summer musky

I am coming up to the beautiful northwoods of wisconsin on a family trip 7/27-8/3 and wish to tangle with some mighty musky. Any general summer tips on lures, retrieve, depth, etc would be helpful if anyone has time to post a musky 101 tip list for general fishing. will be fishing lower gresham near minocqua and maybe some other lakes. thanks.

Don’t know much about your particular lake but I can tell you what works for me. If it is dark water stick close to shalllow cover fish any shallow running muskie bait you have, pay special attention to the deep weed edge. If it is clear water fish are more likely to hold away from cover. I normally set up so a long cast just hits the weed edge, or move along the weed edge and cast out. These are generalizations, most important is look for schools or bait and fish at or above the bait. Retrieve speed should be faster or more erratic in clear water and slower and steadier on dark water. As for lures you can’t go wrong with a bucktail and cranks are another good choice, pretty much anything big. Just make sure you have heavy enough tackle.

Just to add to your enjoyment, do not be afraid to throw a topwater bait this time of year all day long. That goes for clear and stained water. Shallow running crankbaits like Crane bait in sucker color work on any lake. Bucktails of course are a great choice and I would also make sure you have at least one rubber lure such as a bulldawg to fish slow if cold front conditions come upon you. Good Luck
Chris Beeksma

I agree with both comments above. If the weather has been stable for a few days, burning bucktails near weed edges would be the best bet.

Topwater in early morning or later in the evening is always fun.

When the going has gotten tough this year, I have resorted to glide baits. For some reason when I can’t get fish to move, I slap on a Phantom or a Power Probe and see fish.

Thanks for the tips- being here in Iowa only gives me the chance about once per year to grabble with such an awesome creature. Not sure what the lake will look like, I will probably have a good sample of bucktails and color combos of cranks as well as topwater and if I dont have it, buy it there. Much appreciated.