Muskie or bust

I will not rest until I have caught a Muskie this year, I'm kind of ashamed to be 36 years old, fish as much as I do and never have caught a Muskie. My biggest problem is of course living in the city and not getting out of it much. Another problem is being limited to shore fishing. I'm hoping picking up a pair of waders this year will give me a better shot.
 
I'm thinking of targeting the Allegheny this year, upwards towards Kittanning. If anybody could hint me some spots in this thread or by PM I'd really appreciate it. Also wide open to any other suggested areas where I might have a better chance of hooking the fish of 10,000...or actually for me, 100,000 casts .

I second what bluelagoon said. Some reaallllyyy nice musky have come out of the harmarville area. My buddys personal best last year was pulled out of that pool and was well over 40". If your looking for tigers like the one in my avatar KPD is a great place to start as well. Also, Rule of thumb for me has been the further south you head on the mon the better the musky fishing. If you are going by boat I have some spots I can PM you. Most important thing is to have patience...Musky fishing can drive you absolutely nuts! There is also a PA musky forum online...the guys there really know their stuff and can be extremely helpful. Hope this helps and good luck...Ill be out casting for them this weekend hopefully!

Check your pm inbox skeelol

H3Fisher
 
Don't forget your count from 10,000 casts as well, hahaa. Good luck!

Im prett sure I was at about 20,000 casts and equally as many miles trolling before I hooked into my first one haha.
 
Also, make sure you have the proper gear, jaw spreaders, a good net or cradle and most importantly EXTREMELY sharp wire cutters. Had a tough time reviving the fish in my avatar because I couldn't cut the hooks off the fish with the dull cutters I had. Oh and make sure to sharpen all you hooks even if the lure is brand new! The hook manufacturers do a half****job usually with keeping their points nice and sharp...Nothing is worse than finally hooking into a fish just to have them toss the lure due to a bad hook set...I know it all too well...

To be honest I have only caught one myself, while fishing for bass no less however I hooked up with two others that same morning.  I was fishing the tailraces of Raystown lake.  That may be a bit of a drive for you but it is worth it.  Not only is there some great smallmouth fishing a little farther down but there are a ton of different species where I was.  About 50 yards down from the dam there is an overflow pipe that has made a huge hole that is basically a small pond connected to the stream. Not only did we see a number of large bass but we also caught and lost a few musky and saw some big stripers all stuck in this pond area that has been dug out by the overflow pipe.  I'm looking forward to going back this year and I would recommend trying this spot if you are in the area.  That's the extent of my musky knowledge, hope you get your fish!

I knew a guy that him and his father used to hammer the muskies between Smithton and West Newton. I honestly couldn't tell you where or how to target them in the Yough. I have personally seen two of the biggest ones I have ever seen in the Yough. One was at the mouth of Jacobs Creek. It slammed a lure of mine when I was a kid but I didn't get it. The other was last year in the Yough near Versailles. That was the larger of the two. It looked to be close to 40" plus. I have seen some huge ones up in Edinboro Lake years ago.

I'm going to attempt to catch my first musky this year as well. I work in Smithton so that part of the Yough would be very convenient for me. If anyone has any info that could help please shoot me a PM. Wouldn't mind coming across some carp or cats while I'm there either. I know Donegal Lake holds musky as well and I'm familiar with the lake but I don't have a boat so I probably won't be targeting them there.

jug
I'm going to attempt to catch my first musky this year as well. I work in Smithton so that part of the Yough would be very convenient for me. If anyone has any info that could help please shoot me a PM. Wouldn't mind coming across some carp or cats while I'm there either. I know Donegal Lake holds musky as well and I'm familiar with the lake but I don't have a boat so I probably won't be targeting them there.

I've been fishing Donegal off and on for about 3-4 years and have never seen any recent musky pics or herd any stories...  And the same goes for Saugeye...  I saw a nice close to 20" dead last year near the outflow chute but never caught or seen pics of one.  As for Musky I saw a 30" or so dead at the spillway pool a few seasons ago but that's about it.  I know stopping in at the bait shop at the lake the owner has a few nice pics of musky he's caught and that have been caught, as well as grass carp, but as I said I think the musky numbers in that lake are low or they are just that illusive...  Plus I don't have a boat either, and I would assume the 2 road side launch areas and dam parking areas are not good areas for musky if I were to try, I think the back water area would be a decent spot but I don't have the means to get back there...