Sleeper Windows - New Gear Unveiled - Musky Brother in Need

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Sleeper Windows

A few days ago, MN guide Ryan McMahon joined Josh Borovsky for a live Q&A session with Musky Insider PRO members. 🔥

Both of these fellas fish heavily pressured water — and one of the challenges they talked about was getting on key spots during peak windows like moonrise/set, sunrise/set, or moon overhead/underfoot.

That’s when Ryan dropped this little nugget:

“It’s tough to beat others to the premium spots during obvious windows. But the real juice? Finding less obvious windows that everyone else is sleeping on.”

We’ve all seen fish go wild during a falling barometer — often even more than during solar or lunar triggers. But sometimes that drop isn’t tied to any major weather shift… and you won’t spot it with just your eyeballs. 👀

Ryan’s tried a bunch of weather and barometric apps, but most were clunky, confusing, or buried the good info under too many menus.

“Turns out the basic ‘Weather’ app that comes standard on iPhones has exactly what I needed.”

On the main screen, tap the barometric pressure tab. You’ll get an hourly breakdown — past and future — with arrows showing if it’s rising, falling, or staying steady.

“If I see a 2–3 hour chunk with a falling barometer, I treat it like any other predictable feeding window. And the best part? Way easier to get on the A+ stuff without the usual traffic — and those ‘ignored’ windows often align with good fish activity.”

💡 PRO members — if you missed the live session, don’t worry! The full replay is now in the member portal. Loaded with juicy real-time updates, hot tips, and tactical talk — especially if you’re headed to Lake Vermilion, LOTW, or Canadian Shield water anytime soon.

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Not a PRO member yet?

We recently cleared our waitlist and reopened the doors… but it won’t last long.

Now’s your shot to join the crew — and get access to our limited drop of custom-colored Musky Innovations Mag Dawgs, Pounders, and Magnum Shallow Swimmin’ Dawgs. Members are already boating big fish on ‘em.

Still a few left… for now. Learn more and lock in your spot here. 

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BTW – Ryan’s hosting his annual Western MN Musky Outing this fall:

📆 September 26–28

Join Ryan, Mike Kramer, and Josh Borovsky for an unforgettable fall musky adventure in western Minnesota.

You’ll spend the weekend learning proven casting and live bait techniques from three of our PRO instructors while chasing tanks on some of MN’s best trophy water.

SPRO’s new KGB K-Rig brings that schooling concept to swimbaits, rigging three KGB swimbaits together to mimic a tight bait pod.

Multiple rigging + retrieve options in one setup. Technically a bass bait, but there’s zero doubt this thing will get mauled by ‘skies.

The real question: Can the rig and hooks hold up to a musky?👀

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Hooked on Safety

Nothing kills a hot bite faster than an accidental piercing that sends you (or your buddy) to the ER.

The Hedition-Pro Quick Release Fishhook Extractor is built to pop out hooks quickly and cleanly, with minimal carnage.

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New Abu Garcia BEAST 300 & 400

Abu’s bringing heat with their redesigned BEAST series. The 300 and 400-size reels have an A-Symmetric frame that’s up to 21% larger than before while keeping the palm side of the reel the same size.

With the oversized Duragear Gen III system and a full revamp, these reels are built for torque, drag performance, and durability. Big-time cranking power in a low-profile body.

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Blade Mods Made Easy

Adding teaser blades to tubes and bucktails is 🔥 right now — but modding baits takes time (and sometimes a few swear words).

Enter the Gamakatsu One Touch Blades. These come in two styles:

• One clips directly to trebles with a bead-locking setup to keep it inline during your retrieve.

• One’s built for single-hook setups (spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, etc.).

We’re not 100% sure if the biggest size fits all musky sized hooks — but with a little creativity, we’re betting it might work. 🎯

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Musky-Sized Please!

A couple of cool new products that aren’t quite musky-ready yet, but still worth a look…

👉 Rapala Claptail 110: Designed with Jacob Wheeler, this little topwater has a clapping metal blade + prop setup. Too small as-is, but might inspire a slick mod on a musky sized tail plopper-style bait. 🤔

👉 Yak Attack Folding Net: This thing folds up slick with an ergonomic handle — ideal for solo missions out of small rigs, kayaks, or canoes. 

No musky-sized version yet, but fingers crossed for next year. 🤞

No guarantees we’ll see musky versions of all these… but we can dream, right?

 

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One of the Good Ones Is Down — Let’s Step Up

This isn’t our typical newsletter format — but this is bigger than baits, patterns, or fishing tips.

Tim Barker is a well-known musky guide who splits his time between Lake Minnetonka and the waters of Kentucky. You may have seen his big fish pics or run into him at a boat launch. He’s one of the good ones — always quick to help, always generous with his time and knowledge.

Unfortunately, Tim was seriously injured in a car accident on July 11 and rushed to the ICU with a long list of injuries: brain bleeding, a fractured occipital bone (at the base of the skull), a broken wrist, and more.

He’s now out of the hospital, but the road ahead is long. Tim is facing weeks of speech, occupational, and neuro-physical therapy. And he won’t be allowed back behind the wheel of a boat (his livelihood) until he’s cleared by the Minnesota Brain Institute. That could take six weeks… or longer.

This isn’t just a lost season. It’s a crushing financial hit for someone whose life revolves around chasing muskies and helping others catch theirs.

That’s where we come in . . .

A GoFundMe has been set up to help with medical bills and lost income. If just a fraction of the 20,000+ musky fanatics reading this chip in, we can make a real difference for a fellow stick when he needs it most.

Fellow guide Gregg Schroeder put it best:

“Tim is one of the kindest people I’ve met. He would literally do anything to help someone out. Just one example: Last summer, the axle on my trailer broke at the access. I was stranded and about to miss multiple guide trips. Tim and his brother Brian dropped everything, drove straight to me, diagnosed the issue, tracked down parts all over the cities, and got me back on the road. That’s just who Tim is.”

Let’s return the favor . . .

Click here to donate to Tim’s GoFundMe and let’s show him what this community is all about.

#2 – Wood wizard Charles Weiss is at it again 🔥 This 50-inch beast of a carving was shaped with hand tools and pure artistry—pine never looked so mean.

#3 – Hot off the press at Ezoko: Les Leurres Tots just dropped a fresh batch of custom swimbaits, including Lemontail and Sexy Shad colorways. Handmade in Quebec and lookin’ spicy. 🇨🇦🔥

#4 – This time lapse drone flyover from Musky Fool’s Figure 8 Chronicles has us feelin’ all kinds of artsy. Slick water, epic vibes, and some serious northwoods eye candy.

Parker Leszczynski is just 9 years old and already has a nearly 50-incher under his belt 😳 This 49.5” bruiser from the Wisconsin River made sure his first musky is one he’ll never forget. Future stick in the making!

Kevin Mc Cuaig grew up dreaming of river monsters thanks to his grandpa — and just made that dream real with this 54” giant! This mega ’skie crushed his bait while fishing with Benoit Page Senecal. Pretty sure Grandpa called the shot. 🎣👑

Buckle up: 15-year-old Maddie stuck a 54” monster on a Big Action Baits Flutter Glide… then followed it up with a 50”! Her dad Kevin and guide Jean Laprise weren’t just watching — Kevin added a 52” of his own. Three 50s in one window? That’s bending the musky matrix. 💥

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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