Day Before Musky Opener Promotion...

[Joel DeBoer]

Mepps and the Wausau Fleet Farm are teaming up to put on an in-store promotion for all musky anglers. The event will be held next Friday, May 22 2009 at the Wausau Fleet Farm from 2:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Stop by for special prices, drawings, or just to talk muskies: Steve Heiting, the Editor of Musky Hunter magazine will be on hand from 5:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m., Ed Spoerl will be on hand from 2:00 pm - 8:30 p.m., and I will be there from 3:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. We'll see you there!

Tight lines,

[Michael Turtlelake]

Joel,

I look forward to meeting you at fleet farm on Friday. I really enjoy reading your articles in the Everest Herald, online and in some of the print publications!!

Do you think the fish will be in a different opening day pattern this year because of the cool, dry spring that we have had??

Thanks and we will see you on Friday!

Michael

[Joel DeBoer]

Michael,

Water temperatures and conditions should actually be fairly similar to last season's opener in the Wausau area, and from looking at my records, that's good news as we caught a lot of muskies in the first few weeks last year! While some years have found the majority of fish in regular summer haunts by Memorial Day weekend due to hot weather, cooler springs such as this one will typically find the muskies in a transition of sorts between spawning grounds and classic summer patterns. The key in years such as this is to first identify where the muskies have spawned, and subsequently understanding where they're looking to go - between points A & B are the "cut off" spots that will likely be holding fish. These spots can vary significantly between the river itself and a lake or flowage, but will include points, shoreline irregularities, cuts, funnels, and the like, and are good places to begin your search. We'll talk more muskies Friday, I look forward to meeting you.

Tight lines,