Ten to 15 years ago, I used to spend a lot of time night fishing along the banks of the Wisconsin river. On a good night, a pair of warm, insulated neoprene waders, a headlamp, St Croix rod & a small box full of lures was all a guy needed to get in on all the action you could want.
Last week I dug out all my night fishing equipment and put them to use once again. Along the way, I found out that some things have changed along side the banks of the Wisconsin river.
Picture on the right of a 39″ muskie caught on 3-8-09
For one thing, there are a lot more muskies swimming around out there. Used to be we would get bit off every once in a while and maybe catch a muskie once or twice during the spring walleye run. Saturday & Sunday night I got bit off four times & landed four other muskies. All were quickly photographed and released unharmed. The first one gave me a challenge trying to figure out how I was going to get a quality picture without harming the fish. The fish ended up being just fine but the 2nd finger on my left hand sprung a leak in the process. Well worth it in my opinion!
38″ muskie caught on 3-7-09
It is pretty awesome catching muskies while targeting spring run walleyes at night. Yes, you do tend to lose some baits along the way and I definitely need to figure out a better setup for the terminal end of my rig. Right now, my plan is to splice in a two foot section of 8# seagur flourocarbon but I’m not sure that will make much of a difference. Light line is very helpful when it comes to the action of the lure so adding a steel leader is out of the question. Superlines are another option but so far, I’ve been very disappointed with the way they cast, especially when the weather dips below 32 degrees which is pretty common at night this time of the year.
Picture on the right is a 32″ muskie caught on 3-7-09.
Stickbaits are my favorite baits this time of the year. Go to lures include the F9, F11 & F13 rapalas, #8 & #10 Husky Jerks and countdowns in similar sizes. Jig/plastic combo’s also work very well at times. On those nights when they don’t want a stickbait, a 1/16oz Precision jig & ringworm from B Fish N Tackle can be dynamite on the walleyes. When the current picks up a little, the new Dragon jig from B Fish N tackle will also get a workout on the end of my line this spring.
Another 32″ muskie caught on 3-8-09
Very, VERY cool
Good to see the Wisconsin river producing quality skis Joel. Were those toothies hitting your stick baits or plastic?
Great pics btw
Three hen walleyes did lose the battle with my St. Croix.
They were all released unharmed also. Another 15 or so male walleyes all between 15-17″ long were also caught and release.
1st picture – 22″ walleye
2nd picture – 23″ walleye
3rd picture – 20″ walleye
The last couple of pictures show some of my struggles with getting a good quality photo of the first muskie I caught on Saturday night. The fish was kept in the water between photo attempts. She swam away pronto when given the chance.
After that though, I realized the need for a good plan for photographing fish prior to the actual catch. All photo’s after that went much more smoothly.
Thanks Jeff. BTW, you need to grab your waders and come on over. I’m laid off form work this week and plan on going out every night.
All fish were caught on stick baits. When the river is low with slow flowing water, I tend to do better on the stick baits. As the water goes up and the current becomes stronger, thats when I usually do better on the plastics.
Looks like some productive evenings, Joel. Sorry to hear about the layoff, but seems there’s always a silver-lining in having some extra time to goof off. Those leaking fingers can be a nuisance, as I also found out at the Petenwell Dam a few weeks back, but certainly worth the temporary discomfort.
Great report and pictures Joel!
That looks like a heck of a good time!
It was great meeting you and shaking your hand at the madison fishing expo! Glad to finally put a face with the name!
Awesome read and pictures Joel
Looks like you are having a blast to the start of the year playing with the esox family
I know one musky guy who is very jealous right now. Nice fish Joel!!!
Thanks guys.
Hey Luke, it was a pleasure meeting you and Bob for the first time at the Madison Fishing Expo as well.
It is fun battling these toothy critters. So far, we’re pretty even. They’ve bitten off and kept four of my favorite stick baits and I’ve managed to bring four of them in for a quit snap-shot.
Looks like fun! One thing I would suggest in order to avoid incidental muskies with lures stuck in their mouths is to tie on some TyGer leader tyger leader It’s light and can be tied with a knot. I know James used this last spring for big Pike when they were using lures that would normally be affected by a larger leader and said it worked great. It’ll be better for the fish and your wallet at the same time.
Hey Jeremy, thanks for the tip on Tyger Leaders.
I’m going to look into those!
Great job Joel.
See you at Everts in a couple of weeks.
Hi Joel, great pics. and report. Sounds like fun with the muskies and the eyes.
Went out again tonight. Right away I caught another muskie around 30″ and in the process of trying to take a picture, I dropped the camera in the river.
On the funny side, as the camera was sinking, the flash went off. Not sure if I got the picture of me saying a dirty word or not!
This wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t forgot to bring my favorite pail that I’ve been using to set the camera on. Memo to self: Don’t forget the pail!
As you might expect, the camera is kaput! Not sure if they can fix it or not. Looks like I’m going to be taking the good camera along next time.
See you at Everts Ben!
get a 1 gallon zip lock bag and fill it half way with plain white rice,place camera in bag with rice for a few days.Rice draws water out of electronics,saved my cell phone a couple times,might work with cameras give it a try,
Worth a shot. Thanks for the tip!
My camera last year got wet from setting in the boat and the net dripped water on it and it quit working. So from then on in a zip lock bag in my inside coat pocket does the trick and a dry towel to dry my hands. Sent mine in to kodak and got it back in 2 weeks , good luck Joel
From Jeff
Ouch
Did you immediately look around for someone to blame like I do? 
Hope that dries out for ya Joel 
Let me know how that tyger wire works out. Might give that a shot for leader material this season for banging cranks on the zebra mussels
Ten to 15 years ago, I used to spend a lot of time night fishing along the banks of the Wisconsin river.
Joel, we must have crossed paths back in 90 through 95 when I lived up there. Other than the guys by the dam, I only ran into very few people while fishing the same pattern. One more to add to your box are the Jr. Thundersticks with a stick-on weight under the bill and one on the belly
Great report Joel!
Your story brought back a lot of childhood memories for me. Every year for the MN walleye opener, my dad and I would start fishing at night just below the Blanchard Dam on the Mississippi. We would wade out in the cold water pitching plastics with lights fastened to our heads. I found out real soon, if you want to better understand the current system in a river, fish it in the dark! 
Congrats on your muskies, it sure looks like you were having a great time fishing out there by yourself!
Thanks Brad!
I hope you get a chance to strap on those waders once again.
I am also a firm believer that learning to fish at night can enhance your ability to detect strikes better during the day.
AWESOME
I have to be honest, I am just a little jealous
There’s something I never thought possible!
Unfortunately, the ones I catch are incidental, caught while walleye fishing. Unlike the ones you catch, where your actually targeting muskies.
That big muskie in your avatar picture, I sure wouldn’t mind incidentally catching one like that!
Joel:
I second Jeremy’s suggestion on the Tyger leader. You can get it in several strength classes.
I know that Pete Stoltman, who started doing some reporting in the musky area last fall, dropped one of his electronics in the water last fall and used his wife’s hair dryer and got lucky enough to get it to work again. I think it was his camera also as I think he was able to download some pics afterward.
Mark