Waneta lake new to musky fishing

[Double-D]

Hey guys I was wondering in some tips my father and I are interested in musky fishing. I hear and read some post about Waneta lake any good tips would be appreciated. We are looking to get out that way this weekend or next!

 

Thanks again and good luck fishing!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[old man]

If you’re New I’m guessing you don’t have a lot of musky gear. At a minimum you need good long nose pliers and a good size net. Some strong line and quality leaders are a must. The eagle claw wire leaders sold at walmart will break your heart. Snaps will fail,guaranteed. Look into how you will handle a musky. You don’t grab them behind the head like a 6 lb pike. Pete Maina has some nice handling videos on you tube. As for fishing I would start casting as soon as there was room over the weeds coming out of the channel. Head to the west side and work your way north. Spinnerbaits and smaller bucktails should be good now. I like brown hair and gold blades there. Be sure to do a figure 8 or at least an l turn at the boat. Follows can be hard to see there. I avoid weekends there as it gets crowded. I’ll catch a fish or two about one out of three trips there. Great lake when they’re hungry. Put your time in and you’ll catch one.


Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[whaler1]

Great stuff!


Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

[Aspiring_Pollack]

I'd say get some good gear. Though I've yet to catch one, what I can inform on is just the resistance of the lures will destroy common stuff. Ive stripped out gears on bass reels, ended up buying a Calcutta 400B, then my heavy flippin stick that I thought I could get by with started falling apart. I can feel the reel seat warping and the handle disintegrating due to flexing, ended up with a chaos tackle rod thats en route now, and thats all before getting a bite... but I can only imagine the sickening feeling of getting one on to have all your equipment give out. Never know, that first one could be a 50. Other than that? Prepare for your casting thumb to be quite calloused lol.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[old man]

this photo is a Waneta musky about 25 years ago. I was broke then. I used a 6’6” browning bass rod from Dicks. Like $19.99. I had a Quantam $49 reel spooled with 20lb trilene. In the fishes mouth is a spinnerbait from walmart. I think it was $3.99. It had a black rubber skirt and two black Colorado blades. I put a tube on it to make it look bigger. I caught a fair amount of muskies on that and never got bit or broke off. I have tons of high end gear now but you can start out pretty reasonably.


Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[Aspiring_Pollack]

Very true, I think throwing bass(esque), or rather just smaller lures for em, you can get away with less. My gear didn't start falling apart until I scratched the double 10 itch. Between that and casting a T60 flatfish, it just shredded over the course of a few weeks lol. Just my limited experience. I do have a heavy bass rod in the boat for throwing Xraps when the arms need a break.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[Double-D]

Thanks for heads up! We have invested quite a bit into trolling gear for salmon and such but we also want to try other types of fish that would give us a nice fight! Also another reason to get out on the boat and such. Looks like more gear to invest in haha for a good time! We really do appreciate all the advice this app has been a great tool and so have all the anglers out there giving advice thanks again!


Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[old man]

I can’t do 10’s anymore. Arthritis limits me to 8’s. The musky mayhem single girls are nice to throw.


Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[Aspiring_Pollack]

Rough business. Ill check those spinners out, I've heard them brought up in a number of conversations, so they gotta be good!

Any of you get into the 'skies, throw some pics up! Id love to see them. I'll be sure to do the same, and I'd live to say thanks to this community called LOU as well. You've all helped me out a ton, and I just hope I can help someone else out in the future.



Sent from my SM-G955U using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[muskiemike]

Old man pretty much covered it. I would emphasize proper handling and release tools. If you are on Facebook or even LOU it won't take long to find a post with a photo of fish being mishandled per best practice.  Upon reading the ensuing comments you may develop a sour taste toward the musky fishing community and sport as a whole. DO NOT, I REPEAT DO NOT post a picture holding the fish vertically or covered in anything except water/slime unless you are prepared for the ruthless onslaught from keyboard musky release gestapo.  Proper handling is most important for the fishes safety but it will save you trouble if you do your best to follow best practice techniques.  Surprisingly musky are not hardy like other species.   Minimize time out if water (try for 30seconds or less). The big net helps keep her safe while removing the hooks. 

http://www.steveheiting.com/release-a-musky-right/

 

The other key I would recommend, if you are casting, do not forget your polarized sunglasses.  Musky will often follow your bait right to the boat and you can often trigger a strike by performing a boatside maneuver involving change of speed and/or direction (YouTube musky figure 8). As stated above, Pete Maina offers a wealth of musky tips and experience on all topics. But having a set of polarized sunglasses dramatically improves your ability to spot a following fish and can turn your trip from frustrating to heart racing/successful. I own Amber tint from a gas station . Any polarized are better than none.

 

Per lures. Again for casting. I'm working on getting better at keeping it simple but I think it's important to have multiple triggering mechanisms to present them. I predominantly use the following.

 

Double bladed inline spinner.

Single bladed inline spinner.(as stated above)

These are arguably the most effective means to catch a musky. And good for fishing over weeds. Dont be afraid to reel as fast as you can (this can trigger a strike) but sometimes they like it slow.

 

Spinnerbait. Need not be huge. Great around weeds.

 

Rubber. I've done well on paddle tail (swimming dawg) this year. But the bulldawg (curly/ twister tail style) is also a fish catcher. 

 

Glide (i.e phantom lures, warlock) and or jerk (suick, Fat AZ raptor). Pick a pull & pause style bait. The pause can be quite effective. These may require some practice / research to learn how to use correctly. 

 

Cast the weed lines 10-20'. Don't be afraid to cast to the deeper water 

 

There are far better trollers on here than I can ever hope to be. Hopefully they chime in. 

 

For casting I would recommend smaller lures 5-8" to start. Large lures cost more, are harder to retreive and not necessary to catch big fish. 

 

There is endless information available on this forum and the web. Time on water and maintaining a positive musky attitude are the keys to success. 

 

Good luck and send us a picture 😎

 

 

 

Edited June 13, 2019 by muskiemike
Tyoo

[Chowdaire]

Great stuff.

I bought a bunch of big baits for fall fishing last year and love that swimming dawg but I have the 11 incher. I just ordered a smaller one along with a smaller bucktail to throw in the next couple of weeks.

And I’m so worried about handling a musky that I haven’t even taken one out of the water yet!

My pictures all look like this.



Hopefully I’ll get one worthy of a proper picture soon but I will be very careful handling the fish for it.


Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

[Trouthunter]

If you want to get into Musky try Monksville they are pounding them there its in Northern Jersey near Greenwood Lake

[Double-D]

Well thanks everyone for chiming in this will be a lot of help and I’ll keep ya all posted on how it’s going! Also wanted to say thanks to whaler since he helped me with tips for kings and such for Lake Ontario!


Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[whaler1]

Can’t wait to see a pic when you’re successful!


Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United