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Posts: 1
| Hey guys, been at this musky thing quite a while but new member to MuskyFirst, so this is my first post. Im 25 and I've been fortunate enough to have fished quite a few lakes between Vilas, Forest, Iron, Oneida, Kewaunee, door county, and Michigan. I've had some health issues for some time, but its gotten worse over the past few years so my time on the water is limited, but i try to make the best of it for everyone involved and on the boat with me. One thing thats always been an obsession of mine is homework, checking out cool new lakes between google maps and navionics, and going and fishing it on my next trip. But I need a little help here guys, a lake that has been on a my radar that I haven't found anything on has been Helen lake in Vilas, for a few reasons, I just don't want to waste a trip, as its a good hike from where i live. I'd love to chat if anybody has any information. TIA
NaterTip |
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Posts: 1194
| Hi Nate,
This is a great place to talk Muskies and everything Northwoods and other places. We talk of tackle, boat rigging, fishing regs, where to get Pizza or fish fry ECT and even some history. Except for the largest bodies of water for the most part we keep it a secret where we fish, however keep a eye on your in box sometimes we share info but it's not for the greater public. I'm 63 grew up in So. Cal. and have lived in Colorado for the last 30+ years I spent some summers in the Northwoods as a teenager and have fished all over Wisconsin, Minnesota and some places in Ontario. I've fished famous bodies of water and had my butt handed to me, I've places and hit it right and people said "you guys caught more Muskies then everyone all summer" I've fished some frog ponds out of a Canoe and wadded into back water only to sink in muck up to my knees and my reward? a bunch of 6" Bass. There are Sportsmen Connection maps, Fishing the North Country maps along with hot spot books for the 70's and hot spot maps too. And a lot of local bait shops have hand drawn maps too.
Last but not least write to the Wisconsin DNR for info. |
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Location: SE/WI | Look's like Helen lake is small, 100 acres and not deep at all with the deepest being 19ft. That being said if it were me I would try it early season before the weed's get up and choke out spot's it may have or try it in the fall. |
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Posts: 759
Location: Ames, Iowa | Rainbow, Flambeau, Boulder Lake, Eagle River chain? |
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Posts: 3779
| A 100-acre lake will require finesse fishing, all the easy fish done been caught. You can figure it out, but it will take a ton of time. Even then, there are only so many nice fish in a body of water that small. Don't do it in the first place. Pick a much larger body of water, look at the lake map to identify likely spots and begin to figure it out 100 yards at a time. Ignore the very best spots on the map, they've seen a ton of pressure. Spend your time first on secondary spots and second the open water off the primary spots. In open water your structure is the thermocline and pods of baitfish like bluegills. Ever see in mid-summer the backs of bluegills making the water shimmer? Gold mine, every pod has big predators lurking below, waiting for an easy meal. They are lazy stalkers. Nothing better than to stand way off, throw a heavy spoon far past the pod, count down and pull the lure back at about 10' deep. Over and over because the big fish are always there, you just gotta get them to bite. No strike doesn't mean there wasn't a big fish, or two, that took a swipe and missed the bait. Big girls are always there. Stay far away, cast long, countdown and bring the spoon back. if you see the bait pod dance the water surface it's not because of your lure. It's because of the big fish chasing your lure.
Word. |
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Posts: 759
Location: Ames, Iowa | "Pick a much larger body of water, look at the lake map to identify likely spots and begin to figure it out 100 yards at a time. Ignore the very best spots on the map, they've seen a ton of pressure."
This is great advice for you. Find a large weedbed, timber in the water, a gradual, sloping point, a narrows with current, an inlet, a boulder field, or where any of these features meet one another. Find where the perch fishermen go. The best advice I'd give you is that in large lakes and flowages up north, big fish can be anywhere and often are. I fish Leech Lake. The biggest fish in my boat- a 52 first ever muskie caught by my then 17 year old son- was caught on the North Bar, a known big fish spot. But all my records show sighted, encountered, and caught fish everywhere on this lake, even in the most unsuspecting spots. |
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