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Pretty quiet here lately... hope that doesn't indicate some poor fishing!  Mayfly's still pretty prevalent? Expecting another big hatch? 

Headed up Thursday evening for a few day, will be sure to report back.  When we were up a few weeks ago we did well in shallow water (2-5'), my question is do you all see fish staying shallow year round?  Obviously only 1 way to find out, but seems like everyone overlooks a great shallow water bite once June hits.

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There was a large Mayfly hatch in Big Bay yesterday. Huge slicks on the downwind shorelines but the fish were still biting in a few areas.

Cliff

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I've found the past couple days that those pods of fish that were tough to go in the mornings bit much better in the afternoon. I went out about 430 this afternoon and kept 4 nice 15-17" fish and let go a dozen smaller fish in an hour and a half. 

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I took my nephew out about 1:00 for 3 hours this afternoon. We really got into a nice bite. We caught ~25 eyes and kept our 8. Not quite as high end on the keepers as yesterday as all 8 were in that 14-15" range. All crawlers for us.... leeches turned nothing. 

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Found 2 dead muskies floating in Head of the Lakes Bay this weekend. An approx. 45” and a measured 54”. 

Wondering if they we killed on purpose or poorly handled? ?

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I take it you didn’t see any particular injuries if you’re wondering what happened.  

Bummer.

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The smaller one was stuck under the dock and completely rotten. I fished it out to dispose of it but too far gone. It looked like the isthmus (below gill plates) was severed, but hard to say if it was cut or separated because of rot. The bigger one my F.I.L saw out cruising this evening, he said he didn’t notice anything, but doubt he investigated much. 

Edited by BRULEDRIFTER
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The most likely explanation was hooking mortality.   For every 100 muskies caught a few will die even if handled using best practices.  For the average dude doing the handling, an extra few will die.   

My experience is more with Northerns.  I have released a few of those myself that looked a little iffy.   Add on the extra few minutes being held up for the photos, and even more stress on the fish.   It is actually surprising we don't see more floaters, or maybe they mostly sink and stay down if they last awhile after being released.    

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Handling Muskies in warm surface temps like we have now can be very deadly, even if you know what you are doing. Early morning and late evening or fishing at night can lower mortality rates however it is better to just avoid handling them during the warmest time of the summer. 

"Ace" ;) 

"It's just fishing man" ;) 

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I am a firm believer that all fish that are going to be released should be unhooked at the side of the boat and not handled. You might not have a picture but you still have the memory and you know the fish has a much greater chance of surviving. Just my opinion FWIW.

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On 7/13/2018 at 11:45 AM, guideman said:

Handling Muskies in warm surface temps like we have now can be very deadly, even if you know what you are doing. Early morning and late evening or fishing at night can lower mortality rates however it is better to just avoid handling them during the warmest time of the summer. 

"Ace" ;) 

"It's just fishing man" ;) 

Ace, honest question here with no intent to debate, just learning more about muskies.

What surface temps do you consider to be too warm for handling muskies?

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DLD I'll keep rigging as long is I can keep catching good fish but entering into August I'll start to pull leadcore more.

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5 hours ago, Wanderer said:

Ace, honest question here with no intent to debate, just learning more about muskies.

What surface temps do you consider to be too warm for handling muskies?

I looked up the Mille lacs hooking mortality study on walleyes and it started to dramatically increase around 65 degrees. About 5% mortality at 65 degrees but about 25% at 75 degrees.

I have to imagine the numbers are higher for muskies given an extended fight with a large fish, having to take more care to not get cut up or hooked yourself while unhooking the fish, temptation to take lots of pictures, etc. 

Here's the study if you're interested http://mnmuskie.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Reeves-and-Bruesewitz-2007_factors-influencing-hooking-mortality-of-walleyes-Mille-Lacs.pdf

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Typically temps over 70 degrees are considered dangerous for handling Muskies. The length of the fight and the time you take handling the fish will make a difference. That is one of the reasons we use heavy line and big rods, you don't want to battle the fish to the death. Skip photos on smaller fish and remove the hooks with the fish in the net, in the water, not on the bottom of the boat.

"Ace" ;) 

"It's just fishing man" ;) 

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What do you think of the "cut the hooks" method of dealing with Muskies?   Small bolt cutters to make the process fast.   Just wondering.  

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Thanks for the feedback.  

We have the time from hookset to release pretty short I think.  I read earlier this spring the average fight these days lasts 90 seconds or less.  I’ll admit I was amazed to hear that but after a half dozen muskies that have come to net this year, that’s no bull.  We usually have em netted on the first pass by the boat.  My 48 inch net allows one to do all the handling in the water while the other gets the bump board laid out and phone ready for a pic.

A quick measure and quick pics and back in the water they go.

Thats about as much as we can do. 

70 degrees is lower than I expected to hear.  We were seeing those temps on opening weekend in Ontario.  We didn’t like seeing 80 last Friday on Leech.

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8 minutes ago, delcecchi said:

What do you think of the "cut the hooks" method of dealing with Muskies?   Small bolt cutters to make the process fast.   Just wondering.  

We had to cut the hooks on one of my fish this year.  Caught on a Cisco Kid, 2 of 3 sets of trebles in the fish.  Just by how they were twisted, the leverage made removal by pulling very difficult and the fish would thrash when I attempted to work them out.  Made the decision pretty easy to cut the hooks.

I’m honestly considering going barbless on everything.  Half the time the lure shakes free in the net anyway so the pressure is what keeps them buttoned until netted.  The plus is if one of us gets one in the hand when working on a netted fish, it won’t hurt so bad getting it out!

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Coming up tomorrow for the rest of the week, and changes in the fishing patterns for walleye? I assume still leeches and crawlers? 17-25 feet

Thanks

 

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PSU,

Lindys, bobbers with leeches and crawlers.

Trolling with cranks and spinners are now good also.

Cliff

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21 hours ago, Cliff Wagenbach said:

PSU,

Lindys, bobbers with leeches and crawlers.

Trolling with cranks and spinners are now good also.

Cliff

Thanks Cliff. I am coming up for my week of paradise tomorrow as well.

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Is the water starting to recede on the lakes East of Orr? I heard it was really high on Myrtle. We're coming up to Black Duck in a week or so, just wondering if things are getting back more towards normal. 

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Vermilion might be down a little, but not much.  Your lakes might be different.  

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  • The title was changed to 2020-21 Lake Vermilion Fishing Reports
  • The title was changed to 2021 Lake Vermilion Fishing Reports
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