Great Musky Biology/Behavior Article by Jordan Weeks
River Musky Logic Tips
Last week’s River Musky Logic class with James Lindner was one of those sessions that makes you rethink how you fish rivers from the ground up.
James framed river musky fishing as a behavior and positioning game, where current, forage, and efficiency dictate almost everything a musky does.
Current Is a Conveyor Belt
One of the biggest themes James hammered home is that current is a conveyor belt delivering food.
Muskies don’t just roam aimlessly. They set up where food is delivered with the least amount of effort. That means:
✅ Front edges
✅ Seams
✅ Transitions where fast water meets slow
✅ Areas where fish can sit comfortably and let the river do the work
James came armed with awesome visual diagrams explaining how these areas are moving targets that change with water levels and current dynamics. When those variables shift, so does fish positioning.
In many river systems, this creates situations where multiple muskies stack in very small areas, sometimes literally within a few feet of each other.
Visualize and understand the conveyor belt, and you’re in the game.
Position First. Presentation Second.
Another big takeaway was that presentation is inseparable from position.
James repeatedly emphasized casting upstream and swinging baits downstream, allowing current to deliver the lure naturally into the fish’s strike zone.
Get the cast angle wrong, and even the “right” bait might get a hard pass from the ’skies.
River ’Skies Are Loyal
James also shared insights from telemetry studies he was involved with that explain why certain river spots feel almost magical.
Individual muskies were shown to:
✅ Spawn in the same areas every year
✅ Summer in the same locations
✅ Winter in the same holes
✅ Use the same migration routes season after season
That repeatability is why some river stretches consistently produce fish year after year.
A Few More Gold Nuggets from the Class
Just scratching the surface here, but James also covered:
✅ Why rivers can support higher muskie density than most natural lakes
✅ How and where fish position differently based on whether they’re active or inactive
✅ Specific bait types that river fish seem to be more drawn to
✅ How seasonal water temperature changes shift where muskies move up and down a river
✅ How water level and current changes dictate how muskies position on those spots
Absolute gold.
If you’re an Insider PRO member and missed the live class, you can find the River Musky Logic recording in the member portal. You might also want to circle next week’s Live Virtual Course with fisheries biologist Kamden Glade on your calendar. ��
Diet Data vs. Catch Data: What Actually Lines Up
�� February 5th, 2026
Kamden led Minnesota’s most recent musky diet study, and in this class he connects the dots between:
✅ What muskies are actually eating
✅ When and where they eat it
✅ What baits muskies were actually caught on during those same periods
Using real diet data alongside Muskies Inc Lunge Log catch data, Kamden breaks down how forage, season, lake type, and water temperature influence what works and when.
It’s science you can take straight to the water.
Not a member yet?
Registration is currently closed, but you can hop on the waitlist and be first in line the next time we open things up.
A Different Way to Choose Baits
We were scrollin’ Facebook the other day and came across some juicy nuggets in a post from Musky Insider PRO instructor and fisheries biologist Jordan Weeks.
Jordan broke down how muskies actually sense what’s going on around them and why sound, vibration, and pressure deserve way more attention when we’re picking baits than just style and color.
If you’ve ever felt like you’re doin’ everything “right” and still couldn’t buy a bite, this is a different lens that might open a few doors.
It’s Not About the Lure. It’s About the Fish.
Jordan kicks things off with a reminder most of us know, but don’t always fish like we do:
“Some lures surely catch fish and some catch fishermen, but one thing is certain, success depends on the fish and not the lure.”
Muskies aren’t just cruising around reacting to what they see. They’re constantly processing what’s happening around them through something called the octavolateral system, which handles hearing, balance, pressure, and vibration.
Plain and simple . . . Muskies often feel your bait before they ever see it.
Sound in Underwater Environments
One of the more interesting nuggets Jordan shared is that freshwater environments are actually pretty quiet compared to the ocean.
That means when something changes, it sticks out.
Wind, waves, boat traffic, trolling motors, splashing, and your lure all add to the underwater “noise.” Muskies can detect changes in that background noise, and when something is different enough, it stands out from the rest of the underwater soundscape in an acoustic and pressure-based way.
So maybe we should be thinkin’ a little less about “what does my bait look like?” and a little more about “how loud is it compared to everything else happening right now?”
Lures: Loud, Medium, and Quiet
Instead of obsessing over color or style alone, Jordan suggests thinking about how lures talk underwater.
Loud baits include prop topwaters, rattling baits, and anything that makes a bunch of commotion.
These shine:
✅ When it’s windy
✅ At night
✅ In dirty or stained water
✅ During feeding windows
✅ On busy lakes with pontoons, jet skis, and swimmers everywhere
Loud baits cut through the chaos and can be detected from farther away. Great for covering water and calling fish to you.
Medium-noise baits include bucktails, side-to-side topwaters, spinnerbaits, gliders, jerkbaits, and crankbaits without rattles.
This is your bread-and-butter category and includes the ever-popular double 10 bucktail.
Jordan shared a Lake of the Woods story where his boat was getting humbled early in the trip, while friends throwing double 10s were piling them up. Once his group switched, things changed in a hurry.
The key wasn’t luck, color, or even a specific structure. It was sound and vibration.
Those bigger blades put out a signal the fish preferred . . . possibly one that more closely mimicked natural baitfish movement. Whatever the reason, the muskies noticed, and 10 blades were the common denominator.
Quiet baits are the category most soft plastics fall into.
These shine:
✅ During cold fronts
✅ In clear water
✅ On calm days
✅ When fish feel negative or lazy
Quiet baits don’t announce themselves from a mile away. They rely more on pressure waves and subtle movement, which can be money when conditions call for finesse instead of violence.
Bigger Fish Feel More
Here’s a sneaky-good nugget from Jordan that helps explain a whole lotta biggun heartbreak.
Bigger, older muskies actually have more sensory cells along their bodies. That means they’re better at detecting vibration and weird stuff that doesn’t feel right.
Which might explain why big fish follow more, spook easier, and are seemingly “smarter.” They kind of are . . . or at least more sensitive.
Jordan wrapped it up with this thought:
“Instead of looking for that special color, think of how the lures you already have ‘talk’ underwater.”
Sound, vibration, and pressure should be part of the decision-making process, right along with weather, water clarity, and fish mood.
The fish are still there, even in dirty water or tough conditions. Sometimes the fix isn’t the color or style, it’s choosing the right voice for the moment.
Jordan went pretty deep on the discussion. See below:
Jordan’s Full Write-Up is HERE:
