When do I troll deep for Muskie?

[MuskieWannabe]

I'm doing my homework right now to try my luck fishing up the Ottawa by Renfrew. I'm looking over the charts now and am unsure of what time if the day I should be trolling the deep pockets. There are a few holes that drop to 158 feet. Do I want to troll deep in these or do I want to troll the shallow edges, where its 50 feet or further still and troll where it's about 10ft? Is trolling deep specifically for during the days and I should stick to the shallower water as the evening progresses? I'm thinking I'll be fishing around 7pm or so and then hopefully the next morning by 5am. Do i want to stay in shallower water during these times and try to hit the edges of weed beds or do I sink my spinners and go deep for the bigguns?

What about fishing near rapids? Are muskie known to live near them? The water levels range from 80 feet to 5 feet through a small rapid section. My boat, I'm pretty sure, can make it through them without much problem but would it be a worth while place to try or do muskie tend to stay away from swirling fast moving water?

Thanks for reading and any advice you can give. Everyone's been so helpful. I can't wait to become an actual muskie fisherman. With everyone's help so far I'm slowly making my way!

[Muskie_legend]

Hey MW, I'm not very experienced when it comes to trolling for muskie, but My fishing partner did manage to catch my first muskie trolling on the Rideau this weekend. We were trolling a cisco kid in about seventeen to twenty feet of water along a huge slop bed when we noticed a structure on the bottom, about 10 seconds later we locked on to a fat 42 incher. We also noticed some big fish in the same depth on the sonar, but as we went deeper to around 30 feet we had no luck.

Hope this helps.

[Muskiemagnet]

In most cases you want to spend your time in the shallows during low light conditions dawn/dusk or really overcast. As the day progresses head out to deeper water. No water is too deep, I've caught fish 10 ft down over 80 ft of water. Mid-day muskie can be anywhere. DO NOT over look current and rapid areas, these spots can produce big-time, they are great ambush areas for muskie. Experiment is the key, all water is different so the fish will be relateing to different areas.

Hope this helps.

[Guest]

try everywhere... try the weeds.. spinnerbaits or short line trolling minnow baits or try suspended fish in deeper water. Remember a fish will go up to hit your bait but will not not down to deep...

[Seaweed]

Watch for large suspended fish and then try to match your presentation to get their attention.

I like to cruise the drop-offs and locate where these critters are hanging out because you can usually count on them being in that general area and even if you don't get them on the first night you will learn to work certain areas wether you see the fish or not because one was there before.

This was the exact case with the fish I got off of Petrie a few weeks back. I just started a troll headed over a spot where I had marked a fish before and didn't see a thing on the finder this time and yet.... whamo the fish was there just slightly further along the same stretch.

Cover lots of water and establish a good trolling pattern and you can then decide if your presentation needs modification or not. Good luck.

[ady]

I too am having trouble locating fish this year. Some of the local Muskie guru's (if there is such a thing) say the high water on the Ottawa this year and the cooler start to summer has delayed the muskie moving off the beds and into feeding mode. Consequently the catch has been down this year. Has anyone else noticed this - I have only started the muskie this year so don't have the experience to make this comparison

[67stang]

Hey Muskie Wannabe i know the area your fishing well. I have a cottage about a mile east of the rapids you speak of. It seems to me the musky in the area has dropped of over the past few years. We use to go out and hook 1 a day at least with a few double days, last few years it has been getting pretty bad. We have released 40 or so in the last few years so they should be around. I took a 15lb in the big chute south side of the river and a couple in the last bay. Some above the rapids as well. I troll alot with spinners but am expanding into more open water and spot casting. Try everything and put in a lot of time, and when you get one let her go.