Musky Reports - Spring Tips - Strike GIFs
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.
The Bite Is On… South of the Border
We know a bunch of you are chompin’ at the bit for the Northern Wisconsin musky opener this weekend… so we did a little recon to help you start the season hot.🔥
Rather than just making wild guesses, we talked to some battle-tested Musky Insider PRO instructors who are already on the water and in the zone. First up — Illinois/Wisconsin guide Andrew Schiera.
Andrew just joined us for a PRO Live Q&A where he broke down the entire early-season transition from pre-spawn to post-spawn to summer — and what baits and spots match each stage. This week, we checked back in for a boots-on-the-water update:
“Last week we had 75–80°F air temps and surface temps creeping into the 70s. Our fish are well past the spawn, and they were chowing small bucktails and topwaters. But after the rain and cold front, we’ve switched to twitching minnow baits and gliders.”
Andrew expects the bite to shift back to rubber, bucktails, and topwater as things warm — and he recommends smaller twitch baits and cranks if you’re headed further north, where fish are likely just finishing up spawning.
Want more of Andrew’s intel? Catch the full replay of his live session inside Musky Insider PRO — available instantly for members!
Central Wisco Heating Up!
We caught up with Musky Insider PRO instructor Steve Herbeck, who’s already logged some serious time on the water across southern and central Wisconsin — from deep clear lakes to shallow weedy bowls and everything in between.
“This year is starting out a lot more normal than the past few springs. Water levels are a bit lower, so things are clearer than usual and we’re just now seeing some early weed growth.”
Unlike recent years where bigger fish were hanging off the first break, Herbie says most of the best action so far has come shallow — in 3 to 6 feet of water — especially near current, inlets, and outlets.
Herbie’s line-up so far has included:
🔹 Walk-the-dog topwaters
🔹 Medusas
🔹 Gliders
🔹 Small bucktails
🔹Red October Tubes
🔹 Poseidons
🔹 Swimmin’ Dawgs
Sounds like the paddle-tail swim baits (Poseidons and Swimmin’ Dawgs) have been the most consistent producers thus far.
He also mentioned that an early-season night bite can be very good this time of year, especially in current areas — don’t sleep on that option if you’re fishing after work or trying to avoid boat traffic.
With this week’s cold front and high winds, Steve shifted to a river system to find protected water. That gamble paid off — two muskies caught on tubes in shallow water adjacent to deeper holes.
As for the Northern Zone, Herbie believes most fish are just wrapping up the spawn, depending on lake size, depth, and clarity. For opener, he recommends either:
Small Bucktails like the Rizzo Wiz, Mepps Musky Killer, and Musky Mayhem Showgirl.
Glide Baits like Hellhounds, Phantoms, and Livingston Vipers are some of his favorites — but if you’re only getting “snake charmer” follows, don’t forget about dive-and-rise baits.
A few of Herbie’s often-overlooked favorites: the 7-inch Suick, the SRJ, and the Titan Jr. by Livingston. On the Titan Jr., he likes to add or replace the hooks with one size heavier — it seems to give the bait better hang time and action. Under these conditions, work ’em slow and let them hang.
River ’Skies Locked & Loaded
We got the scoop from Chris Willen, full-time river guide and Musky Insider PRO instructor, who’s been chasing smallmouth in Northern Wisconsin and staying tapped into river musky movement leading up to opener.
“Most of the muskies I’ve seen are banged up and done spawning — haven’t spotted any paired-up fish for a while now. They’re cruising, but definitely in that post-spawn recovery phase.”
Spring brought lots of up-and-down water temps, and while some folks are sweating this week’s cold front, Chris actually sees it as a blessing in disguise.
“When it comes to musky fishing, consistency is usually a good thing. We were getting a lot of warm days and cool nights, which caused major water temp swings. This cold front helped level things out and stabilize the system.”
The warm spell before the front seemed to jumpstart the rest of the river life —
🦞 Crayfish are on the bank
🐸 Frogs are peeping
🐥 Goslings are everywhere
“That tells me things are in gear, and muskies should be shallow and accessible. Twitching smaller shallow cranks and gliders should produce, but you might be able to get away with higher hooking percentage baits that cover more water like bucktails and spinnerbaits as well."
Oh, and the goslings? That’s a sign…
“Usually when I’m seeing that many, topwater is a viable option too.”
Being a seasoned fly angler, Chris added this nugget:
“Right now is one of the best times of year to catch river ’skies on a fly — they’re shallow, accessible, and willing.”
BTW — Chris just dropped a full virtual class for Musky Insider PRO where he broke down seasonal river musky patterns from spring through fall. PRO members get instant access to the recording – perfect if you want to go deeper before opener.
⚠️ FINAL REMINDER: Registration for Musky Insider PRO closes this Friday @ 11:59PM CDT!
If you’ve been on the fence, this is your last chance to get in before the doors close.
Here’s what you’ll unlock as a member:
✅ Monthly live Q&As with top guides like Willen, Herbie, and Schiera
✅ 80+ hours of recorded Q&A replays
✅ 2025 Big Fish forecasts, including Josh Borovsky’s “Pink Days”
✅ Access to exclusive custom-colored & hard-to-find baits
✅ 15% off rods, reels & tackle at Thorne Bros through 2025 (some exclusions apply)
💥 Don’t miss out — click below to join before it’s too late:
This Week's Mashup:
Mashup time!
#1 – This glide getting chomped is courtesy of Ben Stone Fishing. Love this visual eat! 😍
#2 – A lil’ something for when you gotta share some time off the water with family and friends, a musky- themed wrap for your cornhole boards.
#3 – Check out the new Whitefish from Zorba Baits that just landed at Ezoko 👀 These ultra-realistic swimbaits are handcrafted in Poland but musky approved in North America.😉
#4 - Sometimes you get them to eat, but just don't get hooks in 'em like you see here from Taylor Flannery. #sigh
QUICK HITTERS:
– SPRINGTIME IOWA MUSKY FISHING!! - Muskies on Gliders and Dive and Rise Baits (video) w/ Angling Anarchy
– Fishing A Flooded Forest For MUSKIE! (video) w/ Ben Stone Fishing
– 54 minutes LIVE with Dr Bob Klindworth (video) w/ 54 or bust
– Second Blade Strategies (video) w/ MuskyHunterTV
– Fly Fishing for River Monsters!! | | West Virginia Musky Fishing (Musky Hunt Ep 6) (video) w/ Hardman Fishing Adventures
This Week's Monster Muskies:
Check out this Dino!! 🦖 Congratulations to Craig Butler (head of the Muskingum Watershed) on his new personal best while fishing with Insider Pro Instructor Chad Harmon. 👊
We’re lovin’ the leopard print on this gorgeous Iowa sweetheart that took a twitch bait from Bryce Groves after flying around on the 8! Way to go Bryce!! 💪
Roman Thury, along with his Dad Duff, were out for “Spring Break” with Insider Pro Instructor Steve Jonesi and the muskie gods smiled when this porker ate his Llungen .22 Short.
A sweet southern Wisco opener for Sam Wallisch, punchin’ his ticket on the first chance of the year. 🎟️
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