Okay, Now for Wisconsin – Big Musky Shots – Catch More This Year
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The Resource
We focused a LOT on Minnesota last week.
The MN DNR asked for some feedback on their musky program, so we shared the survey and offered our perspective on where the fishery sits today.
This week, we're taking a short roadtrip over to Wisconsin to highlight some opportunities to help muskies over there.
First and foremost, we have a quick save-the-date for ya:
The WI DNR is looking for angler feedback. You can go in-person and share your thoughts on April 8th at 6pm (here's a list of locations in each county). Also, the DNR has an online survey that will be available to fill out starting at noon on April 10th, and it will be available until noon on April 13th.
Unfortunately we can't link to the survey yet, but here's a link with info on how to find the survey when it becomes available. We'll share the link in next week's newsletter, but we'd encourage you to find the survey right when it becomes available and fill it out.
The last thing you want to do is procrastinate and forget!
In the meantime, continue supporting the organizations that are supporting musky fishing in the state of Wisconsin!
Get involved with your local Muskies Inc. chapters. Attend and give to fundraisers, like the one that CCMI is putting on this Saturday.
The CCMI chapter also has the "Adopt-a-Muskie" program, which allows you to directly support musky stocking in the Madison Chain in WI.
Short-Lining Tips
Alright, now let's change gears and hit on some trollin' tips from Chad Harmon who guides for 'skies in Ohio.
(Chad is also one of our speakers for Musky Insider PRO)
He's gonna share some against-the-grain strategies that have helped him boat more spring chunkers like this client catch 👇
Let's get into it!
"A big myth for spring fishing is trolling small baits.... while small cranks can be effective at times, there’s other techniques to try for this time of year that can pay off in a BIG way!"
Alright, you've peaked our interest #MythBustin'
"A cool pattern I came across a while ago is using bigger crankbaits like 9” Llungen .50 Calibers, 9” Perch Baits and 10” Ziggies. I troll them short, only letting out between 7 to 9 feet of line right next to the boat in the prop wash."
"The areas I’m targeting are large flats in 5 to 8 feet of water. When it comes to speed, I stay a little on the higher end of the spectrum, keeping it between 3.8-4.2 mph.
"The key to this pattern is finding the flats with shad schools pushed up on them. It doesn’t matter if the water is chocolate milk or crystal clear in color. If the baitfish are there, the musky will be hitting big baits on a short line."
That's a popular theme in musky fishing that seems cliche, but proves true more often than not....
Find the bait = find the predators!
"The murkier the water, the brighter color I’ll use for the crank."
Now here's Chad's thoughts on why this pattern works:
"What happens is, the boat and prop-wash kicks the baitfish up as you drive through them. This scatters the bait school which more-or-less draws the musky in.
"It's like ringing a dinner bell to the boat because disoriented baitfish in the prop-wash makes for an easy meal for a toothy critter. This is where the big crankbaits come into play."
"The typical shad size in our Ohio reservoirs are 5”-7” long. The bigger baits stand out in the chaos of the disorientation and make it easy for a musky to pick your bait out of a school of a few hundred scattering shad.
"Think about it…. If you were running small crankbaits, that small bait has a much better chance to get lost in the confusion than a big bait that will stand out to be seen.
"When you get a chance this spring, give this technique a shot, you’ll be surprised in a BIG way!"
Great stuff – special thanks to Chad Harmon for sharing 👍
He's got jokes
When it comes to fishin' pranks, it's tough to beat the tap-the-rod-butt trick.
.... and Brian Skaife (Angling Anarchy) played it perfectly here:
Seems like most of the best fishin' pranks happen when your buddy is asleep.... tying their shoelaces together, pretending you're hooked up, etc.
Send us a few of your favorite prank ideas and if we get enough good ones, we'll share 'em in a future newsletter!
We shared this meme before, but it's one of our absolute favorite pranks! 😂
THIS WEEK'S MASHUP:
Mashup time!
#1 – Love this photo sent in by Christian Belobaba: "Winter months get long. Have to bring the kid to the aquarium to see a muskie."
#2 – The product of the month on Ezoko's website is the "Net Buddy". We haven't featured this product here in the newsletter yet, but it's one of the few extra accessories that'll make things a little more convenient on the water.
#3 – Incredible musky-themed piece from angler/artist Garrison Doctor 😍
#4 – Diggin' this action shot from MN guide Phil Bauerly on Leech Lake 🔥
QUICK HITTERS:
– Taps & Tackle now has Arclab gear in stock (link)
– "Wilderness Muskies" w/ Steve Heiting (video)
– Musky lure modification w/ AA (video)
– Topwater musky lures w/ Smith's Fishing (video)
– Tips for crossing US/Canada border (video)
THIS WEEK'S MONSTER MUSKIES:
Christina Truppe kicked off the season with a trip down south to put some plump spring 'skies in the boat 💪
Props to Jonathan Shepherd on poppin' this St. Lawrence River full moon beauty this past fall. Stellar low-light photo, too! Thanks for sending, man.
Let's wrap this newsletter up with this wildly impressive fall fatty sent in by Sara Sikora. What a monster of a musky!
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. 🤙
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