Take my musky... please

[djkimmel]

Lake Ovid - Saturday 4/29/06

Finally, I made it out to do some fishing (about time - I was beginning to think I'd miss opening day). I had chores to do in the AM so I decided to drive up to Lake Ovid for a few hours in the afternoon.

As I'm getting ready to launch, I heard my name and look up to see a surprise mystery guest angler. Young angler (and future bass pro) Troy Stokes was fishing from shore and being opening day, I said he should hop in my boat for a few hours. He did and off we go.

We tried various things - ditches, inside weedlines (we were told we were fishing too deep by a guy in a small boat), holes in weeds, outside weedline... not a lot happening with the breezy overcast. it was kind of chilly.

Troy had caught a 2.5 pound largie from shore on a senko before I got there, but that was all. I saw a few spots that looked like beds, but the conditions were not the best for bedfishig and I wanted to find some prespawn schools and not have to work too hard.

I did manage to pop a decent keeper on a spinnerbait finally... and then... I took up where I left off last summer. MUSKIES!!!!

Pulled up on a weed point and started slow-rolling a white on white Indiana-bladed War Eagle spinnerbait in 7 out to 10 feet. Bump and I have something on for a split second. I toss back in, and thump, I rear back and something heavy starts swimming with my lure. It stays down and runs several short ripping runs.

I tell Troy - "Too big to be a bass. I think I've got my first musky of the year!" Well, might as well get the camera out since it looks like a decent one. I fight him a few minutes - I have 20 pound Shakespeare Supreme line on, so between that and the spinnerbait, I may get it in the boat.

The sneaky musky has other plans and gets off only a few feet from the boat by quickly changing directions back and forth, twisting the spinnerbait out. Just means I don't have to get the slimy critter in the boat.

The 'breeze' has pushed us way off the point, so I head back to about the same area, but I switch to a black/blue jig and trailer. I'm short-hopping it through the tops of the weeds minutes later when something grabs hold. I slam home the steel and feel more weigh with a nice bull-dog fight at the end.

Here's what I catch:


Yup, another musky - kind of a baby, but still. Northern muskies put up a fight.

So I'm thinking, here we go again and it's only April! I move us up shallow into the heavier weeds thinking maybe the bass are up on top. I'm sitting in 5 to 7 throwing into ~3 feet. I go back to clipping weed tops with the spinnerbait.

I don't think I made more than 10 casts when the spinnerbait it driven several feet right at me. I swing around until the hooks bites home.

ANOTHER heavy bull-dogging fight. I know this tune - yes, already another musky! AAHHHH! This one is almost as big as the first one I lost near the boat:


I think the MDNR went a little overboard on the musky plantings... we headed back up the lake towards the shallow end. Enough muskies. I think we each caught a small bass after that and then it was time to go home.

GREAT TO BE ON THE WATER! (even with the muskies on the attack!)

[Duke]

You look great in those pics DJ! However, that sweatshirt has to go... GO IRISH!!!!

[djkimmel]

People can get banned talking like that... (worse 3 schools to lose to - way worse than french-kissing your sister - YUCK! - 1. Ohio State PHHBBBTTT! [you'd think the sun revolves around them or something the way they talk?!?]; 2. Sniping Irish PTOOIEE!! [just another college like all the other colleges for crying out loud]; 3. MSU - only because I live in Lansing and have to listen to them talk [for one week only usually ] how they are the number one team in the known-free universe and could beat all the NFL teams put together with one sparty tied behind their backs...)

Before it gets ugly here, I'm on medication and I only have one sports team I watch every year and that's Michigan Wolverine Football (thanks to good old Uncle Buddy)!!!!! Hail to the Victors (more often than not anyway - and what Touchdown Jesus was really saying - I read his lips)!!! Michigan #1 all time wins in college football - yeah baby! Notre Dame is #2 (not talking about wins necessarily ).

Since I only watch one team in one sport, I can't help but get a little into it. Besides, all my MSU friends keep buying me all the maize and blue stuff - and then they complain when I wear it!!!

You know what I might do...? Talk to admin about censored word settings so every time someone types go irish, or notre dame or fighting irish, it changes to something like pink powderpuffs or go girlie men... something like that... (now you see why I don't have a 'sports' section somewhere on here - I'd be my own worse member ). Okay, now I have to warn myself for unsportsmanlike behavior on the forum.

Now. would some musky anglers PLEASE go to Lake Ovid and soremouth a bunch of muskies? The MDNR put too many of them in there. You can't swing a small bucktail without hitting one...

[djkimmel]

Whew! I feel a lot better now... but please catch those muskies. I hear they are good eatin'

[Ryan]

My dad and I fished Lake Ovid on Sunday and we did alright.  We got there around 10:30am and fished until about 4:00 and between the two of us, we got 17 bass, 7 of which were 14+.  The biggest would have gone just about 3lbs.  We caught all of them on spinnerbaits, white seemed to work better early, chartreuse towards the end.  None of the other lures we threw got more then a dink bite or two but if they are willing to hit spinnerbaits, I am happy.  The wind was so strong that we never really could try and find beds but the wind really seemed to position the bass tight to the bank which was where we caught them. 
I feel your pain about the musky Dan, I had one take a good spinnerbait from me right at the boat and then he stayed beside the boat for a few seconds just to rub it in!

[djkimmel]

That's what I've noticed too - these are some uppity muskies for muskies making their home in a plain old small lowland reservior...

[MaizeNBlue]

I always make time for a muskie or 2, and yea Go Blue!!!!

[djkimmel]

I usually get 4 muskies on or hit my bait everytime I fish certain parts of Lake Ovid during the summer. I was quickly heading to 4 this past trip. At 3 I decided to leave the area. I didn't want to be a musky hog.