You can only learn so much by studying muskies above water, Don Schwartz tells me during late fall 2007, as we set up to record lures trolled closely behind downrigger balls on  which underwater cameras have been attached. Will muskies attack lures set so closely to so many mechanical distractions? By the end of the season Schwartz has captured some of the most remarkable underwater muskie footage ever seen.

Flash forward two years after these initial video adventures, as chronicled in the 2008 In-Fisherman Pike & Muskie Guide and on In-Fisherman Television. Schwartz realizes that filming fish reactions to trolled lures is but part of the puzzle. His next step is filming boatside antics of fish that follow lures to the boat. Why do muskies follow? Are following fish feeding fish? But more than anything, he wants to learn new and better ways to trigger muskies following a lure as the angler Figure-8s.

By the end of 2009, Schwartz has countless hours of boatside underwater footage. “One of the most rewarding parts of filming,” he says, “is that after a long day on the water I go back to my cabin and watch home movies. If I catch a fish I can view the whole drama as it plays out underwater.”

It’s fun. I felt the rush the first time we captured an underwater strike together. We relived the moment on TV a dozen times. It was an exhilarating new dimension to fishing. Sometimes, Schwartz has to remind himself that the main motivation for doing this is all about better understanding muskies.

Capturing them on film underwater isn’t without its trials. It took a lot of time and money to devise a Figure-8 camera that works. Rather than explaining his 8-cam setup, I suggest watching the DVD that resulted. Muskie-fishing legend **** Pearson calls the underwater footage on Muskie Intervention, “Incredible.” I doubt you will ­disagree.

Ghost Followers

Among the revelations was that almost every day the underwater camera showed following fish that weren’t seen from above. Usually, these fish would swim in at least two feet beneath the lure, some of them appearing aggressive, some not. Often, when the lure made the L-turn at the boat—a maneuver Schwartz executes religiously, even when he doesn’t see a fish—the ghost muskie would match the move, slinking away as the lure exited the water.

Schwartz remembers seeing a ghost follower for the first time. “I was fast-forwarding the footage for about 10 minutes, without seeing anything more than my lure continuously entering the camera’s view. I almost missed it at first. A log shape appeared a few feet below my lure, tracking it pretty closely. I rewound the tape and watched as I pulled the lure away. I found myself hollering at the TV, ‘No. No! No!’”

Three more times that trip the same thing happened. Schwartz: “Maybe I had to start fishing with the mentality that every cast could pick up a following muskie that I wouldn’t necessarily see? In stained and dark water, in particular, I always end every cast with at least an L-shaped turn while I’m looking as deep as possible into the water trying to see a following fish. Still, is it practical to do protracted Figure-8s after every cast just in case a fish is following too deep to see? Maybe it’s practical on high-percentage spots? It’s a problem I still haven’t resolved. But I spend a lot more time now looking deep below my lure before pulling it from the water. And many times I go around at least once after an L-turn, hoping a following fish might reveal itself.

“After I saw all these ghost followers on the footage, I started doing a lot more up-and-down depth changes with my lure during Figure-8s. I start into my usual 8, continue through a few turns and then dip the rod all the way to the reel. On the next straightaway, I pull the tip up rapidly, giving the illusion of a bait fleeing toward the surface.

“When any aquatic predator pursues preyfish high in the water column, the first thing most baitfish do is to sprint upward and sometimes completely through the surface. We see this play out on the water all the time—a few minnows flick and splash on top, followed by a boil.”

Using spinners like the Northland Boobie Trap in-line and his own hand-tied Little Darlas, Schwartz went to work on the muskies. “The up-and-down rod moves require more effort—you really have to get on your knees with a 7.5- to 9-foot rod and use some upper body strength. I tried it on a few hotter fish, and they responded favorably. Then I started experimenting on a few low-and-slow followers, taking the bait down to their level, and speeding it back toward the top. Occasionally, the blades would flip on the surface. I’m not sure if this helped, but the second time I did the deep-to-shallow move on one of these reluctant fish, she ate, right at the top of the straightaway.”

Depth changes are one more dimensional shift in the way a lure travels during the Figure-8. By watching many following muskies underwater, Schwartz notes that depth changes help to keep fish interested. But any change can be good: a change in speed, in direction, in cadence, in depth. Speed is a trigger, too, but often it’s the increase in speed that brings the strike.

Eights and Ovals

Changes in lure movement also bring up a point that’s fundamental to the entire Figure-8 experience. “I don’t want to leave the impression that it’s best to get too radical with boatside maneuvers,” Schwartz says. “The last thing you want to do is start whipping your bait in every direction. Sharp turns are bad. Performed correctly, though, change-up moves can boost the power of your Figure-8s.”

One question anglers often have is whether to use an actual Figure-8 or just a big wide oval. Both maneuvers can work. Brainerd, Minnesota-area guide Tim Anderson is a proponent of boatside ovals. “Even with a longer rod, a higher percentage of fish lose interest with all the corners of the 8,” he says. “When I switched to a big smooth oval, my percentages went way up. Which is why if you’re in my boat, I scream—Big circle!—anytime I see a fish after a lure.”