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Ivan

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Everything posted by Ivan

  1. Jerkbaits have always been my favorite and most productive casting lures for Chautauqua. Dive and rise type jerkbaits. Mike Sperry has a bunch of Leo Lures jerkbaits at Chautauqua Reel Outdoors. Go see and talk with him. Lots of other brands out there. The Fat AZ raptors that were already mentioned work well too. They get deep and suspend more than rise on the pause. They have them at Hoguns Hut, I believe. This year, I’ve been doing best on a jerkbait from Elwoood City, PA that isn’t made anymore. Here’s a nice Chq fish I got on a jerkbait in July. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United
  2. Nice work you two. Great fish. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United
  3. Nice work and persistence. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United
  4. 1. Join a local Muskies Inc chapter. Get involved in club events, tournaments, etc. Introduce yourself and get to know members. Make friends and learn from those with more experience than you. Most good muskie fisherman had some type of mentor. 2. Books, magazines, videos...tons of good content on YouTube 3. Spend as much time on the water as you can. Nothing will help you as much as spending time chasing muskies and learning for yourself. 4. Join muskie related Facebook groups and ask questions. This seems to be the way of many new muskie anglers. I personally prefer 1, 2, and 3. That’s how I started 23 years ago. 5. Hire a guide that can help you learn techniques and/or specific bodies of water. This would very helpful on big, difficult, water like the St Lawrence. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United
  5. Congratulations to both of you. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United
  6. 20-30 north but if it starts turning over that may push fish shallow. 12-16 south Got my dad this one Sunday. That’s the last day we were out. I should be back Friday. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United
  7. Man...it’s been pretty tough numbers wise the last couple months, but we have been getting some nice ones. Be prepared to troll all day for 0 to 3 hits unless things have changed since the weekend. Last weekend the south end was 55-57 degrees and the north end was 58. Turnover on the north end should be happening soon. You may do well showing something different than they are used to seeing every day. Not sure why they have been in a funk for as long as they have. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United
  8. I congratulated the angler on her catch and said she didnt do anything outside of regulations. I still feel, however, that there are other fish species that make more sense to keep for eating. I also get the sense that some of you are just instigating and looking for arguments by suggesting that these fish should be kept and eaten. Anybody saying you should keep and eat legal muskies they catch just doesn’t understand. Even though tigers are sterile and don’t reproduce, the reason to release them is so they grow larger and someone else can catch them again when they are bigger. This includes children. Think of your kids catching a fish that big. Tigers grow fast but a 36-38 fish is pretty young. If released, it has the potential to live 10 years or more and reach lengths of 48 to 50”. These aren’t salmon that reach maturity in 4 years and die anyway. Here is a good, short, all encompassing, educational video on muskie management from biologists in the PFBC. It’s PA and primarily about pure muskies but the same things hold true for NY and/or tigers. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United
  9. You didnt do anything outside of regulations. It isnt a choice i would make, but you can do what you want. As im sure you are aware, almost all serious muskie fisherman are conservation minded and practice catch and release. You had to know what you were asking for by posting a pic of a muskie in a cooler on a muskie message board. If you don’t want to see comments about releasing the fish then you probably shouldn’t post the pics here. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United
  10. Nice fish. Congrats. Are you getting a skin mount or did you eat it? Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United
  11. I saw a few different ones, but the particular one I referenced was on someone’s personal page. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United
  12. Somebody from my camp said they are seeing 83 north now. Thats very hot and has high potential for causing mortality to caught muskies. I don’t know that there is a magic number. If 80 and above is too hot, is 79 safe? I saw somebody say 75. That seems a little extreme maybe, but I don’t know that there is scientific evidence to back this. Marc Thorpe (St Lawrence and Ottawa) seems to be pretty vocal and somewhat of an expert on the subject. Again though, I don’t know his credentials other than being a long time guide and experience with big fish. I know what my own experiences are. I’ve been doing this fairly long time...22 years now and we have released thousands of muskies from our boat. Hot wAter is harder on the fish. Bigger fish are tougher to release well. Also, just because a released muskie swims away, it doesn’t mean that it doesnt die later and never float. I heard recently that only 10% of dead muskies float (no idea if that’s true). It’s also my opinion that Chautauqua muskies are fairly fragile and stress easier than muskies we have caught other places, for some reason. I rarely net or remove muskies from the water at Chautauqua regardless of temps the last couple years. If you net and/or remove muskies from the water to measure or take pics at Chautauqua right now, I think there is a high percentage chance they won’t make it. We have a 50” skin mount from a fish 2 July’s ago at Chautauqua that wouldn’t release, and I don’t want that to happen to us again. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United
  13. I was there for the holiday weekend. Most of the time i saw 77/78 north. I saw as high as 81 on Sunday in the north end around 1:00. We quit. I’d imagine it got hotter this week. I know there are still boats muskie fishing this week. We will be going to our camp this weekend again. As much as id like to fish, I’ll probably skip the muskies, do some work around camp, and maybe do some bass fishing or something. This was a hot topic on Facebook this week. It got pretty ugly. There was some name calling directed at some of the guides on the lake. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United
  14. Its been pretty hit or miss really. I’ve had a decent day casting and a decent day trolling so far. I’ve also had a couple pretty slow days. Fish have been difficult to pattern so far imo. Seems the bigger fish turn on for a day and then its tougher for a while. Water is unusually clear, even in the south end. Totally different than this time last year. Tons of pondweed almost everywhere right now. Casting is a good bet right now as it seems most fish have been fairly shallow still and not over open water yet. You’ll probably at least see quite a few. I wouldn’t limit yourself to the south end casting. Personally, I prefer casting the north end but either can be good. Jerkbaits Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United
  15. I don’t know anyone that fishes it at night for muskies. I’m sure you could catch some, especially when the water warms up more. Floating weeds will be more of a problem at night. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United
  16. I heard a couple Ohio guys got busted last week for fishing early. I hope they are able to enforce the season more often. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United
  17. We have a Minn Kota Terrova. Spot lock is a nice feature. I agree it holds within a couple feet. Works well in wind and current too. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United
  18. I found an old LOU thread from 2016 when we were talking about guys fishing Chq early for muskies. My hope is that somebody is around to enforce it this year. That’s all. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United
  19. Ok. Not even if you knew the same people were poaching deer for the last 5 years? The law is there for a reason. To protect possible spawning muskies and the fishery. There is natural reproduction of muskies in the lake. Everybody needs to wait. 95 percent of muskie anglers are very conservation minded and dont have a problem with this. If they do they either are not muskie fisherman (like yourself) or not the type of people the sport needs/wants. Like i said a couple times already, its about educating people who are mis informed about when the season actually starts. I really dont think most guys are doing it intentionally. Whats the point of having the law if it’s not enforced? Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United
  20. Its been happening every year since they changed the season. Im sure of it. Over the last couple weeks, I personally have had multiple people ask me of im fishing muskies on Chq May 23rd. Guys that have any issue with this are exactly the type of guys that create the problem. I have been fishing for muskies since March 14th where legal. (PA, OH, WV) I have not been in the house too long. Do either of you even muskie fish? Do you guys poach deer out of season? Same thing. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United
  21. Pretty easy to tell a muskie boat/fisherman. Rod holders, speed, baits, leaders... I guarantee i could pick them out. I really dont think people are doing it intentionally. I think some people are confused by what was the 3rd Saturday but now the last Saturday for the opener. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United
  22. I put a call into a DEC conservation officer just now and made them aware there are people targeting muskies on Chautauqua lake one week early since they changed the date. She was going to send an email to all the officers in the county to make them aware. I hope they have an officer on the lake the weekend of May 23rd to issues citations. I hope people see this an obey the seasons/laws. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United
  23. It’s the same thing every year since they changed the opener from 3rd Saturday in June to the last Saturday in May...people fish the lake for muskies 1 week early. The season DOES NOT open 5/23 or Memorial Day weekend this year. It opens 5/30. I wish they would put an officer on the water to issue citations to the people that fish for muskies a week early. With lower water temps this spring, there likely will still be some spawning occurring. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United
  24. I’ve been fishing a decent amount since March 14th. It’s been a fantastic spring. Probably my best spring ever since I started muskie fishing 22 years ago. There are way more boats than usual out, though. Good luck to the NY tiger fisherman. I hope the fishing is as good for you. I’m looking forward to hitting Chautauqua in about a month. Here’s a few from this spring (starting March 14th and one as recent as yesterday) for motivation. The big one was on a figure 8 casting in March. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United
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