Luke Ronnestrand Tips – Jointed Supernaturals? – Fly Fishin' Goodies
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.
Ronnestrand on Open Water
Last week, we said we'd highlight some of the MN Musky Expo seminars here in the newsletter – the most popular one so far has been Luke Ronnestrand's Q&A.
You can click here to watch it:
He starts off the "seminar" talkin' open water musky fishing, which is an EXTREMELY popular topic right now. And for good reason, that's when some of the biggest muskies of the year are hitting the net.
Here's a few of the highlights from Luke's talk:
"Muskies use open water all the time, but probably the best time to do this is during the post spawn period – between our Musky Opener and before summer peak in mid-July."
Most deep basin musky lakes have a TON of open water area that could potentially hold fish, which means you need to learn how to narrow down water quickly to up your catch-rate. Finding 'skies in open water isn't purely a game of chance....
"They can pretty much be anywhere in the lake.... Not only do the muskies relate to the open water, but they also relate to bait and the bait’s location is driven by water temperature and bug hatches."
Bait positioning is also critical:
"In low light periods, they are going to be in 10 feet of water or less, even if they are suspended over 40+ feet. Generally, when the sun gets higher in the sky, that’s when the fish are going to sink down."
One of the biggest mistakes folks make with this open water bite is running their baits too deep in the water column....
Last up, Luke talks about times he stays away from the open water bite:
"You want to avoid targeting these fish if they are in any deeper water than 20 feet, that’s where you’re going to start running into some barotrauma and you could potentially kill fish. I don’t like to catch fish or target them this way when water temperatures are in the mid-70’s or higher."
Make sure to check out the rest of the seminar on the Thorne Bros YT channel. Luke covers other topics, too, including targeting 'skies in cold fronts and musky fishin' from shore. 💪
Btw, if you want the FULL rundown on how to find and catch muskies in open water, check out the "Cutting Edge Open Water Tactics" class happening next week (virtual).
Luke Ronnestrand and Josh Borovsky are the instructors, and they're gonna share everything they know about open water musky chasin' – including all the juicy details you can't find anywhere online.
There's only a handful of spots left (this has been our most popular class so far), so you'll have to hustle up if you want to nab one of the last seats....
[Click here to check out the class]
Fly Slingin' Tips
This one's for all you fly-slingers or wanna-be-fly-slingers....
Was just watchin' some videos from MN guide Luke Swanson this week when we came across this excellent video demonstrating how to "water load" a fly for longer casts:
He explains step-by-step how to execute a proper fly cast with both a one-handed rod and a two-hander. Good info if you're not a seasoned fly-slingin' vet.
Btw, you can actually do something sorta similar when you're fishin' big rubber baits with traditional gear to get extra distance on your casts: Letting the rubber tails dangle in the water will load your rod even more for that ultra-long bomb casts 🔥
If you're lookin' to get into some new fly fishin' gear, now is the time to jump on the crazy good sale happenin' at The Fly Angler (Thorne Bros) this weekend.
Just head over to the Thorne Bros website, click on the fly fishing category, and the 20% discount will apply once you throw the gear in your "cart" 👍
You can get the same discount in-store, too, for those of you who like to touch-and-feel before you buy.
In-Person Musky School
With VERY few in-person events happening this year, it's cool to see that Agency Bay Lodge is buckin' the trend and hosting a big musky school this year (Aug. 7-14) on Leech Lake.
They've got a killer group of guides lined up including Matt Seifert (pictured), Isaiah Hahn, Phil Bauerly, Steve Nosbisch and Toby Kvalevog.
Also, love that the event organizers get hardcore musky anglers:
"New Moon in August is August 7th- this is a great week to capitalize on fishing majors and minors, and our week schedule will be dictated by everyone being on the water during peak conditions.
"Again, this is a Marathon Event. Anglers who wish to fish 12+ hours/day in addition to the seminars will have the availability to do so. Days start at 6AM and end at 10PM (or later)."
Something to consider as you're puttin' together your summertime plan!
You can click here to check out all the event deets.
Hopefully, we start seeing more in-person shtuff again soon.... also wouldn't mind seeing the border open up this summer! 🤞
Jointed Headlocks
These are gonna go FAST....
Supernatural Big Baits sent out a very limited run of Jointed Headlocks to a number of musky retailers this week.
Wanted to let you guys know ASAP, because they are going to sell out faster than you can say Duff Thury!
Here's the colors at Thorne Bros: Golden Shiner and Mother of Pearl
And the colors over at Reeds: Master of Disaster and Earl the Pearl
Team Rhino Outdoors with Hoppe Walleye and Dew Perch
And last up, Rollie & Helen's with Black Rice and Orange Glitter Perch
Not sure if there's any plans to make more in the future (we hope so!) – you'll wanna grab 'em while you can!
QUICK HITTERS:
– Wausau Musky Bash happenin' this weekend (link)
– Late winter musky fishin' from shore w/ Angling Anarchy (video)
– "Cisco Bound for Muskies" w/ Keyes Outdoors (video)
– "The Good Old Days of Musky Fishing" w/ Today Angler (video)
– Musky Mayhem Q&A w/ Brad Hoppe, Matt Seifert (video)
THIS WEEK'S MONSTER MUSKIES:
Big congrats to Amy Keyes (Mike's daughter) on snappin' her 8 year musky drought fishin' with her dad and Green Bay guide Bret Alexander.
Whatta beautiful snubber – you can click here to watch the catch 👌
Props to @theappalachianangler on poppin' this pudgy West Virginia river musky fishin' from a kayak.
Let's wrap this newsletter up with a ridiculously impressive sumo 'skie from the Wisconsin Northwoods. Andrew Ragas caught this monster EXACTLY 10 years after boatin' a 51 incher on the same lake on September 29th, 2010. 🤯
Wanna be featured on 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!
Send all business inquiries to josh@muskyinsider.com