Musky Trips (Poll)

[ttabaleulb]

Ok guys, I am stuck at work today when most others are out fishing or enjoying some fine BBQ. I'm dealing with the following dilemma and am curious to see how you all might view the situation.

I'm trying to figure out if I should try booking a week long trip to one of the "famed" Musky waters or if I should use that vacation time and money to do multiple shorter trips(3hrs or less) to explore and learn other waters within PA. Remember, I'm still new enough to the sport that I am not in search of the monster fish at this point. Also, the flyrod plays a big part in my hunt for these fish.

After spending a few days in NW PA, I certainly saw some interesting waters and plan to get back there ASAP. I also have plans to hit up Chautauqua.

So anyhow, how do you guys feel about i, one "big" trip or a few shorter ones?

[lowbidder]

It sounds like you're looking for good numbers waters to "hone your craft". I can't recommend any waters myself, but I've considered the same thing you're mulling over now. I chose to do several long weekend trips per year for the following reasons...

-It's too hard to make up a week's worth of work.

-I get restless quick, so a week is a long time for me to be in one area.

-One trip can get ruined by extended bad weather, but with multiple trips, you're more likely to hit good conditions.

-You can hit multiple seasons with multiple trips (Pre-spawn, mid-summer, late fall)

-You can select 3 good long weekends that land on the best solunar days to fish. Maximize your odds.

-I'm married with children, so 3 long weekends per year is easier to smooth over with the old lady than a 7-10 day trip to Northern Saskatchewan with no cell service.

Those are my thoughts.

[ttabaleulb]

Those are exactly some of the points that I'm dealing with. I'm definitely leaning toward multiple shorter trips, at least for this year. And the numbers waters are my main attraction at this point. I don't mind spending a couple of days huntin some bigger fish, but its always nice to get on some water and see multiple fish once in a while. LOL

Another nice thing about some of the shorter trips I plan to make is that there are multiple waters that are close enough to fish also. So, if one doesn't seem to be producing, I can jump to a couple of others in the same trip.

[iclund]

Consider a trip to the Kawartha Lakes area if you want a week trip. You can do it pretty cheap, have good action and fish multiple lakes/rivers. The drive isn't too bad either.

[ttabaleulb]

Cool, thanks for the advice. At this point, I have not even really begun to research and trips outside of PA (Chautauqua not included). Just trying to make up my mind as to whether or not one of those bigger trips is in my plans for this year.

As lowbidder mentioned, nasty weather could wipe out a trip like that and the way its been this year, I'm certainly not willing to bet against Mother Nature. LOL At least if I'm doing a shorter trip, theres a much better chance of cancelling things last minute.

Probably just gonna put off thoughts of a big trip til next year.

[fishondixon]

I agree with iclund, Kawartha Lakes for numbers. We make the trip every September and usually get into numbers. Last year 8 guys, six days fished, 62 muskies landed....only 5 over 40'', largest at 45". My uncle has been making the trip for the past 20+ years, and that was by far the best year for numbers.
It's about an 8 hr drive from State College, not to bad.

[suskymusky50]

Jay, since you mentioned shorter trips, I would definatly put the Susquahana River on your short list. It has decent numbers with a few sows thrown in for good measure. Jmo.

[Red Childress]

When we were deciding on where to go for our week long trip, we made sure we would be able to fish good water regardless of wind speed/direction. Some lakes just do not handle big wind and have no bays to "hide" in during certain wind directions.

Our biggest fear was to drive 18 hours to MN and then get blown off the water. We also towed my partner's big water Lund out there instead of relying on the resort's 17ft. boats to handle the (potentially) big waves. It cost us MUCH more in gas to drag that thing out there but at least we were going to fish regardless of the weather.

[muskie24/7]

+1 on Kawarthas! Green acres resort! The owner John McBride will help you out Big time!

Brian

[ttabaleulb]

I'm definitely gonna have to check into kawartha lakes. Sounds like that might be a great trip. The numbers sound perfect for me. I gotta spend this season focusing on my hooksetting with the flyrod. Once I get that consistent, I'm gonna be a flythrowin, musky-catchin machine!!! LOL

Thanks for all the input guys!!


Jay

[Pescatore]

Anyone ever go to the Lunge Lodge? Friend of a friend owns the place. He's a local guy from Ohio. It's on the Upper French River in Ontario.

[muskie52]

Never been to Lunge Lodge, but I've heard good things about it. I've been going to that area (Upper French/Lake Nippising) for 25+ years but have always stayed at Sandy Haven Camp.