By Chris Erwin
The musky continue to be hot in Kentucky lakes. This naturally cold-water fish is just starting to feel her oats. Now some of you might think I should have used the term feeling its oats instead of giving our musky friend a gender. But the fact is, in Kentucky Lakes the larger musky most likely will be female.
My good friend and retired Kentucky Biologist Lew Kornman explained it to me like this: The musky we have in our lakes are stocked like trout. They have less than 1% natural reproduction, and while the musky grow fast this far south, they also have early mortally. Most male musky only live in the range of five to seven years and the females live somewhat longer. To this day, the longest living females are believed to live about 13 years. Therefore, the really big musky of fall taking, up into the winter, are often female.
They are two times a year when musky and the fisherman who fish for them cross paths in a big way. Both have a couple of things in common. One is a water temperature of 58 to 73 degrees. While musky can be caught both in warmer and colder temperature than stated here, it’s this range when the musky tend to be in the upper water table making them easier to get a lure in front of them.
One of the other things that these fish possess is the lack of fear that bass display. For instance, if you hook a bass and it gets off that fish is done for the day. You may as well move on. However, if you hook a musky and she gets off, there is a chance that all you did was to enrage her. Another four or five casts, and she is very likely to take your lure again. Many times that shrike might come right at the boat.
This brings me to the subject of the figure eight. If you are just learning, let me explain: The figure eight is a method of giving a musky a chance to take your lure at the boat. We know these fish like to follow lures right to the boat and by breaking into a figure eight you give the fish a second chance to take your lure.
I have caught many musky using the figure eight and by the way, Sarah Terry, the young lady who holds the Kentucky state record musky, caught her fish using a figure eight.
Everyone has a different way to do the figure eight, but I’ll tell you how I do it. You can experiment to see what works best for you.
As I retrieve a crankbait, I watch for the lure as it comes into view. I put my thumb on the baitcasting spool and depress the button. Holding the spool tight with my thumb, I stick my rod over halfway into the water and start making a large figure eight. As the bait tracks the figure eight patterns, I will pause or stop the bait. As it makes the outside bend, many times if the musky is lurking just out of your vision this will be enough to spur the fish into striking, very muchthe same way a cat will pounce on a string as it’s dragged across the floor.
When the fish takes your lure while you’re holding your thumb on the spool, I let the fish run off with the lure. Once he gets a little distance, I turn the reel handle over and set the hook. The idea is to get a little line out so the fish doesn’t break your line at the boat.
Good Fishing!
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