Chas Martin
05-31-2012, 02:39 PM
Muskie fishing over opening weekend on the Three Lakes and Eagle River chain was good, with water surface temperatures in the 65 – 69 degree range and winds blowing out of the ESE at 10 to 15 mph. Weather conditions were conducive to aggressive feeding behavior... the cloud cover, wind and light thunderstorms made for great fishing conditions.
The best muskie activity was found in shallow water, anywhere from 2 – 5 feet, with good weed cover. Shallow bays or points that were being pounded by the wind were holding the most active fish. Spinner baits like Pearson’s Grinder (2-3oz), Slopmaster spinners, and Bucher’s 700 series bucktails got attention from the muskies as well as weighted suicks and small size topwater lures. Overall it seemed like they really wanted something with some kind of spinning blade. Fishing a few hours Monday morning before the rain and thunderstorms moved in we had 8 different fish follow lures to the boat, right into the figure-8, and got a 30 incher on a bucktail in the fig-8 which was in about 2 feet of water. Out of those 8 different muskies some of them followed in multiple times on different lures. We did see one really nice fish – very thick – probably pushing 45 inches but no luck getting her to strike even when we came back after her at moonrise….needless to say she is “on my list!” Again, some decent action over the weekend (not many fish registered in the Pro-MAC on LVD or Twins) but I think that things are really going to pick up in the coming weeks. Early June is one of my all-time favorite times to be on the water chasing muskies and my fishing logs show why.
The walleye and northern pike bite is still going very strong. Finding the most developed patches of weeds and working them over with a 1/16th oz jig and minnow worked very well. We were also getting some nice perch and crappie too. Take advantage of it now before the mayfly hatch moves into full swing!
Good luck and fish hard!
Chas Martin
http://www.muskymastery.com
The best muskie activity was found in shallow water, anywhere from 2 – 5 feet, with good weed cover. Shallow bays or points that were being pounded by the wind were holding the most active fish. Spinner baits like Pearson’s Grinder (2-3oz), Slopmaster spinners, and Bucher’s 700 series bucktails got attention from the muskies as well as weighted suicks and small size topwater lures. Overall it seemed like they really wanted something with some kind of spinning blade. Fishing a few hours Monday morning before the rain and thunderstorms moved in we had 8 different fish follow lures to the boat, right into the figure-8, and got a 30 incher on a bucktail in the fig-8 which was in about 2 feet of water. Out of those 8 different muskies some of them followed in multiple times on different lures. We did see one really nice fish – very thick – probably pushing 45 inches but no luck getting her to strike even when we came back after her at moonrise….needless to say she is “on my list!” Again, some decent action over the weekend (not many fish registered in the Pro-MAC on LVD or Twins) but I think that things are really going to pick up in the coming weeks. Early June is one of my all-time favorite times to be on the water chasing muskies and my fishing logs show why.
The walleye and northern pike bite is still going very strong. Finding the most developed patches of weeds and working them over with a 1/16th oz jig and minnow worked very well. We were also getting some nice perch and crappie too. Take advantage of it now before the mayfly hatch moves into full swing!
Good luck and fish hard!
Chas Martin
http://www.muskymastery.com