Mud Puppy (May 25, 2006)

With the weather stabilizing with cooler fall temperature, any advice on most likely depth of water that will be most productive? I usually fish Leesville in the fall if I am fishing for musky and don't have any experience with West Branch. I am a novice musky fisherman with a few musky. My limited experience at Leesville makes it seem like they can be anywhere from bays 8ft deep to open water. Are there any big differences in how these lakes should be fished? I would think lake points with drop offs and some of the sunken humps would be ideal for the fall. I will probably start with casting and possibly troll to mix things up.


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## KingSteve (Apr 9, 2019)

Was out at West Branch yesterday morning, 10/9. Fished from shore at the Rockspring boat launch area. Caught a 35in 11lb Musky within the first 20 minutes. Had two follows after then the water started to muddy up with people launching kayaks and other smaller boats. Have seen a lot of musky in that area. Also have hooked into Musky from shore at the marina, off the rocks.


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## Legend killer (Apr 20, 2011)

KingSteve said:


> Was out at West Branch yesterday morning, 10/9. Fished from shore at the Rockspring boat launch area. Caught a 35in 11lb Musky within the first 20 minutes. Had two follows after then the water started to muddy up with people launching kayaks and other smaller boats. Have seen a lot of musky in that area. Also have hooked into Musky from shore at the marina, off the rocks.
> View attachment 456877


Dirt all over it plus took the time to weigh a small fish. nice


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## KingSteve (Apr 9, 2019)

Legend killer said:


> Dirt all over it plus took the time to weigh a small fish. nice


Was there a problem with what I did? The fish had dirt on it cause I reeled it a bit on the bank then grabbed with my grabbers. Weighed and measured real quick and released. Fish was out of the water no more than 2 mins. Swam away strong.


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## Legend killer (Apr 20, 2011)

grabbers? nice. You got rid of its protective coating. nice


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## MuskyFan (Sep 21, 2016)

Disregard LK because he would rather berate someone than explain how he would do it. He hates, hates, hates “grabbers” despite the fact they help an inexperienced fishermen control a fish. If you don’t do exactly like he would in a situation he probably has never been in he will try to make you feel like s**t.

Nice fish! Yes, they are more prone to stress than a bass or walleye, and more care needs to be taken when the conditions dictate. If you did everything you could in the situation you were in then kudos. If you have a license then you are allowed to pursue and harvest a fish within the state guidelines. If you catch and release, no one can, or should, berate you.

And yes, I’m a dedicated musky hunter.


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## KingSteve (Apr 9, 2019)

Legend killer said:


> grabbers? nice. You got rid of its protective coating. nice



Actually I didn't because there was plenty on it when released. Thanks for being an a$$hole though. Supposed to be here to share info and tips. Guess you're so much better than everyone else. Keep thinking that. You need to belittle people cause you yourself have a ton of shortcomings. You must be real fun at parties. Glad you got to feel tough for a few minutes. Stay safe.


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## Legend killer (Apr 20, 2011)

KingSteve said:


> Actually I didn't because there was plenty on it when released. Thanks for being an a$$hole though. Supposed to be here to share info and tips. Guess you're so much better than everyone else. Keep thinking that. You need to belittle people cause you yourself have a ton of shortcomings. You must be real fun at parties. Glad you got to feel tough for a few minutes. Stay safe.


please support that poor fish's body. bogas are bad, vertical holds are bad, pulling the fish onto shore is bad. Next time please wade in with your musky net and reach into the net with your long pliers and do a water release for such a small fish.


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## Mud Puppy (May 25, 2006)

I didn't have any luck the day I went but it was still nice to check out the lake. Extreme depth changes on the points and the water was down. Didn't mean to start an argument. Nice catch King Steve.


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## monte39 (Nov 24, 2011)

This years been tough for me at west branch. Worst year in at least six.


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## burnsj5 (Jan 30, 2014)

monte39 said:


> This years been tough for me at west branch. Worst year in at least six.


Do you think there has been increased pressure over the years and if so do you think fish are responding to it negatively, or just a bad year for you?


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## monte39 (Nov 24, 2011)

I think a combination of weather and the fishing pressure. I checked out the MAL it looks like numbers are down. Its probably me too Im stubborn and keep trying spots and baits that worked in the past instead of trying something new.


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## Karl Wolf (Apr 26, 2020)

I personally cringe when I see a large fish that's going to be released held vertically grips,especially musky. 

I think back to the first nice musky I caught. Vertical hold by the gills on a hot July day after letting it roll around the bottom of the boat bashing itself up. Lol. I killed that fish 100% by mistake.

Musky may be a top predator but they are fragile fish and if going to be released, need to be handled in such a manner if possible.

We live and learn.


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## Gotworms (Jan 29, 2015)

Walked about four miles today fishing no dice. Was nice to get out though that’s for sure. It’s pretty cool to go places you know you caught fish and stand where they were swimming at one time.


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