Early Fall Muskies

Here in the land of 10,000 lakes the start of the Minnesota State Fair marks the beginning of my favorite time of year to chase Muskies. Cooler nights and more mild temperatures start to bring water temps down from their peak temperatures. This drop in temps trigger these hard to find fish to feed. Many of these fish will move shallow to the inside weed edge. This can range from 10 feet of water to as shallow as a foot or less. In my favorite lake the fish seem to sit in the 3-5 foot range where the sand and weed edge meet. My favorite baits to target these active fish can range from fast moving bucktails in various sizes to slower walk-the-dog style topwater baits to trigger a strike. When the skies are clear and blue I will generally opt for a smaller faster moving bucktail with 1, 2 or even 3 blades no bigger than a size 8. I will put this bait on my 8'7 XH Omen Musky rod paired with a high speed reel, 80lb braid and a heavy fluorocarbon leader. I like the longer rod because I can make a larger figure 8 at the boat if I get a fish to chase my lure. Having a longer rod also aids with taming the massive head shakes of the fish trying to throw your bait. When it is windy or the light is lower I will put a larger flashier bait on my Omen. I will have another rod ready to go with a walk-the-dog topwater bait so if I get a follow I can come back on the fish at another time and try and trigger the fish with an erratic side to side motion of the topwater bait. My rod choice for this presentation is an 8'1 H Omen Musky rod paired again with a high speed reel, 80lb and a single strand steel leader. This time of year can have some very exciting action. The water cooling down pushes the bait fish up shallow and the Muskies follow this move. It has been the time of year I have been able to land multiple fish per day with many of these fish being the larger fish in the lake. I have found the fish will chase the faster moving baits until the water temps fall into the mid to lower 60 degree range. I have also found that the bigger fish tend to be more active in the lower light periods with many of my biggest fish to date coming at or after dark. I will slow down to a slow roll or moderate speed retrieve when fishing bucktails at night. Now is one of the best times to catch yourself a trophy. See you on the water!