Early Fall Tips - DIY Hacks - Monster Muskies

Be the FIRST to see Musky Insider every week by signing up for the email version of this newsletter. It's 100% free and we will never sell your email address! Click here to sign up and never miss another issue.

---

Tis the Season to be Checkin’ Boxes

We’re sliding into that early fall transition when water temps start to dip and musky patterns start to shuffle.

This week’s Musky Insider PRO Live Q&A featured Josh Borovsky and hardcore New York musky commando John Pensyl. Two sharp sticks in the musky shed, comparing notes and swapping philosophies.

One nugget worth spotlighting is a classic we’ve hit before but can’t ignore this time of year: Josh’s “check the boxes” program for figuring out if you should be beating the shallows or prowling the deep edge.

Here’s the quick checklist:

✅ Heavy cloud cover?

✅ Significant wind?

✅ Water temps falling?

If you can check all three, odds are the fish are shallow (ie sand, inside weedlines). Zero boxes checked? Time to look deep (ie weed edges or suspended nearby). If it’s a mixed bag, you’ll need to bounce back and forth until the muskies show their cards.

John confirmed it’s a similar deal out east, though (as always) no system is bulletproof. On lakes with tullibee or whitefish populations, cooling water temps may cause those items on the musky menu to ride higher in the water column pulling muskies further away from structure instead of up into the shallows.

The idea is to create a customized cheatsheet for your OWN waters. Watch how your muskies react to clouds, wind, and temp drops. 

Musky behavior can vary from lake to lake depending on forage, habitat, water clarity, and other factors.

But they will likely do something pretty consistently when all these boxes are checked and something else pretty consistently when they're not.

💡 Pro tip: These factors can flip mid-outing, so don’t get caught snoozin’. Nightfall also plays the same role as cloud cover, so be ready to move with the fish after dark especially if it’s a cool night.

⸻

Of course, that was just one thread from the convo. John also dropped plenty of juice from his river time on the St. Lawrence and Niagara, including:

🔹 Trolling tweaks based on current speed

🔹 How wind + river current direction matters (and what it does for the bite)

🔹 When to bust out the tubes and go vertical

🔹 How to stay in the game when the bite’s gone cold

Absolute gold.

⸻

If you’re a PRO member and missed the live session, the replay’s already up in the member portal.

Not a member yet? You can still sneak in before the doors close right here.

Big congrats to Ayden Froeschle, who claimed the crown for the third time in four years (also winning in 2022 & 2023). His program? Workin’ sand spots, ripping rubber, and sealing the deal with a 51-incher on a Cannonball Jr. 🏆 Talk about a showstopper.

Stuart Sorenson locked in second with three muskies that looked like they came off the same assembly line—46, 46, and 45 inches.

Big fish honors went to Matt McDonald (pictured above), who stacked three muskies, capped by a 52-inch bruiser that landed him in third overall. His pattern: ripping rubber along shallow weed edges with wind-generated current.

👉 Shallow bites + rubber = the ticket for two of the top three finishers.

📸 Credit: Frank Schneider Memorial Muskie Tournament Facebook Page

The Junior Division cranked out five fish over 40 inches, with Brooks Lissick taking big-fish honors at 45 inches. The top three juniors each scored a rod, reel, and Medusa along with their plaques.

In the Ladies Division, Diane Hobot stuck a 48.5-incher, good for 10th overall and some bonus cash. 💰

The Senior Division went to Mark Rosenwinkle, whose 49.5-incher also landed him 9th overall. Here’s how the rest of the leaderboard shoot out: 👇

Looks like there were a few windows where they were really snappin’. 👀 All told, 300 anglers registered 55 muskies (35”+). Another classic in the books for the “Frank.”

 

---

Tips, Tricks & Legit Hacks

This week, we’ve got 3 new tricks that’ll make your life easier on and off the water—and might even save your gear, your trailer, and your sanity. 👀

✅ #1: The Zip Tie Hook Hanger Hack

If your rod doesn’t have a hook hanger, it got ripped out, or the factory one’s in the exact wrong spot (because of course it is), here’s a quick fix:

All you need:

Strap it down near the grip, and boom, instant hook hanger. No more hooking baits into eyelets like a savage. Easy, effective, and it might even save your line from getting frayed to bits. 🔥

⸻

✅ #2: Buzzbait Blade Mod – Get That Squeal

Every topwater junkie knows the sound is everything. Squeal, squeak, clack, or buzz… if it ain’t noisy, it ain’t right.

This trick comes from Brazalo Custom Lures, and it’s a gnarly way to break in your buzzbait without logging 3,000 casts.

🔹 Step 1: Waller out the hole in the blade

🔹 Step 2: Reassemble

🔹 Step 3: Get ready for glorious, fish-calling noise

It’s like giving your bait vocal cords. Perfect for folks who don’t have time to hang their buzzbait out the truck window for 30 miles (you could still do that, though). 

✅ #3: DIY Tire Changing Ramp for Dual-Axle Trailers 🛞

Got a tandem-axle trailer? Lost a tire before? Pulled over on the side of the road, staring at a rusty jack like it betrayed you?

This one’s a game-changer.

This hack from Darcizzle Offshore shows how to make a simple wooden ramp that lets you drive up the good tire and lift the flat one off the ground. No jack needed.

Toss it in the back of the truck and thank yourself later. Big-time stress saver, especially when you’re limping home after a long day of musky heartbreak. 😂

⸻

🎯 More Where That Came From…

Want more weird-but-useful tricks like these? We’re always hunting hacks that give you the edge on and off the water. Whether it’s buzzbait surgery or redneck engineering, we’ve got you.

👉 Check out Musky Insider PRO for deeper dives and exclusive tips you won’t find anywhere else.

Got your own hacks? Send ‘em our way. Bonus points for zip ties, duct tape, or anything that makes us say: “Wait… that actually works?”

Mashup time!

#1 – We’ve seen some giant topwater baits, but this might be the biggest yet. Who’s brave enough to chuck it, and what rod could even handle the load?! My rotator cuff hurts just looking at it.

#2 – Ezoko dropped the Hellebarde crank from Polly Baits and it’s a straight-up big-fish magnet. Clean, natural action that screams ‘eat me’ in 6, 8, and 10-inch sizes.

#3 – Jason Smith’s hand-carved musky is a stunner. This 46” beast was shaped with chisels and gouges, then hand-painted to perfection. Jason’s been carving for 40+ years, from decoys to full replicas.

#4 – Not sure what’s cooler: Joe Junion’s external release tank or the synchronized musky swim team busting out of it. Built solid, and with a bump board so fish never hit the deck. #wantone

Chris Beltis went full lunar mode, boating this moon-rise monster, a 55” St. Lawrence giant with guide Marc-André Paquette. 🌕💥🐊

Forget arm day, Adam Lindfield just signed up for French River 54-inch curls. Somebody call a spotter. 💪

Jim Jankowski boated a solid 50” on Lake Nipissing with his trusty 9” black Suick during a July Pink Day, with daughter Jennifer Brown on the assist. Family teamwork at its finest!

Wanna be featured in Musky Insider? Send in your recent trophy musky photos by replying to this email. You might just see your pic in next week's newsletter. 🤙

---

---

Want to see more from Musky Insider? Make sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram for bonus content throughout the week.