FRANCIS SLOCUM LUZERNE COUNTY ICE MUSKIES

[RAU]

Anyone target muskies thru the ice here? Any tips? I caught 1 there 2 days in a row about 8 years ago. Similar size may have been the same fish for all i know.


I want to find some really big baits.Ive found a hatchery that will sell me legal trout for around 3 bucks apiece. I have a plan to buy 6 of em and rig them on quick strike rigs on tipups. If they dont get hit at the end of the day i'll gut, fry, and eat them. I think $18 bucks for the chance at a big old musky is worth it.At worst I'll have an expensive trout fry. Whatcha all think? Also as long as there legal size trout and i have a receipt for em I think I'm legal. Right?

[RAU]

I copy and  and pasted the following from the pa rule book.

 BAITFISH includes all forms of minnows; suckers, chubs, fallfish, lampreys, eels between 6 and 8 inches in length; gizzard shad 8 inches or less; gizzard shad 8 inches or less; and all forms of darters, killifishes and stonecats (except those listed as threatened or endangered species). Legally taken gamefish may be used as bait. It is unlawful to use or possess goldfish, comets, koi and common carp as baitfish while fishing.

"Legally taken gamefish may be used as bait"  I guess i'd be legal they'd be leagally taken from sugar hollow trout hatchery and I'd have a receipt.

[Ski Hunter]

You're 100% legal on the trout as you'd have a reciept for em. Without it you're only allowed 3...as to the musky fishing..plan on spending a lot of time waiting for a flag as theres tons of forage in the lake for them to eat...I've hooked 3 in the past 4 years through the ice  I don't fish it much anymore simply due to the fact there is so much forage in there and the fishing is tough because of it...plus I don't like listening to the old timers cursing me under their breath since I let all my muskies go and we all know the reason every crappie in there is 6" long is because the muskies only eat the big ones 

[JiggerMan]

one the trout topic for bait..... why can you only have 6 of them.  If the have a reciept I would think you could have 50 if you wanted.  i think the legal limit on size and creel only applies to game fish that are legally caught by hook and line.... not bought for bait. 

they dont even have to be legal sized trout if you buy them. 

[Byron/PA]

one the trout topic for bait..... why can you only have 6 of them.  If the have a reciept I would think you could have 50 if you wanted.  i think the legal limit on size and creel only applies to game fish that are legally caught by hook and line.... not bought for bait. 

they dont even have to be legal sized trout if you buy them. 

You are correct, he could have fifty and they could be undersized with a receipt. But I don't think he mentioned anything about only buying 6 due to legal restrictions. I'd think he might not want $150 bait bill or fifty small trout.

[Ski Hunter]

one the trout topic for bait..... why can you only have 6 of them.  If the have a reciept I would think you could have 50 if you wanted.  i think the legal limit on size and creel only applies to game fish that are legally caught by hook and line.... not bought for bait. 

they dont even have to be legal sized trout if you buy them. 

The way Slocum is 6 could last you a week sometimes  well unless you set up shallow and get them picked off by pickerel and bass 

[ICE REBEL]

why wouldnt you use a large shinner they are cheaper then buyin trout you can get a dozen of large shinners for the price of 1 trout. thats just what i think and also what i would do

[salmonrebel]

Just save your trout from everywhere else you catch them, and use them there.
If you have 2 or 3 guys with you, you can legally have 6-9 trout in possession. You might even be able to catch a couple there
if you need more to use for bait. If you don't have more than 3 legal sized trout a person, your not breakin the law.

[JiggerMan]

why wouldnt you use a large shinner they are cheaper then buyin trout you can get a dozen of large shinners for the price of 1 trout. thats just what i think and also what i would do

Large shiners over here in the poconos are 5 bucks a dozen and they are not nearly big enough to specifically target muskies.  there is n where in PA that sells the size of shiner i would consider buying for targeting muskies except maybe over around PYMY or kinzua.  I would love to find a place that sells shiners with a minimum length of 8 inches but bigger would definatley be better.  when i tiger fished up on otisco they used to sell shiners by the piece and they started around 2.00 each 

If I come over to the francis slocum tourney I will probably bring nothing smaller than 8 inches unless i want pickerel.  and if i cant buy them I will just use the perch, crappies, or what ever fish i can jig up for bait. 

[salmonrebel]

I too, was going to mention perch, gills or crappie for bait for them. Just as Jiggerman explained.
You want big bait for them...and the very large shiners are very expensive.

[BIGCREW]

muski prefer the trout over panfish,less pointed fins,kinda like eatin peanuts with the shells on them.last year we went up to winola and caught a bunch of just legal trout for ski bait never had much luck with gills,I have with perch though.you can also catch some really big shiners at lackawanna st park but there few an far between most of the time.I did catch 4 in one day last year though

[dkfry]

Get ahold of some of these.

[JiggerMan]

Get ahold of some of these.
(Image removed from quote.)

thasts exactly what you need right there.  If i could a bunch of them I would be as happy as a pig in crap when fishing for skies. 

muski prefer the trout over panfish,less pointed fins,kinda like eatin peanuts with the shells on them.last year we went up to winola and caught a bunch of just legal trout for ski bait never had much luck with gills,I have with perch though.you can also catch some really big shiners at lackawanna st park but there few an far between most of the time.I did catch 4 in one day last year though

I agree completely with the fins thing I was just saying about the perch and gill because that is mostly what is available to them. 

When i striper fish in the delware i use trout and if I have to i will go and catch some chubs for bait, just fior the reason of the fins. 

[Ski Hunter]

Dont forget about the abundance of stunted crappies in Slocum 

[salmonrebel]

Dont forget about the abundance of stunted crappies in Slocum 

Now, that's some good musky bait right there! ...If the trout are not on hand, or a school of them 8" shiners.

[dkfry]

Dont forget about the abundance of stunted crappies in Slocum 

Wouldn't have anything to do with them keeping all the large crappies would it?

[btechvft70]

it just might dk

[Ski Hunter]

Wouldn't have anything to do with them keeping all the large crappies would it?

Nope...the muskies eat all the large crappies  

All kidding aside though...you can catch 40 or more small crappies before you even get 1 that would be worth filleting...they are severely stunted and all the old timers claim the problem is muskies eating all the "keeper" crappies when in reality they are eating the smaller ones and the old timers are the ones keeping any bigger one that bites   but its much easier to blame a species of fish because the bass and walleyes never eat crappies