Went out fishing this weekend on Minnetonka, looking for a few good bass. Started out from Maxwell Bay about 5:45, and tried a few new spots fishing with jigworms, carolina rigs & swimjigs. First cast=first fish, and the fishing was VERY active right off the bat. Only problem was tring to find some size to the bass. All of them were in the 1 - 1.5 lb. range. So we continued on down the weedline to an area where the break was more pronounced. Bad move - fewer fish, and nothing larger than what we had been catching.
Moved to try another part of the lake, working some areas with weeds & rocks mixed together. Lost one NICE fish, never saw it, so no idea what it was, but we did pick up a few bass in the 2 lb range, and landed one eater-walleye. We had a second eater to the boat, but it fell off as we were lifting it in.
The fishing still wasn't want we were looking for, so we moved to another area of rocks & weeds that has been kind to me in the past. As I was dropping the trolling motor in, I told my buddy this was a kind of hit-and-miss area, but when I found fish there, they were usually good ones. Then I hear a commotion behind me, and turn around in time to see him rather awkwardly holding onto his rod just as it is coming back almost slapping him in the face. He had dropped his swim-jig down to check what the bottom was like, and something smashed it while he was diddling with the reel. Whatever it was sliced through his fire-wire will relative ease, so I figure it likely was a nice Pike. And since I have caught Pike with hooks in their mouths before, I told him we would work down the weedline to give the fish time to settle down a bit, then come back and try him again. We work the weedline, and I pull in a couple bass 2-2.5 lbs on my carolina rig, then turn around and head back.
We get to the area where the weeds make an inside turn to a point a bit farther out, and he starts fishing for Pike/Muskie while I continue to work for bass. About two casts later, this LARGE shadow comes up behind his bait, then heads under the boat and is gone. Turns out my partner never heard of using a "figure 8" to get a fish like that to strike, and by the time I explained to him how to do it, the fish wasn't interested in his bait anymore. It turns out, however, he was VERY interested in what was on the end of my line. Suddenly my carolina rig starts running out on me me, and I know this ain't no bass. I have my drag set VERY tight, since I am fishing 20 lb. test in a weedy environment. I manage to get the fish turned around, and he comes to the surface about 10' from the boat. BIG Muskie! I have a 42" Northern Pike on my wall, and this fish looks like it has close to a foot on that! My buddy is practically tripping over himself trying to get the net to the side of the boat the fish was on, then he asks me if the net is big enough. I tell him I don't know, but it's all we got. The fish makes another run to the other side of the boat, and dives. I start pulling it up, and all of a sudden it is WAY easier to bring the fish up. Seconds later, a good 2 lb. bass is in our boat, MUCH the worse for wear. Never had a hook in that muskie, but he did NOT want to let go of his lunch. After a bit of a let-down, we decide to try another area, and come back to try for this monster another day.
The rest of the day was a bit slow. A bit of rain moved through, and the temps dropped a couple degrees. The fish didn't seem to like that, and slowed down to about 1/2 of the action we had been seeing before. I did manage one decent bass, just over 3 lbs.
But, I am thinking I may have to take a extra fishing trip or two in the near future, and see if a certain bass-eating monster is still hanging around a certain weedpoint.
wow great story! Me and my buddy decided to try for muskie for the first time and was out on minnetonka last weekend also. Only saw one and it striked at my bulldawg and missed, the fish was under 30". Only fish we saw the whole day and were really disappointed and I figured musky fishing to much work for having only one strike. That story has me thinking I may try again.
If you want to consistantly catch muskies on Minnetonka, you should fish small and deep! I have them follow lures to the boat all the time, hook many, and lose most! Nearly all the guys I see fishing for them, are fishing shallow, and the tops of weeds...everyone does it, and the fish are on to it.
The lake is overpopulated with them, and I figure the more caught...the higher mortality. Plus, they are excellent eating. The Hmongs on shore love it when I bring one in for them.
Quote: If you want to consistantly catch muskies on Minnetonka, you should fish small and deep! I have them follow lures to the boat all the time, hook many, and lose most! Nearly all the guys I see fishing for them, are fishing shallow, and the tops of weeds...everyone does it, and the fish are on to it.
The lake is overpopulated with them, and I figure the more caught...the higher mortality. Plus, they are excellent eating. The Hmongs on shore love it when I bring one in for them.
Minnetonka last weekend
Does anyone have that "stirring the pot" icon.
