The best tip is to leave them alone when it gets over 82 degrees.
 

If you fish for them please consider a water release. This is when you just reach over into the water to unhook the fish as it get to the boat. Most fish will come off when you grab the trebble hook shaft and twist it free. The fish will do most of the work as you hold the hook shaft with a good needle nose. You might have to cut a hook with a nipex if its in a bad place. All can be done in the water without touching the fish most of the time.

 BUT this is way less stress than netting, untangling, unhooking, grabbing, vetical hold out of the net, good hold during pictures and back into the water. Trust me, I have did both for over 25 years.

Wind helps as it mixes up the water but that only warms the lower water more. Try and target the windy side because the oxygen level is better but the surface temps will be higher due to the surface water getting pushed all that way.

 Targeting the calm side will have cooler surface temps but less oxygen in the calm stagnant water.

 Bottom line is catching musky in hot water is not good for them.

 I try and target shallow water fish when it's high water temps because they are already in that temperature zone when they get caught. Water releases on these fish go very well.

 Targeting deeper water fish will bring them up from cooler water and into the hot water as they are caught. This will cause all kinds of problems when they are caught and released. Most of them will have trouble going back down to where they were. Staying on top for longer period of time and trying to swim back down but keep comming back up like a bobber. This is why I will not fish deep water fish as water temps heat up over 82 degrees.

 The hard part of not targeting those fish is they are easy to catch trolling. Ethically it is not good for the fish or resource. I just wait the heat out and get back to buisness when it cools down.

The month of July was not that bad around here in Southeastern Wisconsin but as August set in I have only been out twice. Both times were night jobs and all the others were canceled. 82 and up water temps are just too hard on the fish in my opinion.

Sorry if any one on this site was part of my cancellations but I feel the guides are examples for others. Some guides are still going out trolling deep water and doing jobs only caring about the money and jobs. It's sad they are hurting the resource they depend on in the future. I feel like calling them and asking why they guide when most people and other guides are not targeting muskies?

 I have seen and measured 16 dead muskies this season. 6 were over 48-inches. Very sad because they were all on Pewaukee Lake. The last 15 days I have only been on the water 2 nights. I don't even want to see whats all floating around now. Friends that live on the lake have said people are still trolling deep water every day. I can't tell the damage that will cause because most of the fish we will never see. Weed cutters will have them picked up as they float to shore.