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SARIC’S SECRETS

By Jim Saric

Cold Front Blues

Wonderful, I said sarcastically as the cabin screen door was ripped off the front door by the wind. I peeked out the window and the rain/sleet squall was pelleting the window with ice crystals. The day before it was 75 degrees and warm, and today was just plain ugly. We listened to the marine radio coined the “bad news box” by one of my close friends, and it had nothing but bad news. High winds, scattered rain and sleet with highs in the low 50s. It was a classic early fall storm in northern Minnesota. Since we were filming an episode for The Musky Hunter television show, we waited in the cabin for a few hours to see if the squalls would stop or ease up. Filming in the rain/sleet is really not that great for the camera.

Around 1 p.m. the rain let up, but the wind was still howling. We launched the boat and decided to try and find a few fishable areas to see if the fish were moving. We fished a few calmer areas, but nothing was happening. I tried a couple wind-swept island points, and we actually had a few follows. We stuck with that option and managed to catch a 44-inch muskie on one of them. We decided to check a thick weed area and managed to catch a 42-inch muskie and have a few other follows. When the evening ended we did manage to have a pretty good day by boating those two fish and locating several others. Honestly, it was a much better day than expected.

Extreme weather changes are the norm in early fall and much of your success revolves around a few things.

First, it’s important to have a positive attitude. You just never know how the muskie are going to react. Sure, your natural reaction when the weather gets bad is to think that muskie fishing may follow suit, but often the muskie will surprise you. You just can’t catch them from the couch, so when in doubt, go fishing.

Second, when the cold fronts come through, focus on fishing wind-blown rocks or thick cover.

Third, don’t ignore live bait during these conditions.

When the wind is blowing hard, be careful not to get in over your head and fish windy areas where you are in danger of damaging your boat. Sure you can catch them in big wind, but quite often you can also look on your map and catch them from areas that are not quite as windy. Focus on fishing wind-blown areas, but pick areas that are manageable. It may be necessary to get upwind of the spot a couple cast lengths, so by the time you are set up and ready to fish you are in a good position. Then just drift by the spot and repeat a couple drift passes. This approach of making multiple drift passes through an area puts less pressure on your boat control, as you don’t have to get as close to the structure. Basically, you can may a couple drifts until you feel like you have adequately covered the spot. Plus, in the windy conditions, you are looking for an active fish, so if they are there, chances are they will chase.

As far as lures for the wind, Double Cowgirls, Super Topraiders and Helidawgs get the nod. All three lures are big in profile, and have lots of sound and vibration so the muskie can hear and feel the bait.

If the windy areas are not manageable, typically there will always be some muskie tucked into the shallow cover. The thicker cover is a sanctuary for muskie and will typically hold lots of bait in early fall. Be sure and pick apart the cover at this time. Keep your casts closely spaced and don’t get discouraged if you are getting weeds on every cast. It’s just important that you make precision casts to be able to pick apart a portion of the cover or pocket. All it takes is for the lure to spend a few seconds in a pocket to trigger a strike. Of course, you never know what pocket is holding the fish and they typically are not chasing the lures at this time. So, take your time and fish these areas thoroughly. As the water temperatures get into the lower 60s and upper 50s you’ll see more muskie using the thick weeds. Top lures for these areas include Double cowgirls, Shallow Raiders and Shallow Bulldawgs.

Early fall is a time of transition, so bring as many clothes as you possibly can! One day is warm and the next is cold. One day is sunny and the next can be snowy. In either case, don’t get down, get out and fish hard and fish smart. Check out the wind-blown rocky points, the thickest weed cover available. This approach is the best one for tackling the cold fronts of fall.