Metro Muskie Tournament

Anyone ever fish in this? I’m thinking of giving it a try. I generally don’t muskie fish that early in the season but there are a lot lakes that qualify and some really nice prizes. Its on Sat, June 12, in 15 days.

https://metromuskietournament.com/

No one huh? Bueller? Anyone?

I have fished it in the past but haven’t in the last year or two, mostly due to not having a partner. Won’t be fishing it this year since I won’t have my boat yet!

Good tournament that one fish has a good chance of winning you a prize.

uninc4709 wrote:

Good tournament that one fish has a good chance of winning you a prize.

I signed up for it this year. I talked to one of the organizers and apparently some of the designated tiger muskie lakes receive minimal pressure during this event so I am thinking of trying that. The top prizes for a tiger aren’t quite as good as they are for a pure strain but like you said, one decent fish should put me into good standing.

Honestly, I’d shy away from the tiger muskie side of things if I were you. A 40″ tiger is a very large tiger, and I’d almost say you’re more likely to get a pure strain than a tiger of that caliber.

As far as lakes go, I think White Bear is definitely a sleeper. I’ve seen muskies the last 4 times I’ve been there for bass.

Good luck out there, and stay hydrated.

I use to fish this tourney often when I lived in the metro. It was always a fun thing to do. If you catch a 40″+ fish you most likely will win a prize. We always use to fish either Independence or Waconia. Not sure about these days but Bald Eagle use to always be a sleeper and had some real large fish in it.

Would this event ever get cancelled/postponed? I was out last night for a bit, and was disappointed that water temps were well over 80f in most spots on the lake.

fishingdakotacountymn wrote:

Honestly, I’d shy away from the tiger muskie side of things if I were you. A 40″ tiger is a very large tiger, and I’d almost say you’re more likely to get a pure strain than a tiger of that caliber.

There is a separate category for the tiger muskie division with its own prizes. That is why I considered it.

bowhunter84 wrote:

Would this event ever get cancelled/postponed?

It was cancelled last year because of the pandemic. Its safe to say that its probably going to be very tough with the warm spell. The forecast on Saturday is bright sun too which isn’t helping either.

I have fished this a few times and it is fun for sure. almost always ended up with some kind of lure package. Might go out the morning of super early just to join in. There will be a ton of boats this year with last year being cancelled but always a good time. Good luck out there!

Fished the Croix last night and surface temps were 83 degrees. Temps were much cooler below the surface. Can’t believe it isn’t even mid June yet.

The winner caught 3 muskies on Lake Minnetonka. I think it’s the first time that the winner boated 3 muskies over 40 inches. 9 of the top 10 muskies caught came from only 2 lakes: Minnetonka and Forest Lake.

gimruis wrote:

The winner caught 3 <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>muskies on Lake Minnetonka. I think it’s the first time that the winner boated 3 <em class=”ido-tag-em”>muskies over 40 inches. 9 of the top 10 muskies caught came from only 2 lakes: Minnetonka and Forest Lake.

Interesting…the one thing the metro has is GREAT Muskie lakes, like right in Minneapolis. I’ve seen folks pull in 50 inchers from shore! One guy twice in the same morning.

ClownColor wrote:

Interesting…the one thing the metro has is GREAT Muskie lakes, like right in Minneapolis. I’ve seen folks pull in 50 inchers from shore

I think part of the issue with the Mpls lakes is that many of them are electric motors only and parking can be an issue. Obviously later on in the day on some of these other lakes recreational boating is a problem too. The majority of pure strains each year are caught from Lake Minnetonka though. They have the results from each year posted for about 15 years on their website.

Gimruis, here’s mine from a few years ago. 42″. Did not get a replica, wife has a 43″ from the same lake, so mine has to be bigger.

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Nice fish Paul. Great color.

gimruis wrote:

Nice fish Paul. Great color.

X2. I noticed the sucker minnow and bobber. Do you do a lot of live bait fishing for them? Was your wife’s fish also caught on a sucker minnow? I would love to bobber fish them one day. What time of the day works the best and what size sucker minnow is the best?

fishthumper wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>gimruis wrote:</div>
Nice fish Paul. Great color.

X2. I noticed the sucker minnow and bobber. Do you do a lot of live bait fishing for them? Was your wife’s fish also caught on a sucker minnow? I would love to bobber fish them one day. What time of the day works the best and what size sucker minnow is the best?

I caught the 42″ on a Suick, wife got her 43″ on a sucker, but, truth be told, the 43 followed my lure in, then it saw the meat and turned on that. Wife loves dragging suckers and watching a bobber. Both fish were caught, October 20, three years apart, two hours difference, and less than 50 yards apart.

fishthumper wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>gimruis wrote:</div>
Nice fish Paul. Great color.

X2. I noticed the sucker minnow and bobber. Do you do a lot of live bait fishing for them? Was your wife’s fish also caught on a sucker minnow? I would love to bobber fish them one day. What time of the day works the best and what size sucker minnow is the best?

Sorry Fishthumper, forgot to answer your question. I usually try to get at least 14″ suckers. All the fish I have caught using suckers were caught in the afternoon.

Here is a photo of my biggest miss. Went to set the hook (quick strike rig) and I was not able to move the fish. Sadly I never got the hooks into it, I waited five minutes before setting. Never saw the fish either. Teeth marks are 5″ apart. And yes, this was on a Metro lake!

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Paul D wrote:

I usually try to get at least 14″ suckers.

Those are some big suckers Paul. I used suckers on a quick strike rig one fall in 2015 and it was effective. I tried it twice since and never had a fish bite, so I stopped using them. The cost has kind of steered me away from using them too as the places I can buy them they often cost about $12-$15 for each decoy sucker. Definitely more of a cold water fall-type tactic.

Paul D wrote:

Sorry Fishthumper, forgot to answer your question. I usually try to get at least 14″ suckers. All the fish I have caught using suckers were caught in the afternoon.

At 14″ I’m not even sure that is still a sucker Minnow. That is more of a sucker at that point I’m sure big fish want a big meal and a 14″ sucker is well within a big muskie’s normal diet.

gimruis wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Paul D wrote:</div>
I usually try to get at least 14″ suckers.

Those are some big suckers Paul. I used suckers on a quick strike rig one fall in 2015 and it was effective. I tried it twice since and never had a fish bite, so I stopped using them. The cost has kind of steered me away from using them too as the places I can buy them they often cost about $12-$15 for each decoy sucker. Definitely more of a cold water fall-type tactic.

Yes they are Gimruis, but only once have I seen a 30″ fish take one. Yes they are expensive, but since I only use them once a year, it’s not too bad. Like I said before, my wife loves using a bobber, I’ll get some smaller suckers occasionally and let her watch the bobber while I cast. She gets more bass on those things, and I spend the majority of my time netting her fish, and re-rigging than I do fishing.

I fished the tournament and went to lake independence. Got to the landing at 545 am and there was about 70 people there! Turns out there was a kayak bass fishing tournament which made fishing any shallow spots pretty tough. We ended up catching 3 northerns, no muskies. Still had fun and most of the kayak fisherman were very kind and polite when we talked to them.

fishingdakotacountymn wrote:

As far as lakes go, I think White Bear is definitely a sleeper. I’ve seen muskies the last 4 times I’ve been there for bass.

Problem with White Bear is you see them all the time while bass fishing but never while muskie fishing.

Saw a mid 40 incher this morning bass fishing.

anyone doing the fall tournament on September 25th?

Does anyone know if the Muskies Inc. June Jam is still held in Polk co.? It’s on Bone, Deer, Wapogosset, big & little Blake, Big Round & the Apple River. Always had a good time and good prizes.