Muskie Matt
06-24-2009, 08:42 AM
At any time give us 14 days in northern Wisconsin and you'll see all four seasons... what a change in the last couple weeks, summer has finally arrived, with a vengence! Surface water temps on the ER Chain have risen from a Chain-wide 57 to 78-80 as of last night all in the last couple weeks.
Muskie action has picked up considerably with those warmer water temps as has the recreational boating traffic. Early morning seems to be the best bite at the moment, 5am-10am, with evening being another prime time. Most all baits in your arsenal will work now, surface, crankbaits, bucktails, etc., the one trick that will produce a fish for you now will be speed... they want that bait moving fast. Bucktails pulled fast over weeds has been my preferred method to get clients fish. We've been taking muskies up to 40 inches by working thick weed edges in 3 to 8 feet of water, pulling bucktails just under the surface. A lot of our fish have been taken on the "figure 8" boatside, so work on that technique. A muskie will follow in fast behind your bait, seemingly dart off, only to come darting back in to crush the bait as I do a "figure 8" boatside.
With more hot weather predicted, look for this pattern of muskies wanting fast moving baits to continue. Good luck to all the PMTT anglers this coming weekend, the tournament should produce good numbers of muskies. Listen for current fishing patterns every Sunday, 7-9pm, on RFRG Outdoors Internet Radio, at www.MuskieMatt.com
Muskie action has picked up considerably with those warmer water temps as has the recreational boating traffic. Early morning seems to be the best bite at the moment, 5am-10am, with evening being another prime time. Most all baits in your arsenal will work now, surface, crankbaits, bucktails, etc., the one trick that will produce a fish for you now will be speed... they want that bait moving fast. Bucktails pulled fast over weeds has been my preferred method to get clients fish. We've been taking muskies up to 40 inches by working thick weed edges in 3 to 8 feet of water, pulling bucktails just under the surface. A lot of our fish have been taken on the "figure 8" boatside, so work on that technique. A muskie will follow in fast behind your bait, seemingly dart off, only to come darting back in to crush the bait as I do a "figure 8" boatside.
With more hot weather predicted, look for this pattern of muskies wanting fast moving baits to continue. Good luck to all the PMTT anglers this coming weekend, the tournament should produce good numbers of muskies. Listen for current fishing patterns every Sunday, 7-9pm, on RFRG Outdoors Internet Radio, at www.MuskieMatt.com