Waneta Muskies

[Clarkie]

A fishing buddy of mine (another old fart)  and I would like to try to catch a muskie, since neither of us have ever  caught one..

 

We're close to Waneta...Our rig is a 17 footer, setup for trolling, with downriggers, etc.and we have a limited number of  suitable lures...

 

Any advice on depth, trolling speeds, locations or whatever..?

 

And YES we do plan to release any fish we should be fortunate enough to catch...

[old man]

Waneta is a good lake to catch your first. At less than 800 acres no matter what you cast or troll some fish will see it. If you're there when they're hungry you'll get one. Just stay at it.

[Steve.e]

troll around the weeds, 8-15 feet. Water temp is about the same everywhere. Bait- anything big ,noisey and flashy. Don't really need riggers, just be about 5ft - 10ft down. Big bait will find that depth anyways. Speed to get best action on lures, spinners, whatever. Run a couple close to boat ~15-20ft right behind. Off the sides about 50 ft back. Muskies don't spook to easily. They like commotion

Edited October 10, 2013 by Steve.e

[Tigerhunter]

Unfortunately I can't help much in the trolling department but my best advice is to never give up, you can fish all day and not see anything and then all of a sudden when you are daydreaming- wham!

Also, I'm not sure how familiar you are with musky but it would be good to check out the sticky on releasing if you haven't. I believe it discusses common release tools, methods, all sorts of other good stuff.

Good luck!!!

[justtracytrolling]

Tigerhunter is spot on! Muskies are a difficult fish to handle and safely release so do a little research and have a plan ahead of time in case you get into them. If you have handling questions fire away as the musky hunters in this section of LOU are the most helpful guys on the site. Can someone give them a idea of speed for this time of year? Good luck and be sure to post your trip.

justin

[muskiedreams]

Currently, casting is working right now in 10 fow or less. Jerk baits have been most productive. Water is prety cloudy so bright colors and noise is the key. If you raise a fish in one spot, chances are good there is at least one other one nearby. Don't forget to do figure eights since you may not see a follow due to the murky water. I got 2 on Sunday on a Chineese shallow Shad Rap imitation in perch.They were both in the same neighborhood (less than 100ft apart) but I caught them 2hrs apart. If you want to troll, try 10 fow or less with short lines or shallow divers. Try different speeds but try to find the optimal speed for the lures you are using. Things could all change if water cools off. Right now it is still in the mid to upper 60s.

Edited October 11, 2013 by muskiedreams

[delilah]

I have never fished waneta before and I came down with a friend to fish for musky. I am stay on lamoka and taking the channel but I was wondering if anyone know where there hanging. Any info would be greatly appreciated thanks. 

[muskiedreams]

See my previous post. Cast 10 ft or less along the sides and in north and south ends. Points and small flats adjacent to deep water are good bets. Jerk baits and 5 to 8 " crank baits. Vary retrieve and do figure 8s. Perch , firetiger and other bright colors. Some red in the patern is always good. Due to the cloudy water, rattles are also very helpful. For trolling, concentrate on the same areas with shallow offerings. Try runnig lures 10 to 20 ft behind the boat Frequent tight turns and varrying speed can trigger strikes. As I said earlier, casting is producing better than trolling right now. We had a tournament on the 5th and I believe all the fish entered were caught casting in 10 ft or less.

[MadPerry]

I am a couple hours away and have made the trip 3 times in 2 years.  Have spent half the time casting and half trolling.  Finally got my 1st ever today in the middle of the lake trolling.  Flatlining a deep diving jointed thunderstick.  What a thrill.  I've had dreams of catching this fish for a a LONG time.  This one never left the net and I was alone so couldn't get a pic with the fish.  Bummed about that.  It swam away happily which I am grateful for.  Was around 33-35".

[old man]

Way to go! Congrats!

[Sk8man]

Nice going MadPerry!

[brent fingar]

Nice fish I caught my 1st musky in august on wanetta a fat 38 incher congrats on yet fish fishing for musky alone tough for getting a good pic

[tmag]

MadPerry, I used to have the same issue with pics. Get a tripod for your digital camera along with a remote that will allow you to hit the shutter electronically / wirelessly from a distance. This way, you can already have a nice gill hold in the fish, click the remote with your other and then hoist her at the last second for the pic.

 

Thanks for letting that fish go, though. Very nice and a great pic. Pretty fish.

[Tigerhunter]

The tripod is a must when fishing alone. The remote works pretty good but can be a pain if handling a fish that doesn't want it's picture taken. I've used this method and have gotten some nice shots.

My latest method works much easier and can make for a quicker release and more shots. I have a Digital SLR, I'm not sure if regular point and shoots have this option but it is pretty nice.

In the settings I can change the timer from 2 seconds to 10 seconds and it can take up to 10 pictures in a row at a time interval you choose.

With the fish in the net "resting" you can turn the camera on and either manually start the process or use a remote. Then I have 10 seconds to safely grab/handle the fish and unless something crazy happens I can have anywhere from 1-10 good shots of the fish. If I feel I have a good shot after 1 or 2 then I can make an immediate release and maybe even get some release shots. Important thing is to have it set up and have a couple if test shots so you know they are good and you aren't fumbling around while you have the fish hanging out by the boat.

If you don't have a D-SLR you may not be able to adjust the timer and whatnot- I haven't used a point and shoot in 3-4 years now. If you don't have one I would suggest in saving up for one, they take ridiculous pictures and will last forever if you take care of it. Plus the battery pack lasts so much longer so you never have to deal with dead batteries like point and shoots. You can find really good deals on them now, especially during the holiday season.

I've probably made this sound more complicated than it is but it really is simple and results in great pictures and a safe release so you can catch that same fish after it's doubled it weight!!!

[Sk8man]

Tiger Hunter - I've used the SLR's since the mid 90's and just a heads up....on most of them the shutters are good for about 50,000- 60,000 shots or so....which sounds like a lot but with digital you take many more than you would with the old film cameras and it happens in no time...I have several Canons D SLR's sitting here to prove it   The other thing I should mention is that one of them was dropped into a minnow bucket on the boat accidentally...bye bye $1,000 instantaneously. I now use only a Sony 16 megapixel point and shoot that is much safer and more practical (fits in a pocket) on a boat.

[MTpockets]

Gopro is really good & water proof

[Tigerhunter]

Go pros are definitely awesome! I will eventually get one.

As for cameras, I will stick with the DSLR, I feel there are so many benifits over a point and shoot, the only downfall is the price. The quality and capabilities are more important to me than startup cost, which makes it worth it to me. Luckily I only cast lures so the only real way to ruin mine would be to drop it in the lake, which I won't do and if someone else does then they are buying me a replacement......haha.

I feel like I take a lot of pictures, more than the average person and I've maybe done 20,000 tops in the 4 years I've had it. If mine does crap out on me I'll just have to replace the body which I wouldn't mind doing since these things are like computers now. I can get a new body that has twice the capability as mine for half what I paid for mine originally.

For some, a picture is a picture but for me it's a "hobby". Pair that with the fact that I only fish for musky and am looking for that 50"+ fish of a lifetime, I really want the best pictures I can have of it. Sk8man- you do have a very good point but I personally feel the value of risking my DSLR for the fish....(although as I type this your post seems more logical than mine- haha!)

[Nalod]

I like to use Chad's iphone for our pictures.  He takes good shots and if it falls in the lake, I know the drill...call Katie and tell her to use my phone for the rest of the day to contact Chad.  It has worked well for us!

 

--Joe

[Tigerhunter]

Haha- nice Joe! Hey Chad, you wanna go with us? Lol.

[BlueEye]

I've lost TWO iPhones now to Chautauqua lake.... Grrrrrr.... It's almost like I use them to mark my spots out there. Just call me and watch the lake light up

[muskiedreams]

Be careful about that. The fish might start texting each other or maybe hack the system to get GPS locations of all the fisherman.

[muskiedreams]

How about an inflatable PFD for smartphones.