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Doug Johnson LOTW Muskie Chat

Category: chat

 Feb 28th, 2005 by OutdoorsFIRST 

Modified Feb 28th, 2005 at 12:00 AM

Jason_Smith: MuskieFIRST welcomes…..DOUG JOHNSON..famous LOTW guide.. Doug tell us about the tricks to catching the many 50+ fish you have caught……..LIVE..ITS CHAT NIGHTdougj: mikie: I’m booking for 2003 right nowmikie: i better get on it thenSchuler: your all booked for this summer?MuskieFIRSTstaff: Thanks for coming Doug!Esox_Maniac: DJ- why LOTW?MuskieMedic: Doug, how do you methodically work a large body of water like that?dougj: good to be amoung muskie peopledougj: start with a piece, and learn that then go to the next piece, it can take years,tomv: how long have you been fishing lotw?Jason_Smith: Doug.. how many years have you been guiding ….LOTWkly: how old is your muskie harrasser hat?Schuler: Doug, what are the must have baits…and what color for lotw?dougj: After a while you learn what to look for and it goes a little fasterEsox_Maniac: DJ – do you guide other lakes?dougj: been guiding for 26 years, been fishing the lake for 36Ranger: wow, many moonsBeaver: Ever get lost?Esox_Maniac: DougJ- What type of Muskie water do you prefer?dougj: Schuler, all the basic muskie lures work, I use lots of bucktails, Suicks, spinner bait, believersKrappie: Doug what’s the best advice that you can give someone that’s working the slop? What baits do you like to use in the slop?dougj: haven’t been lost for quite some timeBeaver: Do you cast, troll or bothdougj: best advise I can give to fish slop is to learn to cast very accuratelyEsox_Maniac: Open spots in the slop?Krappie: Short methodical casts?kly: how is the night fishing on lake of the woods?Ranger: slopwise, is it really possible to pull a heavy spinner under the slopdougj: hitting holes and edges is very important, I use lures that run straight, and are bouyant, suick, believersToddM: What do you do different when fishing the bloom?sponge: Doug, do you fish the slop like Dick P. w/ a spinner bait?0723: doug u fished kinkaid last year what do u think of that lake?dougj: Yes, I use spinner baits a lot in the slop, they are deadly.Shep: Doug, I’ve heard tell that you keep 4 rods rigged, and ready, and that’s pretty much what you use. I think one has a believer. What are the other three?dougj: Kincaid was a lot of fun till Saturday afternoon when I thought we would get run downEsox_Maniac: Doug- for Believers- Jointed or solid & whats your favorite color?dougj: Usually have a bucktail, a suick, maybe a spinner bait, toward evening I’ll probably have a top water on onedougj: I use both solids and jointed, for no particular reason, probably caught the most fish on firetigerBeaver: Pull/jerk,Beleivers or reel them slow like a topwater?dougj: night fishing is still just beginning, there’s not any real good reason to night fish in the angle, plenty of daytime fishToddM: Doug, do you do anything different when fishing the algae bloom?fsf: doug you do not make heavy use of surface baits up there would you say the main reason is lack of action lack of hits or lack of hooking ability when hit?dougj: Fishing the bloom is hard at best, what you do is look for clean water, some wind helps, and if you are out a lot you kinda get to know where the clean water is. it’s not the end of the world, and I’ve caught lots of fish when the algae ios badmikie: what type of areas do you fish in early summer: weeds, drop offs?Dave: When do you feel is the most productive time to fish (month)?dougj: I usually just reel believers straight in, tried to twitch them when I was younger, but almost killed mtselfEsox_Maniac: Doug- LOTW water, whats your favorite Stained or trout?Schuler: Doug, what kind of line do you use when casting big believers? I think it may have caused some stuff I used to breakdougj: usually start off with weed, but there are fish on rocks early as well, don’t get locked into a certain type structure, you well be passing a lot of fishdougj: I like stianed water, but fish whitefish quite a bit, I have a cabin in whitefishBeaver: What size Beleivers??? Only the big ones?dougj: I’ve fished the basil, and that area some it’s good water, it’s also darksponge: Doug, ever use TROUT colored baits…results?dougj: I usually cast only the 10″, but I troll the 8″ someKrappie: Doug when fighting the pigs in the slop should a guy horse them out quickly before they bury in the weeds?Beaver: Because of the bouyancy?Beaver: To keep them up?dougj: mess up if I get a big fish in weeds I usually just hang on for dear life . if the fish get wrapped in the weeds I just go over there and pull the whole works outEsox_Maniac: Doug- What’s you preferred time of day for Muskies?dougj: I troll 8″ believers because they run the right depth for the area I fishKrappie: thanks Doug. I imagine there’s little a guy can do when a good fish is raising hell in the jungle.Beaver: I meant casting the 10’s….kind of sub-surfaceRanger: ever use big johnson spoons in heavy cover?dougj: I also like to fish when they bite, usually the last hour of the day is best, but they can bite anytime.KSauers: do the 10’s work better tham the 8’s?MuskieFIRSTstaff: Doug guides out of the following resorts on LOTW- Nw Angle – Jakes – Angle Outpost & Baystore Camp or you may book a trip directly with him!fsf: doug do you specifically target inside turns against island faces or is it just a so so structure up there>dougj: I like the 10″ better, only because I have confidence in big lures.jlong: What makes you decide to head SE to the Basil area… instead of heading north in the NW angle?dougj: FSF: I fish all kinds of things, usually what I look for is conplexity, size of the area and nearness to open waterShep: Doug, it seems you prefer molded plastic over wood. True? If so, why?dougj: Jlong: it depends where I’m staying, not on anything else.KSauers: what works best in mid August traditionally?ToddM: Doug, do you use glide baits and which ones do you like?Beaver: Better chance for a big fish and lots of fish on LOTW than anywhere else?dougj: usually mid august will fine the weeds starting to get dirty, I’ll fish more rocks them.jlong: shallow rocks???KSauers: dirty= slimey green junkdougj: don’t use many glide baits, they are hard to get through weeds, however, I’ve caught lots of fish on reef hogs, and last year I did good on a phantonBuddy: Doug, any new lure or color you just can’t wait to try this year?Steve_Worrall: little or big reef Hawg?dougj: yas shallow rocks, rocks that you can see, might be a point or a reef, or a wallKrappie: Doug you ever use that Banjo Minnow(Shallow Invader)? Dick P. and Frank W. said it was the hot bait last year. Or do you just stick with the Jakes?dougj: mostly 6″ reef hogs,sponge: Doug, get a lot of stripers fishing the trout colored baits…ever use that color?dougj: Yes I caught a lot of fish with a banjo minnow including a 49″erKrappie: Nice. I love that bait on a twitch.KSauers: over weeds?fsf: doug you know your water very well and you also have learned the “get hit” areas, are most of the “bite” spots very well defined or do you have a lot of vague areas where you cover a large area with a good chance at a strike?Ranger: that little banjo minnow they sell on tv?!?!Steve_Worrall: Doug, ever use an Undertaker up there?dougj: sponge, I heading out for stripers in the AM, I’ll try a rainbon trout on them, I’m on Lake Cumberland as we speaksponge: thanks Doug!Trophymuskie: Doug what are the main weeds on LOTW and what are your favorite?dougj: most of the areas on the LOTWs could be described as spots, might be a reef/point/bay complex you fish the whole thing, and as pressure increases you look futher around the spotToddM: Doug, do you have any “can’t wait to try” baits and or colors for this year?fsf: so you are dealing with multiple fish distributed over a specific set of covers?dougj: there are hunderds of weed beds on the LOTWs, almost every island has weed around it somewhere, and there are 14,562 islandsM1: Doug, do you fish only visible shallow rock or are there some deeper hidden rock humps that are good as well?Shady: Not at all Lunchdougj: I get some new holoform reef hogs, they’ll be funSteve_Worrall: Ever try an Undertaker?jlong: Its no secret you like the suick. Is there any way it could be improved?dougj: most of the stuff I fish inthe dark water is visable (there’s a few exceptions), but in trout water lots of the stuff I fish is sunckenKSauers: what’s you fav way yo work a suick?dougj: never tried an undertaker.Steve_Worrall: I will get one to you, you will like it, Beat them up on the Goon on itdougj: I wish all the suicks would work the first time you tried them, I can make most work with a little bendingjlong: What do you mean by “work”?Ranger: doug, what do you look for, action-wise, in a suick. how do you tune?Beaver: I’ve got some Suicks from the 50’s……they work better than any Suick I’ve evr usedWaterwolf: Doug, do you mainly throw weighted suicks?dougj: you would be very disapointed in the way I work a suick, I mostly throw it out and reel it back in,. i just speed up and slow down the retrive with my rodKSauers: no big jerks?Ranger: what “bending” then?jlong: I noticed that on your In Fisherman videos.Krappie: Doug in your opinion what’s the most common mistake that most of “us” Muskie Fishermen make?dougj: i usually get suicks to run the way I want them by bending the eye like you would a crank bait, i also bend the tail down about 45 degrees, this make them swimWaterwolf: “No big Jerks”.KSauers: ever try a big daddy?dougj: no big “Jerks”, just speed it up and slow it downdougj: i think most muskie fisherman are looking for a secert lure, when they should be looking for a secret spotKrappie: Thanks Doug words of wisdom all we can use!!!!Ranger: wise wordsdougj: Yes I use a big daddy also, they work fine but harder to get through weedsSchuler: lol, maybe I’ll buy a new instead of a few luresToddM: Doug, one more bloom question, do ylu find the fish move shallow, deep off weeds to rocks, ect?Steve_Worrall: What do you carry for release tools, Doug?TR: Doug do you have a favorite color for a bait on LOTW?dougj: a new net is a fine idea, look at Frabill Big KahunaMuskie_Treats: DJ, what type of rig do you run. Make, model, extras…dougj: long nose pliers, hook cutters mouth spreaders, the usual stuffJason_Smith: If you could pick…one bait…..thats it…..what would it be in July on LOTW …Doug?dougj: I’m running a Triton 205, 224 Merc Opti, 15 kicker, minnkota maxxum, great boat and so far a fine motorsponge: Doug, what bait will you start out w/ at the Cave this March if the water is 58 dgrees + clear?fsf: doug what happens when everbody else KNOWS the secret spot? wanna borrow our secret lures??dougj: I’d probably pick a Harrasser brown or black with a red or orange blade,with a firetiger suick a close secondWaterwolf: Doug, I know you live in WarRoad and have a cabin on Whitefish Bay, but do you ever fish any waters south of the border?dougj: by that you meen the minnesota side of LOTWs, or elsewhereSchuler: how much does the big kahuna cost?Oneida_Esox: I just got my Big Kahuna yesterday, they are great looking netsdougj: not sure on the kahuna cost, but I’ll bet it’s quite a bit, they are hugeWaterwolf: I guess I was looking for other waters in Minnesota.Beaver: What makes them so much better…KahunaSchuler: I looked at the finsavers…but they don’t seemt hat bigBeaver: Just the shear size?Schuler: haven’t seen teh big kahuna anywheredougj: don’t worry, I also have a stash of very secret lures, but they don’t work near as good as my secret spotsOneida_Esox: The nicest thing about the Big Kahuna is the flat bottom on the bagToddM: doug, do you find the fish in different areas during a bloom?Schuler: sounds great…but whats the cost?Beaver: Nice featuredougj: I don’t get out in Minnesota much, been on mille lac once, and cass a couiple of times, mostly go to other ontario watersjlong: Doug, do you ever fish for the Big Kahuna… or are you content with a 50 incher?Schuler: Doug, is there some good spots close to bay store camp?TR: Doug, do you have a favroite color for a bait on LOTW?dougj: I don’t think that the fish stick around in a area that has a very bad bloom, the water quality is effected, looking for clean water seem to be the best thing you can do.fsf: doug when in your multiple fish areas you probably only get an occasional glimpse at the total number of fish that might be using that structure, what would you say is the most fish you have seen in one complex on one pass?dougj: I like bright colors in the dark waters that I mostly fish, but I’ve caught fish on every color put of a muskie lure I would guessDave: Doug, there is alot of talk about July and August for LOTW, is that the most productive time to hit that water in your experience or is every month of season good?ToddM: What is the biggest fish you have seen on LOTW?Shep: Doug, last fall, 1st week of October, Sabakong, most of our fish came off reeds. Few off only rocks or reefs. Was it last fall, or is that the norm?dougj: many times I’ve seem 5-7 fish just going through one spot, once I can remember having four fish to the boat at the same time, each fisherman had a follow and one fish was just swimming by the boat.Krappie: Wow now that’s alot of gators swimming aroundBeaver: Hate to be a baitfish in that areaKrappie: During the spring Doug?C_Painter: nervous perch area!sponge: Thanks Doug…hoist a 30# over the yardarm tomorrow’dougj: July is tops for casting, weeds are still nice and clean, and the algae hasn’t started yet. after that the water quality will start to get worsefsf: do the multiple fish areas seem to be isolated out in big water or do they seem to be near other complexes>C_Painter: Doug do you have a love/hate relationship with Lac seul like a lot of people??dougj: The best complexs are near open water, these will have the biggest fishKrappie: Corey that’s sounds like me and PelicanToddM: steve, he meant pelican in mndougj: yes, Lac Suel seems to be good one time and awful the nextMuskieFIRSTstaff: Doug have you ever fished the Northwest side of Lac Seul?Krappie: Love the water Steve but the water hates me.Jason_Smith: DOUG JOHNSON, Thank you for the very informational chat tonight….Like always you do a fantastic job and get us all thinking about next summer. I hope you have a great year on LOTW and stick a HAWG. Thanks again Doug.