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Posts: 256
| So, i'm still playing around with the idea of a muskie trip with some fishing friends, no idea when it will be but would still like to get an idea of what locations to go do in order to help with making plans in the future.
As for what these destinations will be, I do know that I would like to take a shot at getting a trophy muskie, so any recommendation of a lake or river known for trophy fish would be greatly appreciated.
Another thing that would interest me is that the muskies in there are natural present and not stocked. The goal would be to travel from Europe to either the US or Canada in order to enjoy and explore a natural environment, not a "artificial" ecosystem where the fish are only there because of human intervention.
If anyone could recommend a destination that matches both those requirements, that would be greatly appreciated
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Posts: 32886
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | NW Ontario AKA Sunset Country. Eagle, lake of the Woods, Wabigoon, etc. |
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Posts: 8782
| Is there anywhere in the U.S. that we haven't interfered with? |
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Posts: 2327
Location: Chisholm, MN | esoxaddict - 4/2/2019 4:01 PM
Is there anywhere in the U.S. that we haven't interfered with?
Of course. But Canada would be better. |
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Posts: 239
Location: Elroy, Wisconsin | We try to interfere with them every time we go fishing. In fact I would like to interfere q lot more. Not much difference between stocked and naturals as far as I can tell.
Mudpuppyl |
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Posts: 256
| I would have to agree that it is sadly impossible to finde a untouched lake anywhere today, but if im going to travel to a lake for fishing, i would at least like that the targeted species be a fish that is native to that lake, in a similar way, if i where to travel to explore a country, i would at least want to enjoy the local food there.
Cheeres sworrall for the info.
Are the muskies in green bay, georgian bay and lake st claire native to those waters?
The idea of doing a "toure" of the great lake area for 1 or 2 weeks seems like fun |
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Posts: 20219
Location: oswego, il | Green Bay fish are stocked but they were once natural there. St Claire and Georgian Bay are natural. |
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Posts: 1767
Location: Lake Country, Wisconsin | The stocked ones don’t look any smaller in photos .... |
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Posts: 1036
| When I think of "old school" muskies, I think of Hayward. Big Chip!
Nice resorts up there. Tons of lakes to be fished, including the Chippewa Flowage. Lots of good guides up there, too. Big fish. And the water is really gorgeous. You can fish lakes, rivers, flowages...etc. I'd recommend giving Ty Sennet a call to see if he has any open dates to show you around. |
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Posts: 386
| Great suggestions so far, if I were you and coming that far my top choice would be Lake of the Woods just because of its ability to produce numbers so you have the best chance at avoiding a skunk, but there is also a really good chance at catching a 48"+ fish (122 cm) |
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Posts: 112
Location: Illinois | I 2nd what was recommended above. Sunset country is highly regarded and a destination for almost all Muskie fishermen
Edited by Fish4muskie 4/3/2019 9:32 AM
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| St. Clair. Hire a guide. |
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Posts: 409
Location: Almond, WI | If by "natural" you are also implying remote, I'd recommend a Lac Seul houseboat trip. Not action water by any means though. Georgian Bay is similar in both regards (though I've never been there). If you want naturally spawned fish with better numbers, St. Claire or LOTW. |
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Posts: 101
Location: Niagara on the Lake, ON | seul or eagle in ON - we have a bunch of shows that talk about the cdn lakes. Give them a listen and go from there! |
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Location: Northern Illinois | St. Clair, Leech Lake Mn. obviously LOTW, St. Lawrence Sea way. |
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Posts: 1000
| By natural do you mean the fishery is sustained on natural reproduction? Or do you mean they are native to the fishery, but supplemented with stocking?
If natural reproduction only, there's LOTW, Eagle, Lac Seul. I'm not sure if Georgian Bay or the St Lawrence are stocked.
There are also a bunch of lakes in northern MN that are sustained on natural reproduction - Wabedo, Woman, Little Boy - that are located near Leech, Bemidji, Mille Lacs, etc. If you're coming from Europe, you have those as backup if the muskies are being muskies.... |
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Posts: 256
| Just native to the fishery.
Thanks everyone for recommendations! |
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Posts: 229
| Vegas- When I think of big Fish the last place I would think of is the Big Chip...
For natural fish, I think others already gave the right answer- Ontario. Lac Seul can be tough to fish but I think most of the fish there are natural. Others on here might be able to confirm or give exact details on this. Not a huge population but certainly natural fish and a shot at a trophy. Fish don't come easy there but you should at least run into a few big ones. Might not hit the boat but you should see them. |
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Posts: 343
| Lake of the Woods, Rowan and other Canadian lakes. Leech, Cass, Winnie in Minnesota and St Clair in Michigan Ontario, St. Lawrence River New York and Canada, Cave Run in Kentucky, New River in Virginia and West Virginia are a few native fisheries, with a chance at 50 inch and larger muskies. Southern lakes generally warm up first so muskie fishing starts much earlier in the year than up north. Best of luck on your quest. |
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Posts: 1036
| I agree.
When I hear the word "natural", my mind goes to the WI River and then the Chip Flowage. That is what I was focusing on.
I fished the Chip for the first time last year. Two day trip. First day with Sennett, we got a 42 and a 45.5. Had another 44-45 get to the net and shake off.
Next day, without Sennett, we got a 45 in the boat. Had a 50-51 get off right at the net. Heartbreaker.
Maybe we just hit it at the right time.
Very much agree about LOTW. |
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Posts: 639
Location: Duluth | French River, LOTW, Lac Suel and St. Clair, if you want "natural" population in the states have to stick to river systems or lakes in Vilas and Oneida Counties in WI. |
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| vegas492 - 4/5/2019 10:37 AM
I agree.
When I hear the word "natural", my mind goes to the WI River and then the Chip Flowage. That is what I was focusing on.
I fished the Chip for the first time last year. Two day trip. First day with Sennett, we got a 42 and a 45.5. Had another 44-45 get to the net and shake off.
Next day, without Sennett, we got a 45 in the boat. Had a 50-51 get off right at the net. Heartbreaker.
Maybe we just hit it at the right time.
Very much agree about LOTW.
The one thing about the Chippewa Flowage is that less than 20% of shore line is developed so for a WI destination, it does have a very "natural" feel. |
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Posts: 89
| If I was coming from that far and had only one place to go, for me it would be Lake of the Woods Ontario. 1 million acres of water, 14,000 islands, beautiful scenery, oligotrophic, meso and eutrophic areas with endless exploration and muskies throughout. |
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Posts: 1036
| North of 8 - 4/5/2019 11:44 AM
vegas492 - 4/5/2019 10:37 AM
I agree.
When I hear the word "natural", my mind goes to the WI River and then the Chip Flowage. That is what I was focusing on.
I fished the Chip for the first time last year. Two day trip. First day with Sennett, we got a 42 and a 45.5. Had another 44-45 get to the net and shake off.
Next day, without Sennett, we got a 45 in the boat. Had a 50-51 get off right at the net. Heartbreaker.
Maybe we just hit it at the right time.
Very much agree about LOTW.
The one thing about the Chippewa Flowage is that less than 20% of shore line is developed so for a WI destination, it does have a very "natural" feel.
I hadn't been on it before, it was always on my "to do" list, but I never got around to it. Then a buddy decided we should try it and stay at friend's cabin. What an awesome experience.
Got that trip booked for this coming year, too. Can't wait! |
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Posts: 388
Location: Northern Illinois | "The goal would be to travel from Europe to either the US or Canada in order to enjoy and explore a natural environment ..."
Not to be blunt about it, but I wouldn't call Detroit a natural environment and I certainly wouldn't travel from Europe and make that my target detination (unless your only goal was to catch a big muskie).
I agree with the Canada recommendations, but I certainly wouldn't rule out Northern/Northwest Wisconsin as it has some aspects for both natural fishing, medium to big muskies, culture, wildlife and scenery.
Edited by mm3 5/6/2019 8:14 AM
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Posts: 1636
| Just as there are many differences from strain to strain... lots of differences between stocked and natural fish, too.
You are going to have to go up to Lac Seul to reach your preference, in the best way you can experience - based on what you described. Of course there are other waters... but, they will have a lower score as far as the idea of fishing for fish that may not know what a human being is.
Moosehorn Lodge |
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Posts: 1636
| Musky Brian - 4/3/2019 8:18 AM
The stocked ones don’t look any smaller in photos ....
Nor do they appear to be similar when you break things down and quantify everything. This includes genetics, shape, build, behavior, and so on...
Because, they are not the same.
Many biologist can even make the case... in ways... that different strains of Muskies might as well be different species of fish - as one another.
Edited by Reelwise 5/6/2019 6:32 PM
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Posts: 33
| Agree with some of the comments above. LOTW would be one of my first choices if you want a good selection of accommodations in the Canadian shield and still get the feel for remote fishing. Big Chip would be pretty high on the list too because of the deep history in muskie fishing.
Pretty well as remote as you can drive to and as natural as possible - Stork Lake. Sure to be an experience.
I think there are also some smaller lakes around there that haven't been touched - shhhhh. |
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Natural muskie destination?