New Fly Fishing Book

[cycler68]

Montana Moose,
The best place I know of to go and do some research to come up with some musky fly patterns is that book I have, Musky on the Fly. I got my copy from Amazon.com for about $38. Money well spent IMHO since I haven't found any other book like it.

[MontanaMoose]

Sounds like a great resource cycler, thanks. I'll check my tying books and old mags and try to find something and of course I'll google a bit and no doubt there are muskie flies here in the archives. Wow, you've got me all worked up now...steelhead fishing is great but a 50 lb muskie on the fly ! Whoa !

Cheers,

MontanaMoose

[Trout-Dawg]

I've got a few this Winter I can't wait to read, no fishing for me so more time to read about it or watch some Youtube!

[Bear742]

If a Muskie is a fish of 10,000 casts, how many false casts is that?

Around here spring is a time when Bass fishermen get into Muskies on their bass tackle. 5" Senkos account for more fish than the huge 12" baits that are the standards for Muskie hunters. Then there are the ones kids catch on night crawlers and minnows. I like to rub it in on my Muskie fishing friends when I see those reports. Since Muskies don't read bulletin boards, they don't know any better.

Translating that to fly fishing, 5" flies on a 9 wt might get you into a Ski. Give it a try. BTW, a short wire tippet might be a good idea if you want to land it.

[joe cool]

I got that book as a chirstmas gift. Havent got around to reading it much yet, but I flipped through to see the pictures and it got me excited. I plan to tie up some huge decievers and deerhair bugs this winter to try out in one of our local lakes where Ive hooked a few musky bass fishing.

[cycler68]

Bear,
If a muskie is the fish of 10,000 casts I probably don't have enough time in a weeks vacation to finish all the back casts....
About muskies taking bass baits and such in the spring I've heard a lot about the same thing but still, apart from that time of the year, all I know about muskies says you need the bigger stuff to score consistently. And even for spring fishing I'm planning on carrying some of the bigger flies just in case I run into a fish who just doesn't care about a snack and wants a meal.
I don't plan on focusing my fly fishing on muskies but when I have the chance I want to begin capitalizing on it rather than just passing it by like I have been doing. And I think this about the right time to begin, I've got a few years of fly fishing under my belt and I think I have the casting skill to begin pursuing this fish. My success or failure on the water will tell the tale.

[fly-chucker]

Got the book for Christmas also.

Looks like it will be a great resource. I've caught quite a few that have been less than 36" but would like to step up to the big boys. Looking forward to spending a few hours curled up with it over the next few weeks.

Kevin

[briney dave]

I have taken a couple muskie by mistake while bass fishing with a spinning set-up. Muskie are more likely found in shallow water than deep, so are a great canidate for the fly rod. The trick to muskie is two fold; first speed. The faster the better for these fish. Second is size of the lure. Muskie respond to larger baits far more often than small ones. A foot long pattern is not too long at all!!!

The two fish I took one day while on a noted muskie holding body in Ohio both came when the bass bait was past where I thought bass were holding and sped up the retrival by double what I use for bass.

Keep your eyes open clear to until the lure is out of the water. Both pike and muskie will follow a lure far longer than a bass. I have several bass lures with pike teeth marks that occured as the lure was leaving the water. A great way to break your high dollar fly rods
For that reason and the weight of the bait I would think that a 9-10 wt. would be minimum here.


If either a pike or muskie follows you very close; switch to a figure 8 pattern in the water without taking in any more line. don't hesitate to roll the fly right back out if the fish turns away. Trust me your lure is very much still on its mind.

Spring through fall are fine times. Basically, use your trout sense of weather, clouds, etc

some call muskie the fish of a thousand casts, for me it was about ten casts. Neither was on purpose either Just dumb luck; not really. I had a big lure on and sped the lure up on water that hold a good number of these fish.

[cycler68]

It's easy for old fishermen to see their topwater fly. Hi-vis patterns not needed.
It's easy to determine when your popper was hit. "Is that a torpedo or is a fish after my fly?"
Changing flies at dusk does not require a flashlight.
When sight fishing you may mistake a log for your intended quarry. Embarrassment may be compounded if you cast to it and wonder why it didn't strike.

[rnelson]

I use a 9ft 9 weight for muskies but prefer my 9ft 10wt. Most of my musky flies are large, e.g. 8-12 inches long but I also throw quite a few in the 6-8 inch range too. I try to tie them out of relatively light materials and although I have tied some huge deer hair musky flies I find them difficult to throw even with the 10 wt. This could be a result of my casting abilities as much as the size of the fly however.

Rick