Muskie Fishing Pointers From the Muskie Masters

The muskie master is a breed of his own. He can boast of hooking a hundred, 200, maybe even 300 muskies of the big predators. A 40-inch fish doesn’t even turn his head and a 20-pound muskie barely rates mentioning.



How does he do it? What are the secrets to his lure selection, presentation and undeniable success? Here’s what the muskie masters will tell you.

 

Tim Dennehy

For several years Tim Dennehy was the President of a Huskie Muskie Club in Ohio. At last count Dennehy had landed well over 600 muskies.

He shoots for about 250 days a year on the water but settles for what he can get. He goes out for about three to four hours early in the morning and then back out that same evening for another few hours.

Dennehy is a hands-on kind of guy and prefers casting to muskies rather than trolling for them. Lure selection revolves around what works for Tim, and for now it’s the newer Number 41 Sissons crankbaits.

These little baits have taken 70 percent of the muskies Dennehy has caught. The Tennessee Shad, Firetiger and Blue Shad colors.

Trolling the number 41 Sisson on 50 to 55 feet deep will get the lure down to about 10 feet. Soft plastics haven’t produced too many big fish for Dennehy over the years, though he knows a lot of guys that use them.

The Bull Dawg is popular on Ohio’s Leesville Lake, Dennehy’s favorite muskie hole. He occasionally ties on a Mepps Giant Killer with a white tail and a red feather or a black tail and red feather combination.

 

Larry Dotson

Dotson is so laid back when on the water that it’s a wonder he hooks anything at all, much less a muskie. To date, Fred has caught well over 200 muskies, many of them in Ohio’s Clear Fork reservoir near Mansfield.

Dotson does a lot of his fishing on Lake Hudson in southern Michigan,and also wets a line at Lake St. Clair on his more adventuresome days. An engineer by trade, Fred spends a considerable amount of his free time on muskie waters.

Presenting muskies a variety of options is the name of the game, according to Dotson. Trolling up to about 6 MPH with lines stretched out behind the boat allows muskies to pick and choose the lure color and style they find appealing.

With three anglers in the boat, two lures are kept in or just behind the prop wash while two are allowed to follow further back and deeper. To create a spread, planer boards hold the remaining two lures out to the side.

 

Daniel Pascal

Pascal is a long-time fisheries biologist with the Ohio Division of Wildlife. Few anglers are as knowledgeable as Pascal when it comes to muskie physiology and behavior. He’s been landing muskies since 1982 and has seen around 500 fish landed in his boat.

Alum Creek is Daniel’s favorite. It’s just north of Columbus, close to home and it produces some big muskies. Alum Creek muskies grow big, according to Pascal.

Research showed that muskies stocked into Alum Creek in September, 1990, ranged from 41 to 48 inches in just five years. The abundant gizzard shad contributed to the phenomenal growth rate that is still a trademark of the lake.



Daniel believes there is one muskie per acre topping 27 inches. A little inside information never hurt anyone and Pascal is eager to share it, especially about baits. The best muskie lures are always the ones that can’t be bought anymore.

One example would be the old Bagley Small Fry Shad that had brass wire hangers that ran completely through the bait. Pascal believes the baits haven’t been manufactured for two decades.

Pascal looks for lures that are built tough. Many of his favorites are made with thru-wire construction, heavy-duty split rings and 3X hooks.

Other lures, though they’re built light or were intended for bass, just have a knack for catching muskies. The little Sisson number 41 is one of them.

Conditions dictate what Pascal ties on. In heavy coontail beds a Bobbie Bait is perfect. In more open water and around rock bars the Sledge is tremendous.

He likes to troll the Sledge and Tony Jerk along weed edges while holding the rod and jerking the bait. When the bite is slow he reaches for one of the old Cobb baits.

These jerkbaits are effective in enticing neutral fish but have to be fished slowly. Daniel also gives advice to anglers about color selection.

The basic colors for muskies would include black or black and silver, natural as in gizzard shad, sucker or shiner, firetiger, gold and perch. Casting is Pascal’s cup of tea but sometimes trolling is the only practical choice.

Trolling is the key to catching fish when they suspend randomly, are too deep for casting or the water is rough. As far as Pascal is concerned the best time of day for muskie fishing is when he can be on the water. Given a preference he’ll take first and last light.

 

Free Advice

Well, there it is. Free expert advice on muskie fishing that will put more fish in the boat for anyone wise enough to listen.