New Meat - needs help

[dullpain]

Looking for some help here , new to board but signed up and have been lurking a little while. Hope someday I can contribute. 

Have a 4 day campout trip on the Collins , Rocky, Caney planned for April 10-14. Camping at Rock Island State Park Site #21 if any of you are up there and wanna stop by , wlecome and we may even have a cold adult beverage for you.  Should be at camp around lunch , and dusk , be fishing rest of time.

My fishing partner and I have just recently taken up fishing , so we don;t know what we are doing but enjoy it. We fish for everything !!  The trip is to try our hand at MUSKIES so there is where we need pointers.

Don't know if should concentrate on Trolling , Casting , ??  or what , should we concentrate on the Collins or someplace else ?? , work the center of river or the banks ?? Big Baits , Little Baits , Live Bait ?? Got some big ol lures to try such as Super Ciscos about 8" long , Mega D about 12" , and the usual crankbait , jigs , spinnerbaits , etc. found in the everday tackle box.

Any suggestions or help appreciated. Don't want to know YOUR particular hotspots or honeyholes.  Just point us in the right direction for technique and bait .

thanks                          dull pain

[gaspergou]

The added publicity this year has kindled a lot of interest. Jim Negus' article in the regs guide has some good pointers. It might be a bit late, but the quickest way to get over the steep part of the learning curve would be to hire a guide for a day or two... 

Fish in the tribs should be spawning around then, you might want to leave them alone... I'd suggest you focus your efforts on the reservoir or the lowermost creek arms. Downed trees, channel breaks, and even open flats can produce, particularly when you get several different cover elements in close proximity. Both casting or trolling will work. Don't mess with live bait, muskies tend to inhale them deep leading to higher mortality, which you want to avoid, right? You should see plenty of fish with lures anyway. Anything from bass-sized spinnerbaits to monster swimbaits will work if you get them in front of a fish.

I don't want to sound like I'm preaching, but make SURE you've got a net large enough to handle a 40"+ fish, some needlenose pliers and a good pair of side cutters -- if a fish takes a large treble-hooked lure deep (and particularly if the hook is in either the roof of the mouth or the fleshy pad at the back of the tongue where the gill arches come together) it's often easier on the fish to cut one or two of the hook tines as close to the fish as possible and leave it in place rather than to try to rip it out. Barbless or filed-down barbs help considerably. Both are also handy if you take a 3/0 to a finger or hand while the other hook is still attached to a wildly thrashing fish... Keep the fish in the water as much as possible during the unhooking process. Turning them upside down seems to calm them somewhat. Lift horizontally for a photo while supporting the body, and keep your fingers out of the gills (!!) -- not just for the fish, but for you -- they've got razor-sharp palatine teeth on the roof of their mouth (not just on the lips) that will nail you good. Your dull pain will become very acute! Keep everything handy and at the ready so you're not digging for stuff while you've got the fish in the net.

Watch behind your lure on EVERY cast for following fish. Some days they'll come in hot, other times they'll be 10-15' back and slowly materialize out of the murk just as you lift your lure out of the water. A longer rod allows you to stick the tip deep as your lure nears the boat, and start a figure eight from deep.

Hope this helps...

[Bfish]

Gaspergou, how deep of a net do you recommend?  That is one thing I might need to upgrade to my arsenal. 

[Bfish]

So Baryonyx, what minimum depth do you recommend?  

Keep in mind that I am fishing from a 10.5 ft kayak that is only 31 inches wide not a "regular" boat with lots of room and in rivers only (overhanging branches).  Majority of my releases, I will get out of the boat and stand in knee deep water, and unhook in the net. 'ski never leaving the water.  Only fish coming out of the water would be a picture fish.  Also the likelihood of summer fishing for me is low (travel for work in summer, plus have 2.5 acres to mow weekly (3 lots)). Wader/drysuit weather only for me.

I do have a boga, but only plan on using it for small 'skis kayak-side, for quick release of single hook lures.  The spinning/thrashing does concern me.

[gaspergou]

When I'm in a small boat or wading I use a Loki that's 24" wide with about a 24" deep bag. I wouldn't go any smaller than that... Cradles are great if you have two people, or if you're tagging or otherwise doing odd stuff to the fish, but I would NOT recommend one in a yak or by yourself.

[gaspergou]

This is what a cradle does best... Trying to handle a cradle solo with one hand while unhooking a fish is asking for trouble, even if you're only dealing with single hooks.   

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[Bfish]

I thought about making a cradle (memphis net and twine for material) with a drawstring closure. However I have decided against it.  Just too much going even with a simple closure method. It doesn't help that a cradle would put me in an awkward position on the kayak either.

Net it is, thinking about basspro shops (got bonus bucks there ) catfish net.  Should be plenty strong frame but fairly small opening (nice for the kayak) but with a 38" deep bag which should be adequate (IMO), although I would rather find one with a 42-45" deep bag but keep the smaller hoop size. I'll double check frabill and beckman to see if they don't have something suited to my needs.