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Posts: 47
| I'd like to better understand the musky population on these lakes. Looking online I'm finding what I'd consider conflicting information. There are a lot of positive reports of good, healthy fishable population. Whereas, the DNR surveys show a very low density. .05 p/acre for an adult musky (https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Fishing/outreach/wifishingreport.html) and approximately 1 fish / 112hrs caught according to the creel survey (https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/fishing/documents/north/VilasNorthSouthTwin20172018Creel.pdf). The catch rate is about 1/2 of what it was in the creel survey conducted 10yrs earlier (1 fish / 57hrs)
My wife and I are interested in staying on a lake for an extended duration and are hoping to find a lake that offers decent chance of catching with a better chance at a larger fish. Looking at the DNR classification, these are A1 lakes and should fit that bill. We did fish North Twin a couple years ago for an evening without luck, but did really enjoy the lake's features.
Does North / South Twin fit the bill? IF not, are there other lakes approximately 1k acres or larger in the north woods that you'd recommend instead?
Thank you all for your time!
Edited by emo_musky1 1/27/2022 6:21 AM
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Posts: 599
Location: Duluth | Both fishable lakes, also many other lakes in the area that could provide action. Maybe spend morning on action lake and evening on Twin |
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Posts: 178
| 112 hours per fish means on average you'll catch a single fish if you are out there 8 hrs a day for two weeks straight. Does that sound like a decent chance? I know north twin gets a lot of pressure for other species but those are poor musky numbers. I won't give you any specific recommendations but I will say based on my familiarity with that data you cant do much worse. You're on the right track and should be able to easily find some better numbers. |
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Posts: 80
| "I have fished North and South Twins for about 30 years. They were once regarded as the best trophy producing waters in the county..." Tony Rizzo, circa 2005
Those were the days I guess. |
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Posts: 178
| I don't doubt the fish there likely are larger on average with a good population over 40", but the density sounds so low your overall odds of catching a big fish are lower than other lakes. I know of a few lakes less than half the size of north Twin with better action that have put out a 50". Id look at some other class A1 waters. But im basing all my opinions off the numbers you provided, never fished it myself. |
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Posts: 217
| The Twins are nice lakes with a chance for a big fish. If you get tired of them, go up the road to Smoky Lake and troll the main lake breaks. The lake stratles the border of Wisconsin and the UP. There are some big fish in Smokey anlong with some nice trout and hundreds of small sized smallmouth. Both lakes demand hard work and long hours. Lac Vieux Desert is also down the road a few miles. It is shallow and weedy as opposed to deep and clear Twins and Smokey. In addition, Long Lake and Big Sand are less then a 10 minute drive from Phelps. All give you a chance at a big fish, and they are are the biggest lakes in Vilas Co. If you have wind, one of these lakes will always be safe and allow execellent boat control. It is a beautiful area with many places to eat and drink. Best of luck. |
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| Abu7000 - 2/7/2022 3:36 PM
The Twins are nice lakes with a chance for a big fish. If you get tired of them, go up the road to Smoky Lake and troll the main lake breaks. The lake stratles the border of Wisconsin and the UP. There are some big fish in Smokey anlong with some nice trout and hundreds of small sized smallmouth. Both lakes demand hard work and long hours. Lac Vieux Desert is also down the road a few miles. It is shallow and weedy as opposed to deep and clear Twins and Smokey. In addition, Long Lake and Big Sand are less then a 10 minute drive from Phelps. All give you a chance at a big fish, and they are are the biggest lakes in Vilas Co. If you have wind, one of these lakes will always be safe and allow execellent boat control. It is a beautiful area with many places to eat and drink. Best of luck.
Wasn't it on North Twin where Tom Gelb landed the last verified 50 pound musky in WI? If I remember his story, he had row trolled for something like 25 straight days without a fish prior to that. |
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Posts: 599
Location: Duluth | A trip to the area is definitely worth your time. A Michigan license is too |
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Posts: 47
| Thank you all for the feedback! |
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Posts: 82
Location: deep in the slop | Had to sign in for this one as Smoky is the lake I know best in vilas. Prior to trolling being permitted in vilas, Smoky was a loophole for people to go troll for skis. Wisconsin would not enforce their rulebook, and the UP DNR did not care. There were many fish either harvested or mishandled / died from delayed mortality. The smallmouth population on this lake suffered a similar fate, and has been decimated in the past 20 years. The smallmouth population on the lake is basically stunted now IMO.
It is questionable (likely not happening) if there is natural reproduction on this lake for muskies. From what I understand this lake is no longer stocked. The water clarity is crazy, and in spring I would see many good sized fish (musky and smallmouth). This is not the case anymore. This lake is a great example of what angler pressure / greed can cause. I still fish it for nostalgia's sake, and to visit family friends. It is also very scenic, but is a far cry from what it used to be. I can think of an easy 5 other lakes in the area I would target first if I was serious about getting a chance at a good musky. While the twins have big fish...that lake has been hurt too. Worth a shot at night out there, but I would spend my daytime at other "adjacent" lakes.
Good luck.
Edited by HappyMusky 2/25/2022 4:32 PM
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Posts: 8729
| I had no idea it was that bad on N/S Twin.
Catch rates on "our" lake have remained much the same since creel surveys were taken back in '97. One fish/29 hours. Not what I'd call an action lake by any means but capable of turning out a good fish from time time. There are definitely better lakes in terms of action. Wildcat comes to mind. I've had decent luck on Oxbow, Averill, and Van Vliet as well. |
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Posts: 217
| I agree with HappyMusky's post. There is still a chance at a big fish. The Michigan DNR does believe there is natural reproduction, but because there is a limited number of mature muskies in the lake, the population remains low. The bass population is very stunted due to over harvest. Lots of bites but no quality.
Edited by Abu7000 2/25/2022 7:11 PM
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Posts: 8729
| Evidence of natural reproduction does not equal a quality fishery, especially when that evidence is 30 or 40 years old. The lakes aren't the same since they've all been developed, the climate isn't the same, and in some lakes the forage isn't the same anymore either. I have a feeling the population of largemouth bass in the last 10 or so years isn't helping much either. Same old story... We need supplemental stocking with the right strain of fish, increased size limits, and to harvest some of the largemouth bass and pike. |
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Posts: 82
Location: deep in the slop | esoxaddict - 2/25/2022 4:41 PM
Evidence of natural reproduction does not equal a quality fishery, especially when that evidence is 30 or 40 years old. The lakes aren't the same since they've all been developed, the climate isn't the same, and in some lakes the forage isn't the same anymore either. I have a feeling the population of largemouth bass in the last 10 or so years isn't helping much either. Same old story... We need supplemental stocking with the right strain of fish, increased size limits, and to harvest some of the largemouth bass and pike.
Completely agree. When I started on Smoky in the early 2000's the lake was very sterile with 25' secchi disk readings on calm days. The lake now has traces of milfiol and is much more fertile currently with new submergent weeds. These came from adjacent lakes.
While the visibility is still exceptional, I see probably 5% the muskies spawning in spring vs the early 2000s. There are no largemouth in Smoky, The smallmouth fishing used to be exceptional. The smallies were leaner than nearby lakes but had good size.
I truly hope they start making some radical changes to regulations in order to restore these fisheries. The flatlanders who taught me about this fish told exceptional tales about fishing this area in the 80s. The whole region for the most has been impacted due to pressure. I'd love to see a day I could experience the same quality of fishing in the region that my instructors did.
Edit: You can't polish a turd, but you can roll it in glitter.
Edited by HappyMusky 2/25/2022 9:12 PM
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Posts: 599
Location: Duluth | It is my understanding that Kentuck also suffered the same fate |
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Posts: 1214
| This is one of the most famous Lakes in northern Wisconsin (North & South Twin) fish as one lake. As a teenager in the 70's there were big fish in the paper coming from the twin's of course some of these come from other lakes and Twin was kinda of a catch all lake. Jerry Sobiek Sr. was famous guide and owned the Holiday Lodge on North Twin. Myrl McFaul got 53#12 in Sept 1953 and jerry Sobiek got 47# 10 in 1962. The McFaul fish is mounted and was a least at one time in the Honey Bear restaurant outside of Eagle River (I think it's still there) The Sobiek fish I think was burnt in a fire the old Holiday Lodge along with lots of other mounts. Jerry wrote "Trophy Muskie Techniques" in 1991 and he died a few years ago in his mid 90's. When all the lakes in the area had a 32" limit the Twin's had a 34" it was like that as late 2005 and now is a 50" lake. This is a very busy lake and before he 50" size limit a lot of small muskies were killed by non Muskie fishermen. I've never fished this body of water in 1994 I was in Northern Wisconsin in June and was scared off by the cool water of early June |
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Posts: 736
| Never fished the twins, but if I did, I would read every article written about how to fish suspended muskies. Being a cisco forage base, I believe the largest fish would relate to schools of ciscos in deeper open water. Probably the only time you might make contact with shallow cover oriented fish is night fishing. Kdawg |
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Posts: 333
Location: SE Wisc | Vieux Desert is a nice lake especially if you like weed fishing. Early summer is a good time to go |
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Posts: 8729
| Is it me or has the musky fishing in Vilas county gone to hell in a bucket in the last 15 years? |
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Posts: 191
| I generally don't follow the creel surveys. The data captured includes the inept and the skilled anglers so for me at least conclusions can be tough. The hours of the creel surveys also miss the evening and night anglers. However. I do use the spring lake surveys to choose lakes.
https://p.widencdn.net/xeqeyl/North_VilasNorthSouthTwin2017SpringSum...
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