I am relatively new to musky fishing and have a couple of questions I was hoping you could help me with. I get up to Solon Springs (30 miles south of superior on Hwy 53) a couple weeks out of the year. I have a small boat and have been fishing Amnicon, Lyman, and the Eau Claire chain of lakes for muskies over the last two years. Do you know of any other lakes within 20-30 miles of the Solon Springs area that are good musky fisheries (Hayward is a little too far)—I am looking for a little change of scenery. However, these lakes need to be close to the Solon area because the trailer I have is suspect at best, and I would not feel comfortable taking the boat more 30 miles than away.

What are your thoughts on the Shimano Curado 300 for Musky fishing? I use them (200 model) all the time for bass fishing and love the reels, however, are they appropriate for Musky fishing? Can you use this reel with large musky lures—Bull Dawgs, DCGs, etc?

Last question—what are your thoughts on fluorocarbon leaders? I know they probably have their time and place, but wanted to get your input. Do these leaders need to be replaced or changed after every fish? I imagine those teeth can do some damage to the leader and cause weak spots which could ultimately lead to lost fish.
Thanks for the help.