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Posts: 32975
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | It's happening all across the muskie range. Give the mskies a break until temps cool down a bit. |
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| Good time go kayaking. Going to hit a couple of small lakes tomorrow with some other old people. |
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Posts: 1707
Location: Brighton CO. | I have a book "100 Wisconsin Fishing Trips" published in 1984 by Wisconsin Sportsman magazine and it tells of many of the bigger Lakes not to fish Muskie before the 4th of July due to cool water temps. The first of my summers in Eagle River area 1976 as a teenager was a drought year, I didn't get up North to late July (I stayed home to take drivers ED in Summer school)
The water was warm and nobody was catching any Muskies. I had never caught a Muskie in my young life and I would go 5 weeks without one. I went home skunked that first year. I would row my little wooden rowboat across the lake to shoot a couple games of pool and buy and eat a Tombstone and a pop or two at one of the resorts. As I was rowing across I would see dead Cisco's in the lake. By 1979 I could do this same trip as 18 year old and drink Beer back then. In 2006 the last time I fished in Wisconsin in the summer months and first time we had a big modern boat with temp gauge the water was in the upper sixty's I was surprised. |
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Location: PA Angler | I never did any good in this hot heat. Most I caught was a sunburn. |
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Location: Athens, Ohio | There is actually research, now, to explain why that is. As temps climb to and above 89, muskies seek cooler deeper waters. They will expend little energy to catch and digest bait, knowing that not doing so in hot temps can be fatal to them. We watched one research boat on Jackson Lake follow a tagged muskie with a rubber jig bait for ten minutes, never got it to strike. m |
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Posts: 457
Location: SW Ohio | Just got back from Eagle River. Five days, no boat, no fishing...me, my wife, 6 yo grandson, two dogs. Heard the water temps were high (not as high as here but high nonetheless) so leaving the boat at home was a simple, if not tough, choice. Especially seeing all the boats around. With everyone, there was no room for fishing gear. Did get out on the water in a pirate boat twice (so the grandson could play pirate). Hot on Sunday, cold and wet on Tuesday. Temp was 48 when we left yesterday morning.
Fuel prices was another small deterrent. 28 mpg in my Chevy baby-max unloaded vs 14-15 mpg towing. 29 gals each way. $300 vs $600.
Did catch the Musky Shop's sale on Saturday. Picked up a Clam net for a friend, couple books, hooks and other lure parts, a MS sweatshirt for the young'un and an Alpha Dawg. Was nice being back up there (last time was in 2024).
Hopefully, the cold front dropped the temps enough for y'all to get out some. Us? Although some places near here had 4"+ rain, our local lake didn't. I think the temps are still above 80.
Edited by OH Musky 7/23/2026 6:36 PM
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Posts: 715
Location: Livin on a Prayer. | We found 80.5 up to 81.9 on the Fox Chain yesterday. Lakes Catherine, Channel, Marie, and Bluff. Beautiful day to cruise and check out the deeper spots. No Muskie fishing was attempted. Nice night as well. |
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