North Woods Fishing Report: Late May *Musky Season Opener*
Fishing in the Northwoods has been outstanding. There's been a lot of great reports of Walleyes, Northern Pike, and panfish. One of our Guide staff member Fred Palermo guides for multi species but Fred's favorite fish to target is Crappies. Freddie has been following the Crappies and doing quite well for he and his guide clients.
For location, Crappies are currently hanging near wood and weeds in the 2'-5' range. Kalins Crappie Scrubs and Crappie Minnows have been the ticket so far. Walleye and Northern Pike fishing has been very good as well. Walleyes have moved from their spawning locations and are currently scattered a bit. You will still find a few Marble Eyes shallow near wood and shoreline structure but many are transitioning to weed edges and out off the edges recovering from the spawn. XL Fatheads, Dace Minnows, and Blacktail chubs have been working great.
The leech bite will really pick up as we get a bit warmer water temps. Most of our temps are in the 55-63 degree range depending one what type of lake or flowage you are fishing. Feel free to stop by the Musky Shop or give us a call or email (info@muskyshop.com) for fishing information as we would be happy to assist.
Another one of our guide staff members, Al Frost has been having a very good start to the season as well. Al has been guiding in the Northwoods of Wisconsin for many many years and has developed a vast array of knowledge of Oneida and Vilas county lakes. Frosty is a multi species guide but his favorite species is Musky. Once the Musky season starts he will be targeting and following their movements until ice up or when the season ends whichever comes first.
In Northern WI our Muskies season opens the last Saturday in May which is only a few days away. The Musky opener is always very exciting and this year is no exception. We had a late ice out and all of us who work and guide out of the shop are super pumped for the Musky season to start.
Some things to consider as the season starts:
Location- A lot of the Muskies will be in or near shallow structure, Bays that lay to the north are usually a bit warmer and a good place to start your season. Some lures to consider for targeting shallow skies would be Buchertail 500 Mini Buck, Bucher 5" Shallow Raider, Phantom Lures 4" Soft Tail, and Ruff Tackle Deep Rad Dog Spinnerbait. Slow and steady will get the job done. There are always Muskies of all sizes located in shallow warm water bays at the start of the season.
Another location for opening skies to consider are weed edges and just out off the edges.Not all Muskies will be spawning at the same time thus some will be shallow and some will be finished spawning and moving out to recover and begin to feed. For those fish that are near the edges and off the edges some great baits to consider are Spanky Baits Firefly, Hooked on Musky Baits 7/8 Bomb, Suick 9", Slammer 5" Shallow Minnow and trolling Supernatural Big Baits Headlocks and Mattlocks.
As you can see the Musky lures for edge fish are just a tad larger. Muskies that are done spawning and have moved out are going to be in the hungry mode, so give em a meal. Sometimes as fishermen we kind of get stuck into thinking all of our lures have to be small however if you kind of feel your way along you will find small to medium size baits in the backs of bays and medium to large offerings on the weedlines and out off of the structural edges.
Above I included a link to Supernatural Big Baits. These crankbaits are fantastic all season long. There are always big Muskies caught every year by fishermen who are willing to break away from the norm in targeting those edge skies by trolling Big Baits. This is a proven technique and one you will want to consider to aid in your success.
In closing all of us here at the Musky Shop are always willing and happy to pass on any information you may need to be successful. Please feel free to stop by the Musky Shop or contact us. We have a very knowledgeable staff that are more than willing to help. and meet your needs.
"If You Don't Know Ask A Pro"
Kind Regards and we hope you have a great fishing season,
Jim Stewart