Alum Creek Today

So today the waves were 1-2' and water very muddy. Trolled for a couple of hours with Rattlin Crankbaits (figured the rattles would help) due to water clarity and casted some traps in the coves. Wind was howling all day. I'm guessing tomorrow the water clarity will be the same but it is going to be less windy.

Thoughts anyone? Am i wasting my time when the water looks like chocolate milk? Thanks so much.

Also, another question. I'll be missing the next couple of meetings due to my son's baseball schedule...and I was watching guys fish for grouper in the Keys. When the brought the fish up, the used a venting tool to release the air from them so they could get back down to depths easier.

Why don't we vent muskie when the water temps are so warm in like July or August to help them out?

Thanks everyone!

Trolled the drops and cliff shorelines in all three pools yesterday for a few hours. 2.8mph-3mph. Trolled many large (5-10")rattlin crankbaits. I figured anything that would rattle and make noise should work in very muddy water. All was quiet...but the waves were only 6"...that was good. Casted traps for about an hour. Nice weekend coming. Any and all thoughts are appreciated. :)

Don't get too discouraged George. I think everyone has been striking out at the lake since the flooding. I am going to be optimistic and blame it on the muddy water. I am sure things will perk up some (hopefully a lot!) after things clear up a little.

Cliff

Thanks Cliff. I appreciate your insight. I've learned so much from you.

I'm lovin the new electronics...and i have a new net that needs the muskie smell. It's going to be a great year, im just anxious.

Sure hope all the muskies haven't "left town" and moved to the spillway...

JBG, we dont vent muskies in the heat of the summer because the air bladder is not necessarily the main problem. It is a build up of lactic acid that can become terminal to the fish. When the water has a high concentration of oxygen the fish are better able to reduce the build up of that lactic acid. However, in the hot water of summer time the oxygen level of the surface water is minimal so the fish struggle more to recuperate.

The short answer to why not vent muskies is, in summer, they would sink below the thermocline and suffocate, that is if the act of trying to vent them didn't kill them first. Understand, I have not reviewed current research that pertains to "fizzing" venting but when the Ohio Division of Wildlife researched its effectiveness on hundreds of tournament caught walleye they learned it was not a catch and release method they could recommend. Note: this was in spring on Lake Erie, cold water and no thermocline. The act of sticking the fish with those venting needles takes experience and a knowledge of fish anatomy and one can easily cause mortal injuries to internal organs. I can tell you from experience many muskie anglers would not even remove scale samples for fear of hurting the fish.

Sure muskies can struggle to swim down any time of year when they are hooked in the gills or handled too long especially out of the water. However, when water temperatures have reached the 80's , morning surface temperature, the muskie angler interested in successful catch and release should delay muskie fishing until the water cools back down. An example I can give you is in the Division of Wildlife's fish hatcheries, the hatchery managers try to avoid even handling channel catfish at these temperatures due to the fact the fish experience increased mortality from handling at these high water temperatures , low oxygen levels. Muskies caught at these temperatures are most likely experiencing mild stress before even being hooked. Alum Creek Lake fish are especially vulnerable to stress in July and August because of its deep thermocline. The heat was so bad last summer the 80+ degree water made it all the way down to the thermocline at 18-feet and even the muskie fishermen who did keep fishing were no longer able to get one to strike. Two years ago we were blessed with a cool summer and this was not the case.

So, practice good catch and release tactics and back off fishing when water conditions warrant it and I recommend leaving the venting to the salt water guys.

If this was Facebook I would certainly have to click the "like" right about now.

Elmer & Critter...thanks for your detailed response. That's what I love about this club, real answers from real people with years of experience. I was just amazed when watching on TV how the Goliath Grouper easily goes back down deep after venting. They also mentioned that as of this year venting is now required when fishing deep water in the summer in the Keys.

All you comments are well-received and appreciated. If my son's baseball game is rained out, I'll be at the meeting tonight. Elmer - glad your retired now and have more time for us to learn from you.

George