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Posts: 154
| I'm new to all of this, the only thing I'm still trying to figure out Is location. I'm going to a lake in northern wi on July 8th. What should I be looking for around this time? What structure..etc
Edited by MNFisherman 6/6/2017 5:30 PM
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Posts: 859
Location: MN | Weeds |
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Posts: 154
| Any weeds? Lakes are filled with them, seems too simple |
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Posts: 16632
Location: The desert | Green weeds, maybe a hint of brown. |
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Posts: 1660
Location: central Wisconsin | What lake? |
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Posts: 386
| the weather plays a huge roll, can narrow it down a bit better closer to the time. If the weather continues as it has been, they should be in a fairly typical summer pattern. Start with deep weed edges, move to flats, try inside edge. If there are rocks, check those, then mid lake humps.... If it was easy we'd be catching them like bass or walleye, it just takes time. |
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| Pointerpride102 - 6/6/2017 6:26 PM
Green weeds, maybe a hint of brown.
with a smidge of crimson...  |
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Posts: 767
Location: Ames, Iowa | First of all it has to be a lake that has a population of muskies. Could you mention the lake? I'd look for current, rocks and weeds in any order and at any depth and if you find all three together consider it a spot. Next I'd check out places where any one of those three exist in shallow water under 10 feet deep. Lastly, if it's a very gin clear lake I'd fish it when the shadows are long and/or in the dark. Good Luck! |
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Posts: 154
| Little Saint Germain in eagle river wi
Edited by MNFisherman 6/6/2017 9:52 PM
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Posts: 16632
Location: The desert | Call Ken Jackson and see if he's available for a day, great guide and even better person. I believe his resort is on Little Saint. |
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Posts: 154
| I'm also going to be stuck to fishing the east bay most of the time. |
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Posts: 829
Location: Maple Grove, MN | I would work the wind-blown areas first. Look for weeds/rocks near deep water with a preference for points and/or inside turns - anywhere with a contour change. Those areas are almost always the best. Then get the lure down to the tops of the weeds and/or rocks. Add some action to the lure such as a few direction changes by swiping the rod back and forth on the retrieve or an occasional twitch. Speed up a little as the lure nears the boat and do a big figure-8 on every cast. Good luck |
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Posts: 154
| Thanks^ You too |
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Posts: 213
Location: FIB land | Get a copy of "the Complete Guide to Muskyhunting" by Saric and Heiting. Of course now these days we are using longer rods, but this book is spot on . |
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Posts: 1144
Location: Minnesota. | And remember the three most important colors to a musky fisherperson (see what I did there...) are balck, baclk and black, not nec. in that order...
Best o'luck to ya's. Just keep looking, pitching and fig. 8'ing!
It's on that next cast that... |
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Posts: 33
Location: St. Germain, WI | You will need to be fishing early in the morning and late in the evening, the pleasure boating traffic that week will be as bad as it can get. Like everybody says fish weeds, rocks and wood. bucktail and topwater will move fish. I know you said you will be "stuck" in East Bay If you can get mobil there is a lot of lake the to fish, I primarily fish west bay, deep clearer water, great fast breaking structure, crappie forage based. If you can Lake jump there are just so many smaller lakes within 15 minutes with good populations of muskies that you can get away from skiers and jet skiers. I hope this helps somewhat. |
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Posts: 1636
| I like to launch the boat and start fishing from that point until I get back to the boat launch.
Some of the spots that produce for me are... Wind blown, broken rock shorelines. Weed and rock spines. Boulder fields. Sand saddles with a few weeds and sand when it's sunny or when there is current rolling over the top of them. Inside and outside turns on longer, shallow weedlines. Deep weeds and timber... best for me when there is some wind. Rock reefs in the summer... I like calm days. ...and open water when it's sunny and calm.
In Wisconsin... I have done best around shallow weeds or deeper sand in around 6-12 ft of water.
My favorite time to fish in Illinois is when the water temperatures are 75-77.5. The mighty Muskellunge likes to come super shallow when the sun is high... especially in murky and muddy water.
In Canada... the Muskellunge seem to be all over the place. Just need to find the proper lure and depth to fish it in order to move fish. Sometimes one lure does it all. I would bring toilet paper with on Canadian outings.
Good luck to you.
Edited by Reelwise 6/11/2017 10:36 PM
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Posts: 154
| Well the problem is my parents aren't really willing to take us too other lakes and they want us to stay in the bay we're renting. But thanks for the info |
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Posts: 114
| Back in the mid 60's, my best friend and I drove to norther WI with the intention of chasing some muskies. We stopped at a small gas station and after putting a few 28 cent/gal of gas in the car, we decided to talk to the old guy sitting in a
rusty chair next to the front door. After some small talk we got to the point and asked him where was the best place we could find muskies. He stared at us for a couple of seconds, turned his head to the right, spit out some tobacco, turn back to us and said...in the water. |
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Posts: 409
Location: Almond, WI | As far as your weed type question goes...it can be that simple. Or much more complicated. Find green stuff. They will use all weed types to some extent but they get used differently and on many lakes fish will have a preference for one over another. Cabbage is usually the best of the shallow varieties, generally it has a ragged outer edge and patches and pockets which create hiding spots. Perfect for bucktails, topwater and jerkbaits. Coontail can be really good, but also super dense if it's shallow and later in the summer. I like the same bait types early, switching to more spinnerbaits or maybe rubber or deep divers on the edge later in the summer. Milfoil forms almost a solid wall so focus on the edge (you can throw over the top if it isn't to the surface yet). Sandgrass grows very deep and you'll need to use Bulldawgs or a similar sinking bait to get down to it. Slop (where a bunch of types grow together in a shallow area) can be great in midsummer to early fall--the dense patches of cabbage and coontail combine with lily pads and the like to create shade. Fish with spinnerbaits and buzzbaits. If you are on dark water and/or it's windy, don't overlook the inside weed edge.
That's the Cliff's Notes on weeds.
And if you are as inexperienced as you indicate, a guide is a really good idea. Ken Jackson has a resort on Little Saint. Rob Manthei has a resort on Big Saint and Jeff Van Remortel is all over the area. |
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Posts: 31
| If you are really inexperienced, a good guide is going to help you more than anything else. Actually being on the water with a knowledgeable guide, listening to what he says, seeing what he shows you how to do and learning how to do it, always watching the water for followers, asking questions (no matter how dumb they seem to you) and listening and understanding his answers, and maybe actually raising a fish... I remember about 65 years ago doing what I'm telling you now, falling in love with the sport, which I still am after literally tons of fish in the boat.. it becomes an obsession. The best of luck to you.
Edited by hairy lures 6/12/2017 1:57 PM
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Posts: 785
| Hopefully you'll have electronics available to help you locate the weed lines. Fish can be all over but as a general rule fishing the deep outside edge of weed lines is the best method. On a map look for large flats with deeper water nearby and usually you'll find some muskies. More often then not large expansive weed flats are more productive then thin bands of weeds on sharp breaks but I've not spent time on the lake in question so try to mix it up a bit with depth and type of structure in the area you are allowed to fish until you start getting some action. |
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Posts: 154
| Well the bay I'm in gets to 12feer around at max depth if that helps. Anyway thank you guys for your help! |
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Finding muskies