6-18-11 report and dumb sophmore questions

Fished from 5pm to 9pm tonight for muskies. Went to a community spot that I don't usually fish. Suprised to see only 2 boats out there. From 6 to 7 pm I had a hit from a 45 inchish fish on the side of the boat. ten minutes later had a 40 inch fish follow up to the boat watch my pathetic oval, laugh and swim away. Then about 30 minutes later I caught a 40 incher. Hopes of a multifish night were not to be, nothing 7 to 9pm. All fish came next to cabbage weedbeds on the ghost.

dumb questions, help from anyone appreciated. My half oval hit that I miss set the hook on was right at the edge of the boat and the fish gave me a bath. From what I have read on here I should have pulled the lure back into the fish and not away from it like I did. right???

question 2- I thought musky were a one hit fish on a retrieve. On the 40 inch fish I had a sharp small bump (thought northern snake) followed by a thud about 5 feet later that was the musky. Thus I think this was 2 hits on one cast from the same fish.

question 3- I also thought you were suppose to cast into the wind. Just wondering because none of the othe boats that came and went did that??

Thanks to the guy who offered the camera and the congratulations. Also thanks to my wife for letting me fish on my 12th anniversary. (notice it was not an all day fishing trip, ha, ha)

Hope the attachment works, not much for these computers.

ET- As I learned on this very thread, you are correct. Boatside hits you set the hook towards the tail. Had one come out from under the boat last year, and to my surprise, I actually remembered to do just that and was rewarded with a nice 39"er. Problem is...it goes against your logic toward hook setting, but when you think about it, it truly makes sense. Thanks to Ty's remarks, I got one in the boat. I've also had Musky hit the lure more than once on a retrieve, on several occasions. And I usually cast downwind, in the direction of my float...the guide's I've been with had me do it that way. (Also helps to keep the backlashes down in my case!) Best fishes to you...that's a nice fish you got there!

What Nick said.

Congrats on getting a nice one in the boat on your anniversary !

Here's what I can offer:

#1 - I try to remember to set the hook at least in an upward motion. Sure back is better but sometimes the angle isn't there. "Up" has worked very well for me through the years.

#2 - The fish may have "swung and missed" and bumped the lure with it's body. It came back around and nailed it.

#3 - Personally I never cast into the wind unless I have to...but that's me.

1. Boatside strikes: In my experience it seems with no line out, the fish basically hook themselves, more so than anything I do. I just make sure to give it some line to get it away from the boat when it's thrashing. I like the idea of setting up or back into it though, but things happen so fast sometimes it's hard to remember.

2. Had a few just like the previous post, bump it a couple times before it took it. I was fishing really clear water and watched the whole thing. Very Cool to see.

3. The only time I'll cast into the wind is if there is a "BIG" fish present and the boat needs to stay in one spot for an active fish. Otherwise I'm casting with the wind or on occasion crosswind (to cover the spot right).

Some very good points made on this post... I Enjoy reading about everyone's experiences.

One of my buddies had the same action at the same time. He said the fish were going nuts for an hour. We were walleye fishing and they were not going nuts. Congrats on the nice fish. I've had a lot of fish hit twice or miss and come back and hit. Really I don't think they miss much but rather are in play mode some times.

Congrats again,

I usually DO cast into the wind and here is my thinking:
1. The fish are typically facing into the wind. By casting into the wind the lure is coming at the fish from the front and it can see the lure coming a longer distance away. By casting with the wind, the lure approaches the fish from behind which seems un-natural.
2. When casting with the wind, as soon as the lure hits the water the boat is drifting TOWARD the lure. So during the retrieve you have to crank the reel much FASTER just to get the lure to move with its normal action through the water. So if you're trying to burn in those DC10s in moderate to strong wind they really aren't moving through the water all that fast.
But on the other side of the coin, by casting into the wind from a boat drifting with the wind you are casting into water that the boat has drifted over already, potentially spooking fish. ( and of course you have potential for more backlashes too but with some practice and proper setting of the brake, things work well)

Ty, have you seen a difference in success in your boat with experienced fishermen based on casting into or against significant wind?? Thanks!
C.S.

Clear Silver, I totally aggree with you. I try to run the boat the same way you do. I can remember when I started doing that on Petes bar years ago and people thought I was insane. Corey Meyer and I were the only ones fishing that way while everyone else was drifting over the bar. We got our fair share of looks but we also caught a lot of fish because of it. I wouldn't say it's a cure all but for me it works. I think everyone is different. For some people it's too much work and for others it's nothing to run into the wind.