METRO MUSKY HUNTS - MINNEAPOLIS MUSKIES

The moon phase and moon times can have a major impact on muskies and when they decide to feed. This was the first musky of a 4 bite window, late in the morning. The morning started with catching a musky within the first few casts of the morning, right around 6 AM, a respectable 40 inch fish. We proceeded to fish for 5 more hours without even getting a follow. Talk about a let down when we boated a fish within minutes of starting our day. I knew we had a major at 11:00 AM, a major is when the moon is directly over head or under foot, so we stuck with it, fishing good spost and trying to locate fish to go back on. Just before the major, we moved to a wind blown underwater point. With the wind blowing into the side of the point, in my mind, I knew right where an active fish SHOULD be sitting. On the side of this point is a very small secondary point that I call a "knob", that was my target. A bomb cast with my 10 inch weighted Suick Thrilller landed right on the knob, two hard pulls and this giant 53 inch metro musky unleashed her furious headshakes. She was so big and heavy, she couldn't get her body out of the water when she tried to jump and shake free. After a long boatside battle I was able to slide her into my Clam Musky Net. We proceeded to get four more bites and and landing three more muskies in a 60 minute bite window.

This really shows the power the moon has on muskies feeding opportunities. Does it mean there is a guarentee you will catch muskies at a moon time? No, absolutely not, but it's worth watching when these times are so you can be ready for it. Every month has a full moon and a new moon, and every day has four moon events. The four daily moon events to watch for are moon rise, moon set, moon overhead and moon underfoot. The moon rise/set times are considered a minor, and moon overhead/underfoot are considered a major. What is the difference? A minor lasts for an hour, a half hour before until a half hour after the listed moon time, where as the major is one hour before until one hour after the listed moon time. In my experience, the most consistant moon bites are when the weather has been very consistant, with calm-sunny days. The conditions can make for poor musky fishing, but the majors and minors can be a great help to influence a feeding window, even better if it is in close proximity to a sunrise/sunset. You can do one of two things here, either go back on muskies that followed earlier in that day or the day before. Or if you haven't been out for a few days, go to a high percentage area that historically holds fish, or the most recent spot you had success from following fish or a boated fish.

When it comes to the new moon and full moon, you can anticipate an increase in musky activity a couple of days before and a couple of days after the new moon or full moon. I've historically had better success when the moon is down. That means, on a full moon phase, I've experienced better morning bites at moon set and after. As the new moon approaches, I've experienced a better afternoon/evening bite as the moon sets later in the day. As mentioned earlier, when one of these moon times occurs close to the sunrise/sunset, this can be recipe for success. If you do happen to land yourself a nice musky during any one of these moon feeding windows, get a quick photo and safe release because the window can be very quick and you have to be ready to cash in on the action when the time is right! Look up the moon times for your area and make sure you are on your "A game" when they happen.

In musky fishing, there is more to it than just clipping on a big bait and catching a fish. There are proper steps to not only keep you safe, but also keep the fish safe. Muskies are surprisingly fragile, from their slime, fins, oxygen, to water tempurature, there are a lot of factors in keeping a musky healthy after the catch. The most ethical thing you can do in musky fishing, is to have all the necessary equipment to safely handle these amazing fish. It all starts with the right net, to most people, a net-is a net, no big deal. It actually is a big deal, nets are extremely important, from hoop size to the netting itself makes a big difference in ensuring the musky isn't harmed in the catch and release process. When it comes to a good size musky net, I always lean to the biggest net available. I use the large Clam Musky Net that is 40" x 44", this is a great size, it is plenty big to scoop even the biggest of muskies. Another feature I really like is it has a deep bag with a flat bottom, this allows the musky to relax without being all twisted and bent up. Another great feature is the extra thick rubberized coating on the netting. This does a couple of things, first, it won't remove the protective slime on the fish. Second, the thick mesh and coating is really easy on the fishes tail, fins and eyeballs. And third, the hooks on your bait won't get snagged in the mesh when the fish is thrashing around, which makes our job a little easier when unhooking the fish and getting baits out.

Once you have sucessfully scooped up your musky in the net, first, get your nerves calmed down and gather your thoughts after the extreme high of catching a musky. Now it's time to examine how this fish is hooked, and the safest way to extract the hooks with minimal damage to the fish. If the hooks are easily accessible, like in the corner of the mouth, a long nose pliers or a long hook removal tool will get it done. Usually a quick pop with your tools and the hook will come out. If it's being stubborn, don't force it, set the fish back in the water so it can get a breath of oxygen. Never hold a fish out of water longer than you can hold your breath. If the hook will not pop out on the first try, it's easier to just cut the hooks, pull out the broken piece of hook and be done with it. For cutting hooks, the only tool I use is a spring loaded Knipex mini bolt cutter for easy operation. This thing will cut big 7/0 hooks like butter, and they last a long time. One last tool I like to have with is a big jaw spreader, I don't use it very often, but when I need it, it is a big help. Before you hit the water in search of the fish of 10,000 casts, make sure you have all the right tools to safely remove those big hooks.