Muskies on Independence?

[Lipriper84]

I'm just kind of getting into this Muskie Madness, I know they are in Independence just wondering what colors or baits people have had luck on. I don't have too much tackle so far, and want to make sure I'm buying the right stuff since these baits are so expensive.

Thanks

[Shawn Kellett]

I'm sorry you've contracted the sickness that is muskie fishing. Just as a warning, a crack addiction would be cheaper .

If you're just getting into it, color is the very LAST think you should be concerned with right now. The more important thing to learn right now is where are the fish during the different seasons. Once you find the fish it won't matter what you throw (says the guy who has over 1000 baits in his garage).

Before you start going down the color road, get some experience with various bait categories and learn how and where to use them. On Indy I'm partial to walk-the-dog baits, but have caught them on pretty much everything.

[Jari Razskazoff]

Independance is a clear lake, right?

[tonkapat]

no

[markkstanley]

Indy is pea green in the summer but has a lot of nice muskies. I consider it more of a numbers lake (now that is a bit of an oxymoron when talking about muskies) You are likely to catch one every time out. You will for sure raise a few. Doesn't have the trophy fish you can find on Tonka and it is a zoo on the weekends.

[mnshan1028]

I have fished Independence several times for Muskie and Walleye. The first time I ever went out there I caught a 48 inch muskie on a "Walk the Dog" topwater bait near the island out there. Since then I haven't come close to that size, but have caught some decent sized fish (30-40 inches). It is clear in the since of how clean the water is, but like the previous post it is pea green algae throughout the entire lake. I have seen many muskie fisherman out there. There is a hump in the middle of the lake that I have pulled some nice Walleye out of. It is definately a lake worth trying, but like Markstanely said, Minnetonka yields way bigger muskie. Personally, I would take the hour and half drive and hit Mille Lacs. There are monster Muskie and Northern all over in that lake. Of course you can get your walleye and smallies too. For how close the lake is, its worth the extra thirty bucks to drive there and back. Other metro lakes I have heard of good muskie fishing on is whitebear and the minneapolis chain of lakes. Hope this helped. SLL

[Andrew Erickson]

agreed on wtd baits. weagles and vipers are my two personal favs.Don't shy away from big spinnerbaits either.M&G makes a great spinnerbait and i have got many fish with those on indy.If your into camping i recommend baker park right on the lake.Its a great campground not far from the cities and you can have great success with bass and muskie right from shore.

[PDXFisher]

Topwaters in general seem to work well at dusk. I've had plenty hit Pacemakers and Topraiders.

[musky5555]

Some good advice on above posts, but here's my two cents:

First, buy a couple of In-fisherman's muskie videos, and pay attention. They are fun to watch and very informational. Location and presentation are key.

Get yourself a few different types of bucktails: willow blade (fast), colorado blade (slow), safety pin style, and everybody needs a cowgirl. Bucktails are "go to" baits when you are trying to locate fish, or simply have no idea what else to throw.

Then, instead of buying one of everything (like I did when I was getting into muskie fishing), pick out a couple other lures, and learn how to fish them effectively. My favorite lure is a suick.

As stated above, I don't believe color is as important as location, or presentation, but you can't go wrong with natural colors, or the famous black/orange.

Finally, don't limit yourself to one lake. Although I've never fished Indy, there are much better muskie lakes in the area.

Good luck

[PostFrontal]

Indy is a really weedy lake with all the Milfoil and gets tougher to fish as you get further in the season as the Milfoil gets closer to the surface.

We have had good luck with topwaters (topraider) all year. They are easiest to fish with, and for me, the most fun.

Other than topwaters you're going to need a bucktail that you can keep above the milfoil (can't go wrong with cowgirl or something smaller until you get used to the big blades)

Then you have the bulldawgs for outside weedlines and breaks.

All easy lures to throw and get used to muskie fishing with.

[JRedig]

Heya rincrat78, get a hold of me. birdmanmt at gmail dot com

[Andrew Erickson]

you got mail.

[Lipriper84]

Thanks for all the tips guys,

I just bought a Curado 300 from Gander mountain, They had last years model on sale for $150 at the Eden Prairie Location. There were probably 10 or so left last Thursday. I'm pretty pumped up to get out on the water.

Lipriper