Fishing Report 8/24/09

Even with typical cold front conditions moving through the area, muskie fishing in the North woods has remained awesome. Some of the best action of the year is happening right now on all different types of lakes. Water surface temps on most lakes have dropped a few degrees with average temps ranging from 67 to 72 degrees. After last Tuesday’s rain storms moved through, winds shifted to the N-NW and air temps cooled but look for things to heat up again this week. The best muskie action is still coming from fishing weedy cover in depths of 7 to 15 feet. Bucktails are still working well but with a slight cooling of water temps, jerkbaits and soft plastic baits have really come into their own. Many of the fish we have been catching have been out on the deepest weed edges with most fish hitting close to the boat in deeper water. Having a game-plan and preparing mentally for a boat-side battle is crucial to being successful. We have been catching many muskies in the 30 to 40 inch range and larger fish are starting to show up as well including a monster 48.25 inch muskie I caught yesterday evening.

One important thing I wanted to note was to remind everyone to check and re-check their terminal tackle!!! Knots, line, leaders, snaps and split-rings. I lost a very large muskie this last week due to split-ring failure. I am still not sure how this happened as I am emphatic about replacing stock lure parts with newer, stronger parts but whatever the case, it is a reminder that big fish are strong and it is important to make sure your tackle is in top shape.

Northern pike have been hitting like crazy on certain lakes. Last Tuesday fishing in the rain, my clients for the day Chris and Sunny boated a record 40 northern pike in the morning part of our fishing trip up to 27 inches long. The action was intense to say the least and we had many other strikes and lost fish too. Spinner baits have been working well but small twitch baits have been needed when feeding slows.

Walleye, largemouth and smallmouth bass have been hitting well too. A 1/16 to 1/8 oz jig tipped with a medium/large fathead minnow has been the best presentation. Walleye have buried in the weeds near gravel transition zones and weedless jigs have been effective for catching these cover tight fish.

Good luck out there and fish hard!

Chas Martin
www.muskymastery.com