In many natural lakes, fall spawning migration of ciscos and whitefish is eagerly awaited by musky hunters.
After all, along with the shallow-water movement of these deep, open-water forage fish come muskies--often very large ones--that spend little time in shallower waters.
This is probably the best time to catch a trophy musky. The opportunity does not last long, but the fishing can really be outstanding and is easily done with both trolling and casting methods.
Shad Migrations
In many reservoirs throughout the States, particularly in the South, a similar situation occurs during fall shad migrations. Many reservoirs have both gizzard and threadfin shad. Both shad prefer warmer water temperatures, but as the reservoir begins to cool the shad migrate shallower into the creek arms and individual coves in the creek arms. When these schools of shad move into the coves, so do the muskies. The muskies corral on these schools and feed on them in packs.
Kentucky's noted Cave Run Lake guide Crash Mullins awaits this event every fall. It usually occurs between the end of September to mid-October and lasts for a couple of weeks. He has seen numbers of huge schools of bait fish in the coves and has observed muskies feeding. Wounded shad that have been injured from musky attacks can often be seen swimming along the surface, he notes.
Both gizzard and threadfin shad move shallower in the fall as the water temperature drops into the lower fifties. The threadfin are the most susceptible to the cooler temperatures and eventually, as the water temperature continues to drop, they die. Each year the shad are restocked by local fisheries agencies in many reservoirs to supply a food source for many game fish, including muskies.
You can enter a cove and quickly determine the presence of shad either by seeing them breaking the surface, or by the presence of a huge school forming a "dark cloud" beneath the surface. Sometimes the schools are so large they actually fill the cove.
Best Lures
When entering a timbered cove filled with shad, fish with lures that either imitate the shad, have an erratic action, or create a lot of flash or commotion. Select lures that match the silver-white color of the shad, but do not be afraid to experiment with other colors as well, particularly fluorescent, high-visibility colors. Often a high-visibility lure with erratic action can trigger strikes.
Twitch baits are the top choice in these areas. They have a lot of flash and vibration as well as an erratic action. They also can be easily fished around timber because of their buoyancy. You can trigger strikes by twitching these lures erratically among the baitfish.
Spinnerbaits are another great choice, and when the muskies are in the thick timber, spinnerbaits take muskies from areas where many anglers won't cast. Single-hook spinnerbaits work best to avoid snags. Spinnerbaits also can cover water quickly to find aggressive muskies.
Jerkbaits are another option, particularly for fishing the edges of the timber. Diver-style jerkbaits look a lot like dying shad and slow-rise models can be very effective.
Topwater lures also take their share of muskies in this situation. The commotion of a topwater lure quickly attracts a musky's attention even among a school of shad.
Any cove in a creek arm has the potential to hold shad and muskies, but those with another feeder creek entering the cove are best. You'll also note that the schools of shad will move farther up the creek arms and individual coves as temperatures drop. Therefore it is essential to be observant and mobile. Just because the shad were in a cove the other day does not mean they are there now. Search for the shad and you'll find the muskies.
Fall is always a great time to catch muskies, but timing is everything. Call a local tackle shop or talk to bass anglers to determine if the shad are moving into the coves. If they are, you better get on it because the muskies will be there--but not for long.
Copyright (c) 1996 Jim Saric. All rights reserved.
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