Fishing: What to Know About Muskies
By Scott Richardson, The Pantagraph, Bloomington, Ill.
Feb. 15–Al Nutty spends his days as a fishing guide on Kinkaid Lake in Southern Illinois.
The 2,750-acre reservoir offers walleye and smallmouth fishing that is improving. He’s seen crappies that reach 2.5 to 3 pounds. Channel catfish are good and largely ignored. Nutty fishes for all those species.
But he’s made a name for himself finding and catching muskies for the past 15 years. Kinkaid is good both for numbers and size of the toothy fish, he said. He’s had a couple in his boat that have brushed the 50-inch mark.
The lake has been stocked with muskies for years. But in the past, many larger fish escaped over the dam in high water, until a fish barrier was put in place in the late 1990s to make them stay put in the main lake, he said.
Nutty, who recently published a book titled “Kincaid Lake: The ‘Reel’ Deal,” will share his muskie methods at the Central Illinois Musky Hunter meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday at White Oak Park pavilion, 1514 N. Cottage Ave., Bloomington. The presentation is free and open to the public.
Nutty also recently published the book “Tales from the Guide Boat.”
During an interview last week, Nutty said muskie addicts who can’t wait for warm weather can hook fish now by trolling large baits like Jointed Depth Raiders in water 15 to 30 feet deep near points. Travel about 2 to 3 mph and watch for signs of baitfish.
“Get it down, and get it slow,” Nutty said. “Watch for areas where seagulls are working.”
As March arrives, warmer water and longer days ignite an urge to spawn. Muskies are drawn into the shallower north end of the lake and feeder creeks, where water warms first. Cast into very shallow water slowly and thoroughly. Bucktails and spinnerbaits work in water that’s often stained and muddy at that time of year. The 5 1/2-inch SS Shad, jointed swimming baits and big 10-inch Jakes also work along with plastic Bull Dawgs and hard baits with plastic tails.
Best months for Kincaid muskies are May and June, when the fish are over their post-spawn lull and into what he calls “a pre-summer peak period.”
“The warmer the water gets, the higher their metabolism is,” Nutty said. “That’s usually a very good multifish period. I’ve had five to 15 muskies a day.”
Nutty said two factors help him find pre-summer fish. Weeds are one. Plants attract small baitfish, which, in turn, attract predators like muskies. The beds at Kinkaid are growing larger and deeper thanks to improved water clarity from work to stop erosion of the lake shore, he said. In addition, Kinkaid’s water level stays relatively stable, unlike other reservoirs such as Lake Shelbyville, which the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers manages. That means once fish find homes on specific weed beds, not much will make them move. Their locations are predictable. Target the edges and the top of the milfoil.
Water temperatures above 80 degrees can fatally stress a muskie during a tussle with an angler, so hot weather brings a halt to fishing for that species. Nutty turns to fishing with his favorite fishing partner, 9-year-old daughter Allyson, or clients who want to catch walleyes. Some reach 8 pounds. Fish up to 6 pounds are more common.
By mid-September, water cools and muskie fishing starts again and stays good through late November, he said.
Learn more at www.kinkaidlakeguides.com or www.lulu.com/nutty4muskies, where Nutty’s books can be purchased. Cost for an online version is $17. Paperback books are $25.
Contact Nutty at (618) 694-4897 or e-mail nutty4muskies@
yahoo.com.
Club notes
Guide and rod builder Paul Center and Joe Testa, an avid fisherman and pastor of Cornerstone Christian Fellowship at Illinois State University, will speak on walleye and saugeye fishing at Lake Bloomington and Evergreen Lake at the Faithful Fishermen club meeting at Lexington Community Church at 7 p.m. Monday. Free and open to the public.
Scott Richardson is Pantagraph outdoor editor. Phone (309) 820-3227 or e-mail srichardson@pantagraph.com. Read past fishing and outdoor columns and take part in online discussions at www.pantagraph.com/blogs.
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Copyright (c) 2007, The Pantagraph, Bloomington, Ill.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
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