By Ted Takasaki and Scott Richardson There’s a great reason to look forward to the spring with ice melting and rivers running. About 80 to 90 percent of the walleyes across the country move from main lakes into the rivers to spawn. Unlike during the summer when trolling for big fish can be hit or… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Articles
Confront A Cold Front
By Steve Heiting, Managing Editor Among the benefits of teaching the University of Esox Musky Schools is the longterm friendships I’ve developed with a number of the students. And seeing the students take the information shared with them and then succeeding at musky fishing — either during the school or, sometimes, years later — is… Continue Reading
Color Technology & Muskies
By Steve Heiting, Managing Editor One of the most interesting artifacts in the main lodge of Monument Bay Lodge on Lake of the Woods’ Northwest Angle involves a huge, ancient, mounted musky. While the musky is certainly a giant, it’s not the fish mount that I find so interesting but the lure hanging in its… Continue Reading
The Plastics Revolution In Musky Fishing
By Steve Heiting Musky fishermen can be extremely slow to change because they are seldom willing to risk time on the water to try what they perceive as an offbeat method. The soft plastic revolution that is occurring right now in their sport underscores that statement. It was about forty years ago when a group… Continue Reading
Musky Mind Games
By Steve Heiting, Managing Editor Some of the most fun and successful musky fishing I experienced last year was also some of my most frustrating. Let me explain. On a week-long trip to a water I’d never before fished, my buddy Kevin Schmidt and I found ourselves questioning almost every move and every lure selection,… Continue Reading
How To Not Catch A Musky
By Steve Heiting Just moments earlier, the huge musky stuck its head out from the swaying milfoil and ate the big bucktail as it rode a wave over its head. Now, the battle almost over, Charlie Buhler’s biggest musky of his life was just a net job away from having its picture taken. On its… Continue Reading
Gain Experience on Fall Musky Training Grounds
By Steve Heiting, Contributing Writer Fall is considered by musky fisherman as the time for trophy fish. Large female muskies putting on the feedbag to sustain their developing egg mass are on the prowl, hunting suckers, ciscoes and whitefish. If you hope to catch a musky that’s truly heavy for its length, fall is the… Continue Reading
First-Timer’s Guide To Lake of the Woods
By Tom Gelb I started hunting muskies on Lake of the Woods about 25 years ago. My first impression remains with me today — almost every spot looks good! Up to that time, my musky experiences had been almost entirely on small to medium size lakes in Wisconsin. Locating fishy spots was a challenge, particularly… Continue Reading
Pieces of the Big Musky Puzzle
By Steve Heiting September 10, 1998, will forever stand out in my memory as well as my musky catch records. I hope to experience another day like it, but I doubt that I’ll ever enjoy such a great day again. On that day my buddy, Kevin Schmidt, and I caught 16 muskies ranging in size… Continue Reading
Springtime Walleye Fishing Tips
By: Patricia Strutz Want to put some tasty walleyes on your dinner table? Vilas county guides share some insights with us… In early spring you have a great shot fishing for walleyes because they are so accessible. If there is late ice out the fish stay very shallow for two to three weeks… Continue Reading