Musky Fishing Right Around the Corner

But for some hearty anglers, the greatest hunt in the world takes place in the waters of Minnesota, Wisconsin and northern parts of North America every year. Often, the pursuit of that one trophy musky is as satisfying as dropping a charging lion in the African safari. Especially when you consider that next cast could earn you the greatest fight of your life - and a 30+ pound trophy that’s more than 50 inches long.

With its sharpened teeth, predatory nature and enormous size potential, this elusive monster harkens back to the Mesozoic Era. But don’t be fooled, the legendary ‘Fish of 10,000 casts’ is many a modern-day angler’s holy grail.

Every May, the big game begins. Lucky Craft wants you to get a head start on a lifetime of story telling. Already, the ‘lure’ and mystique of these coveted fish have hardcore muskellunge anglers filling their tackle boxes with this year’s arsenal.

According to Lucky Craft regional BASS pro and successful musky hunter, Cary Bever, a Lucky Craft jerkbait can be a key early season lure. Musky, like many fresh water predators, are hardwired towards similar seasonal patterns.

“Typically in the spring, I go out with my bass tackle and throw Pointer 128’s with a steel leader,” said Bever, of Rhinelander, Wis. “I don’t get too macho about it in the spring. Much of the post spawn activity begins around Memorial Day weekend in northern Wisconsin and Minnesota, but the further south you go – the earlier it gets. Especially when milder temperatures are present – like this year.

“Water is cold (45 to 59 degrees) in the spring, so the Pointer 128 is the very best presentation you could make,” Bever continued. “You can suspend that bait, leave it in the strike zone for a long time and give the fish a chance to come and find it. The water is typically clear because the ice has settled out. It’s the very best time of the year for the Pointer Series to reach into the musky market – there’s no doubt about that.”

Musky are shallow (usually in six-foot of water or shallower) in the spring, focusing on spawning or getting ready to spawn. They are also at the top of the fresh water predatory chain, so they school around cover and are commonly caught in and around boulders, logs, boat docks, stumps and holes near those spawning areas. As with early season bass fishing, musky seek the warmest water – so positioning or trolling tapered points around bays are ideal.

As the overall water warms, musky venture out to dense areas of vegetation starting in June.

“In the spring, you need to use smaller baits,” Bever said. “The forage is smaller and the fish just aren’t as active because their metabolism isn’t psyched to eating three pounds of food just yet. Also, you want baits that appeal to the fish’s sense of sight - something that will give you a benefit of being in clear water. The Pointer 128 is perfect for this type of application.”

Lucky Craft offers a wide array of colors to appeal to that sense of sight. Some of Lucky Crafts Pointer Series northern colors include Red Musky, Musky, Walleye, Brown Trout, Brook Trout, Aurora Green Perch, MS MJ Herring, Spotted Shad and Misty Shad. Bever talked about what works for him.

“During this time of the year, clear and stained water areas exist,” Bever said. “One area will look like tea, while the other is very clear or transparent. It’s all based on the foliage patterns. Perch and juvenile walleyes are a big deal and the trout patterns can be really good as well. And for the cisco-based lakes, the American Shad and the herring colors come into play as well.”

Bever also imparted tips on what lines are the most useful.

“I like 20-pound monofilament here because you have about 20 percent stretch and a lot more forgiveness,” Bever said. “Fluorocarbon is also perfect if you want to get your bait deeper. The best thing about fluorocarbon is the fact it’s less visible; has less stretch and is very abrasion resistant. This time of the year calls for smaller baits, smaller hooks and more of a finesse style presentation. So, it’s a bad idea to use braid because you can rip the hooks out of the fish simply because it doesn’t give.”

This arena could be the next big breakthrough for Lucky Craft’s technology. According to Bever, there isn’t anything in the jerkbait market today that provides the life-like presentation or overall quality of Lucky Craft.

“Most of what’s out on the market now is wood, with lead pounded into them,” Bever said. “Much of that is done by the angler’s themselves – they do that to get the baits to suspend. No one has approached the technical perfection and durability of the manufactured jerkbaits Lucky Craft offers.

“There’s a lot of opportunity in the musky market for Lucky Craft,” Bever continued. “The other commercially available baits just aren’t very well finished. As soon as the water warms up, then you’ll start looking at top water baits like the Sammy and Splash Tail.”

While making 10,000 casts may be more of a campfire fable, it still takes a special person to catch that once-in-a-lifetime trophy musky.

“It takes a lot of patience – or stubbornness – to fish these things,” Bever explained. “There’s no doubt you have to really work it to catch one. Musky anglers’ are a different breed. They measure success by how many fish they see in a day. If a musky follows your bait in, you know you’re doing something right. It’s a thrill to even see one. You can go out and fish for days and never see a musky.

“However, with the new technologies that are out here like Lucky Craft’s crank bait series and the burgeoning new fisheries all across North America, there are a lot more opportunities to catch musky now than there was 30 years ago,” Bever said. “Catching a musky isn’t the mystery that it once was.”

Oh, and one last tip when fishing for musky - always perform a figure-eight boatside to up your odds of connecting with those following fish. This technique only takes five to ten seconds of your time, and it could result in a bonus fish, or one that you didn’t even know was there.

Provided by Cox Group

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