When looking to catch big muskies you will have to ask yourself a few questions before hitting the water. What do you consider BIG? Where are you going to fish? What technique you will choose? And how much time and money you are willing to invest to pursue that fish of a lifetime.
Muskies are a huge fresh water predator fish that receive plenty of attention for those addicted to the sport. Like other anglers the hard core muskieman is fixed on that personal best or the possibility of the next world record. Spending as many days and hours on the water, fishing in lousy conditions to say the least. Muskie season lasts into mid December in some locations and these hard core anglers are fishing in wind, waves and freezing temperatures. These guys make the postman look like a boy scout. But their goal is another fish, whether a personal best or world record.
Here in Ontario we have the chance to catch the next world record with great bodies of water like, Georgian Bay, Lake Nippissing, Lake of the Woods, Ottawa, French and St. Lawrence Rivers all have the possibility of the next BIG one. Other excellent choices to catch big fish would include, the Kawartha Lakes and Lake St. Clair. Although these two bodies hold big fish, it is unlikely that a huge fish that are seen on the other bodies listed will be present. But personal bests are achieved on Lake St. Clair and the Kawartha Lakes frequently. They do hold 50" fish but what they do lack is the girth that muskies from the other waters have shown in their catches.
Now, what about the technique that you will be using to land that big girl?
Casting and trolling equipment will differ from your bass and walleye gear. Specialty gear will be required to work with effectiveness. Heavier rods, reels and line will be needed to land that brute.
Rods will be rated as "musky action" able to throw and troll baits in excess of more than 8 oz. You will probably want a few rods to cast or troll different baits. Smaller inline spinners and spinnerbaits weighing up to 2 oz will most likely use a "med heavy" musky rod and the heavier baits like jerkbaits will require a heavy action rod that will be rated to throw the big "stuff". I would suggest looking at the Shimano Compre series of musky rods and a large capacity baitcasting reel like the Shimano Cardiff or Calcutta. These reels have silky smooth drags and large spools that are needed with the larger diameter lines that are used while musky fishing. I use both mono and braided line for muskie fishing. I use mono for trolling and braided for casting and jigging. Yes "jigging" for muskies, I will talk about that later. For trolling I would suggest 30-50 lb Gamma high performance fishing line and 65-80 lb braid for casting and jigging. The only problem with braid is if you get a snag. It is very tough to break and can slice your hand when you try and pull it free or bust off. Trolling reels with line counters make it easier to repeat a working pattern. I use the Shimano Tekota 500LC.
During the early part of the season when casting I look for emerging weeds in shallow bays. Areas with rock help too as the weeds and rocks will help warm the waters. I like to throw large bucktails like the Northland Bionic Bucktail spinnerbait over the weeds. I retrieve these fast giving the muskies no time to think, but only react. The big bucktails are great for covering water quickly and looking for active fish. If I get a follow or miss a fish it is good to have another rod ready with a jerkbait and try to entice the musky with the wounded action.
Although many "good" fish are landed during the early season and well into the summer, many of the trophy fish are hooked during the fall months of October and November. During this time of year big fish will follow bait into the bays and rivers and feed heavily. This is the time when the hard core musky angler is out looking for his or her own trophy. Whether it is casting, trolling or even jigging big fish are caught with some regularity during these months.
During the later months I like to cast large baits like a 10" Jake or Magnum Bull Dawg. These big fish are looking for food and the Jake has a slow wobble that entices bites. The Bull Dawg is a soft plastic bait that has a tail that hypnotizes a musky into striking. Once again rock is a good choice to be fishing during the fall. The sun heats the rocks and attracts bait and soon the other predators will show up for the "buffet".
In rivers a little known technique which is slowly catching on is jigging. Rivers like the Detroit, Ottawa and Niagara all have a decent current which can sometimes make presenting your bait difficult. Here on the Detroit River myself and BASS tournament angler Jon Bondy have been jigging for muskies with good success. Jon invented the Bondy Bait which is a 7 oz soft plastic that works well in current conditions. I choose to use large jigs, 1 oz with a long shank hook and large 6" or 8" sassy shad. Both have work well and have taken a number of large 50" class fish. I think we both got the idea while jigging for spring walleyes. We would hook into a number of incidental muskies and figured lets see if we jig for the toothy critters. Jigging can also be effective for deep water muskies that don't seem to want to move for a trolled or casted lure. One other lure that was made to jig is the Fuzzy Duzzit.
One of the best investments for new anglers or an angler looking to increase their knowledge is to hire a guide, whether it is on your home lake or river, a vacation destination. Guides can help you eliminate water and choose baits and equipment that might other wise be wasted on useless gear. Most guides have great knowledge and are willing to share some of that to make your fishing experiences better.