muskie?????????

[SmallmouthChaserGLX]

Where in the state would someone suggest going for muskie (Green River Lake, Cave Run, Dale). I understand dale doesn't have many but does have some large ones. I would be more interested in numbers but not in going to any creeks or rivers. What lake is best, what time of year/ water temp, tactics, cover preferences, depth, color, gps coordinates ... whatever ya got. Any general information will be greatly appreciated.

[MsgMills]

I'd suggest either Cave Run or Green River Lake....I caught them at Green using a #7 broke back shad rap fishing in and around the crappie stake beds. Had one on until it got to the boat at Cave Run, caught on a chrome and Blue back Rat-L-Trap. I'm by no means an expert at fishing for Muskie's, I just get lucky and catch them when Bass fishing.....

[elnutsmalljaws]

I am not a muskie fisherman but do know that Fred McClintock trolls for them in late winter at Dale and I have seen many other boats doing the same in my time on the water. There may not be many but according to Fred, there are some good ones in Dale. I had one just about bite my Lucky Craft jerkbait in half and Cliff had another good one follow his buzzbait all the way to the boat one morning coming out of wood cover down this one deep bank we were topwater fishing.

[rearranged]

I caught a 37" musky on Green fishing a buzz bait in the middle of summer. Missed a bigger musky 5 minutes later on same buzz bait. Fishing in 4-5 feet of water on a sandy bank.

[R19]

I do not Muskie fish but do ocassionally catch a few buy accident every year on Green River Lake. I know that GRL does have a good population of Muskie but I have heard that muskie fishermen refer to Cave Run Lake as the muskie capitol of the south. Either place would be a good choice.

[Bad_Company]

I catch a few from time to time on green while I am bass fishing. Most come off of Shad Raps #5 and #7 and have had some inhale my spinnerbaits too. Havent been on green since Dec, but had one that day that was 34 inches on a jig around some standing timber. Most of the ones I catch come out of White Oak, the river, russels branch and butler creek. Also those cuts around holmes bend. I have never fished for them, but green seems to have a good population of them. I have a dealer rep. that speaks highly of cave run, thats where spends alll of his time at.

[condusivecranker]

The way that I understand it is that Green has more quantity than Cave Run while Cave Run has more quality fish. If you are a beginning muskie fisherman, I would defenetly go to Green to learn techniques. The reason being is that the areas of Cave Run that hold the fish (Licking River, Beaver Creek, Zilpo Flats) all either have extremely difficult navigating conditions or heavy cover that require a good technique. Its very frustrating on the river having your lower unit torn up hit by a stump every 5 minutes or being on the flats thinking you have a fish and you pull in about 15 pounds of weeds. Green is a bit more manageable and the fish are easier to find.

Even though I didn't catch him, about 10 years ago I was on Green fishing with my dad and we were fishing for bluegill against the dam. I had a bite and when I set the hook, about a 35 inch muskie came flying vertical out of the water about 5 feet away from us.....My line instantly backlashed from the strain on my ultralight spinning reel's drag and he got away. Think about a wow moment.

[tglass]

I am by no means a musky guy but i hav fished for them a few times on Cave Run. I mostly fish for stripers and bass but i have caught a decent 40" musky on Cave Run. From what i know i agree with the other guy who said quality at CR and quantity at GRL. I can tell you that in the spring people downsize their baits a lot so that is one reason so many are caught by bass fisherman in the spring. You are pretty much going to have to just pick the lake you want to fish and then if you fish CR then call down to Crash's landing and those guys are very helpful with telling you what to do and what kind of areas they are seeing fish in. I have never went out with them but just stop by the few times that i have went fishing down there and they are very helpful. If the musky are biting then you won't have any problem finding out where anyway because there will be plenty of boats in the area where people have seen fish. it seems a lot of the guys down there throw shad colored bait when the lake is clear and go to darker colored baits when it is stained. You would probably do best by calling down to Crash's landing and asking them the question of where because i have seen his video and he spends more time on GRL and on Melton Hill in tenn than anywhere else on the video. seems like from that video that he is fishing high water in the spring on GRL way back in the creeks with a chartruse colored spinnerbait.

[CATCHEMALL]

I think everybody is forgetting somewhere. BUCKHORN LAKE! I personally dont fish for then but I have caught alot while bass fishing there and I have hooked some monsters in that lake. I had one last year that would have went 50" if it was an inch. Fought it for about 5 min and when it got to the boat it turned its head and graciouisly gave my spinnerbait back with a straight arm.

[SmallmouthChaserGLX]

Thanks for the input guys. I am on spring break next week and will try to get out there and catch one on these toothey critters. Good fishing and God bless to all.

[Medicine Man]

I fish for Muskies a lot. You can have about equal success on GRL or CR. I kinda disagree with the above posts regarding quality on one lake vs the other. GR is better on size and numbers in my opinion and I have several logs to justify that, but any way. If you can hire a guide I have close friends that guide on all the lakes here in the state and some in TN. Stay away from Dale if you want to muskie fish, they are there but in very limited numbers. Dale muskie population is no longer stocked by the F&W. If I were to go today i would probably go to Melton Hill lake in TN. Large number of muskies but the chance of getting a trophy is limited. Even though we do catch a lot of high 30 and 40 inch fish. This lake does very well in the winter because of the warm water discharge from the power plant.
My baits of choice this time of year are baits with significant vibration and not to large in size. Basically big bass baits. 3/4 - 1 ounce rattle traps, 3/4 to 1 ounce spinners with colorodo blades. I like darker colors in murky water.
Buckhorn lake - this is my favorite place to fish because of the solitude but dont go there until the water stabalizes - this is a good late may thru august spot.

Please always let them go - they are more sensitive to handling than they appear.

If I can help email me we will get you on some fish - [email protected]

[jgevedon]

I don't fish for them personally but I do a lot of fishing on Cave run and I can say for sure that they are there in quantity and quality. I've lost many a crankbait and spinnerbait to their toothy ways. You can have success almost anywhere in the Cave but I'd probably hit Beaver Creek if it were me. The channel is marked but you should still be very cautious while running. Floaters will flat out ruin your week for you. I have no idea on bait selection but I'll agree with the consensus to downsize in the spring.