Toothy Critter Success Thread

[TD55]

Midnightangler whitewaterflies.com offers them. They are called the universal predator x. I use the 8/0. I have been using gamakatsu for a while now but these Partridge hooks are hands down the sharpest hooks I've ever used. I will be using them exclusively now. They are pricey but worth it.

 

[plombardo]

I have been messing this polar flash and mixing with Farrah blend. Using a couple grizzly feather on top of that. Deer hair, flash, Finn raccoon and the heads are faux fox.. Lately all my flys are a mix of synthetic material and natural materials

 

[plombardo]

With glass rattles

 

[jay348]

^ sweetness.

 

[midnightangler]

I can't get these damn fish to eat in clear water. I see a couple muskies every time I go out, but they will not chase. This morning one fish floated five feet downstream of me alongside my boat, mocking me. I figure 8'd like crazy over its head and it did not care. Basically the fish are sitting on the bottom in 6-12 feet of water and I can't get them to come up. I can get the fly deeper, but they just aren't interested.

Has anybody here had success with musky in these conditions, other than night fishing? I really hope the weather turns ugly here next week. Something needs to change.

 

[PACOFRANSICO]

That's the name of the game, there Mire likely to follow your fly than eat it. They have a very small window of feeding activity. And there not hunting all the time. You might get a reactionary strike if ya burn a fly over the heads or right in front of them. But vary retrieves, sizes and color. That's all you can do.

 

[TD55]

You will prob see a half dozen follows for every strike you get. They are ornery sob's. If you're not frustrated when you're musky fishing you're not doing it right. Just keep casting it will happen.

 

[PACOFRANSICO]

With muskys ya gotta be able to have a short memory, be able to let missed strikes behind ya. If ya get to pissed ya start fishing faster and not hitting the angles and the turn on your retieves. Thats when ya pick up the fly to cast and theres a 40 stairing at ya and your screwed. You have be able to turn everything off to were its just the fly, water and you. And stay there. Its stressful to be able maintain that level of concentraition. To me thats what it takes to be sucsessful at it.

 

[afishinado]

PACOFRANSICO wrote:
With muskys ya gotta be able to have a short memory, be able to let missed strikes behind ya. If ya get to pissed ya start fishing faster and not hitting the angles and the turn on your retieves. Thats when ya pick up the fly to cast and theres a 40 stairing at ya and your screwed. You have be able to turn everything off to were its just the fly, water and you. And stay there. Its stressful to be able maintain that level of concentraition. To me thats what it takes to be sucsessful at it.

With the exception of a few trips in the early spring, where I actually target muskies exclusively, most of my fishing is for an hour or two switching from bass fishing to try for a muskie.

I admire the dedication you guys show fishing exclusively for those beasts. It'a a lot of work, but your dedication pays off....big time! Enjoy.

 

[jay348]

little ones still count right?

 

[PACOFRANSICO]

Serioulsy thats awsome.....Gives me some incoragement Im heading out monday with my brother inlaw. I'm hoping to atleast get him hooked up!

 

[Phish_On]

This thread is a great inspiration for me. I have targeted muskies a couple of times. Started tying flies for them an have yet to get out an try them. The one I did hook, broke off. Mainly because I was using a smallmouth leader. Never expected to actually hook into on. An she was the better part of 30". It haunts my dreams. But his thread keeps me pumped to go out there an show up my spin fishing friends. With catching one bigger then the ones the catch with there spin gear.

 

[SBecker]

Jay,

Was that the stream we talked about getting out on?

 

[jay348]

SBecker wrote:
Jay,

Was that the stream we talked about getting out on?

Nope, the river was a complete bust on fri. Aside from a few minnows, I didn't see ANY kind of fish. I meant to write back about the creek tho...wouldn't have guessed to ever look there.

This guy came from the local lake.

 

[SBecker]

Ok, well good job getting one! Early spring they show up on that creek. I plan on keeping an eye out for them. Once I spot em, I will let you know. Usually one or two show up.

 

[PACOFRANSICO]

You guys dont rule out a body of water becuse of 1 trip. I busted on water 2 or 3 times & then tear em up the next.

I hope there isnt any toothy spot burning going on! HA! Seriously it cool that others are taking intrest musky!

 

[zfisher]

Here are a few flies I've tied today following no particular pattern. The first one looks horrible, i know, but he following one looks a little bit better I think. They are mostly made of left over trout maribou and some flash on a size 8 hook. And is the crafting eye thing a good idea? I saw it on a Dave mcfluffchucker video. Give me your honest opinions. If they suck I want to know so I can improve.

 

[jay348]

zfish, they look good; but on a size 8, they're a bit undersized for toothy-specific fishing. As for the eyes...I say stick w/ em. Some say they act as a strike-trigger; but I think eyes just look good on any streamer.

Take what you've learned, and apply these techniques as you up-size to new/larger flies. Experiment with different materials, test them out, and you'll find what you like best. Good luck.

 

[zfisher]

jay348 wrote:
zfish, they look good; but on a size 8, they're a bit undersized for toothy-specific fishing. As for the eyes...I say stick w/ em. Some say they act as a strike-trigger; but I think eyes just look good on any streamer.

Take what you've learned, and apply these techniques as you up-size to new/larger flies. Experiment with different materials, test them out, and you'll find what you like best. Good luck.

Thanks for the info. I tried to tie them on a size 2 hook, but they didn't fit in my cheap cabelas vice. Ehh, if I catch bass on them so be it. I'll just have to get a new good quality vice.

 

[Fishidiot]

zfisher,
Nice ties - they'll get you started. They have a nice combination of materials that will breath and create nice movement in the water and the color selection is good. Personally, I'd nix the eyes but they're fun to use and won't hurt fishability.
Generally speaking, muskie flies tend to be tied very large and with bright colors. Next time you're in a sporting goods store, check out the muskie lures (very few fly shops, at least in PA, stock flies designed for muskies). Muskie lures often use a lot of orange/black combination colors as well as pinks and reds and more natural color combinations that resemble perch or suckers. Most of these lures are over 6" in length and many of them, mainly plugs, are nearly 12" or sometimes more. Studies in the past have suggested that muskies tend to prefer forage fish that are nearly a third of their body length. This is amazing if you think about it - a 36" muskie would eat fish 10-12" in length! Anyway, still I like my muskie flies on the smaller size for castability and I enjoy the frequent strikes from smallies. Most of my muskie flies are in the 6-10" range. Also, I always put at least two hooks in my muskie flies as, in my experience, muskies tend to seize lures/baits from the rear and these guys are just too darn much work to hook - you want a "stinger" in the back of the fly to ensure good hookups.
The pics below show a couple of my recent muskie ties. These ones are mostly deer hair but use some synthetics too - I recommend materials that don't soak a lot of water. They'll also be fitted with short wire bite tippets before going in the muskie box.

Jay,
And yes, little ones count too (at least in my book).
How big was he compared to the fly? I've caught small muskies on flies that were almost as long as they were.