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6:08 pm
October 1, 2008
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What percentage of your muskie were caught before 8:00 a.m.?
Seems to me that late afternoon, cloudy, rainy or all of them together are all better options that an early 3:00/4:00 a.m. alarm clock going off. Yes, I've been out on the banks of the Marsh for 4 days at 5:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and have 2 largemouth bass to show for it. Not even any follows.
Appreciate any insight anyone can lend me.
thanks
1:00 am
March 26, 2004
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My lunge log data says about 20% at 8AM or earlier, but I probably spend more time fishing in the early morning than any other time because of other time constraints.
On waters where there's enough fish to get a pattern, what I've observed is that there is some activity right around sunrise but that the fish don't really start moving until the water warms up a bit.
A much more experienced muskie guy told me "if you can't be out there at first light, there's no need to hurry to get on the water."
Afternoon fishing can be very good, especially if there's a weather change involved. If you have any flexibility in your schedule, make the weather work for you. Honestly, it's the only way to have a hope of being consistently successful at this game, especially in waters with moderately low populations and lots of pressure like most of SE PA. Almost all of the action that I have had in PA can be tied to specific weather changes.
The only real way to know is to fish a water from sunup to sundown on several different days. The fish should turn on at some point, and you'll be there to find out when. Usually these types of daily patterns hold for weeks or even months unless a major weather change disrupts them. Finding these patterns is is hard work and requires dedication that your family won't understand or appreciate. That's hunting for the fish of 10,000 casts.
Chris
1:05 am
Mike,i dont have the stats with me but i'll bet if i look thru my records,70% to 80% of my fish have been caught between 9 am and 3 pm.That being said,i still get on the water as early as i can.
3:28 am
January 19, 2009
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Hey Mike, I dont have any real data, but 3 of my fish early this year were caught before 647 am. the others were i think 11 am and 1 pm. Remember data is just a small tool. Time, instinct, that hunch and your first feeling also helps. oh yea and alot of casting, but remember it only takes one. thats just me. p.s. the other guys stuff sounded better so prob use those, because mine includes refreshments, one maybe ten!! ;D 😉 and alot of walking. ha ha ha good luck Mike
12:00 pm
Some interesting info Chris.Two factors to my info that ties in with what Chris has said.
1-Typicly i dont start fishing till just after sunrise,or an hour after sunrise{probably because of the long drives nessecary to reach my destinations}
2-Typicly i dont fish any later then 6pm{leave the house at 2am or 3am and dont get home till 9pm or 10pm makes for a lonley guy{no more wife}}Wait,did i just say that?? ::)
Most of my time spent fishing dark to dark is on extended outings and a few local trips.Intersting note.We had some action this weekend,yup,high noon.I also spoke to another group who had some action this weekend,all between 9am and 1pm.
3:49 pm
June 29, 2005
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The nice thing about muskies is you can catch them any time of the day. So if you like to get up late, it won't elimate your chances for success. However, there are some that say the fishing doesn't get good until after 9 AM. I have found that to be false and have had many mad dog bites way before 9AM. Strangely enough, I have found it to be dependant on the body of water. There are some lakes I wouldn't miss a sunrise session while others I would prefer to go later. I don't know why, it just is, you'd have to ask the fish. Sometimes I think our personal statistics are self-fulfilling though. If you always fish from 9-3, then all of your fish will be caught then. Much like fishing a black bucktail all the time! My advice would be to fish as much as you can. That extra 3 hours on the water won't kill you when you're back at work on Monday.
If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got.
3:36 am
January 19, 2009
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Hey Steve, Ron here and i was wondering if you could give me those locations that you caught those fish so i could Rap wit them!! ha ha ha thanks Steve i couldnt resist! ha ha excellent info Ron 😉
2:26 am
April 29, 2007
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Great info guys, thanks. I don't keep a log, but thinking back most of my fish were probably caught late morning/early afternoon or from 10pm to 2am. I agree that there are certain times that are more productive on different waters. Also, that just before or after a front is the best no matter what time that happens to be, especially if there have been several days of stable weather before the front moves in.
Team MTF
3:57 am
March 26, 2004
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Yesterday provided an interesting case study. I fished a lake here in NM with an incredible density (>10/acre) of tiger muskies, so if they're biting you usually know it pretty fast.
I fished 7AM - 1:30PM. Between 7:00-8:30, I had about a dozen follows and lost two fish. No action (except one lazy follow) from 8:30-12:00. Between 12:00-12:30, I had three follows and landed a 36" fish. No action after 12:30, and I was overdue to leave anyways.
So they followed the pattern of some action early, followed by turning back on in late morning. It also underscored the point about being on the water. If I had fished 9AM - noon, I would have thought it was the dead sea.
Chris
1:32 am
Chris thats some good action for the Desert , 9-12 you wouldnt have seen a thing thats why its important to fish as long as you can time right T- Musky /Ben time on the water = fish in the boat
5:08 am
October 1, 2008
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I did finally pick up a small 27" pure at the marsh around 7:00 a.m. the other day That's the earliest I've seen a fish in my short muskie fishing career. My other 2 fish and anyone else's I've seen posted here were caught later in the day/afternoon/evening.
11:05 pm
January 19, 2009
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3 of mine posted were before 7am ;D
2:43 am
You have to concider what times you fish the most.If you fish from 5am-11am 90% of the time your results will favor those times.The same as if you throw black lures 90% of the time most of your fish will come on black.
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