Posted: 2/15/2013 9:56:53 AM EDT
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Pike was the fish that brought me to fishing bliss in 1974 BUT I have never caught a Muskie. The time has come so I think I may hit this show on Saturday.
Anybody ever been to this before or going this year? http://www.muskieexpo.com/ |
| If you're a musky angler this is the show in the state to go to. I always had a booth there until the last couple years as the cost just outweighed the benefit for me IMO. I was not selling, just showing product so the $2,000 (booth, hotel, food, employee, etc.) just wasn't working out. |
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I was just looking over the web site. Looks like I could pick up a lot of info there. Since I really don't know Northern WI yet it looks like a good starting place.
There are 2 kids, 15 year old twins, doing a seminar on Sunday morning. Musky Brothers I love it. Do you guide or sell equipment? |
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I'm slowly getting back into fishing. Someday I will catch something larger than a panfish  When I took my daughter fishing for the first time, when she was about 6 or so, we went to the river, the same places I fished all the time when I was a kid. Now mind you, these waters DO have some game fish, but all I ever caught were bullheads, catfish, carp, small bluegills, and a few sheephead. Never caught a "game fish", but heard rumors of them. So anyway, the first time out, I have her fish where she's likely to catch some panfish,something easy, y'know? she catches a legal length smallmouth bass.. 
Why didn't I ever catch anything like that in those same waters?? 
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I haven't been fishing for about 12 years now. But now that I have "semi-retired" (no longer working nights & weekends) I plan on doing some musky fishing this summer. It's always been my favorite fishing (the "fish of a 1,000 casts"), and once you hook into one, all other fishing takes a back-seat. 
First one I caught, I was 12 yrs old, and fishing for northerns in a 10' jon-boat, casting an ancient red/white Daredevil lure, on a lake near New Auburn in Rusk county. The fish was 49" long.... almost half the length of the boat <insert music from "Jaws" here> I didn't have an anchor down, and the fish "towed" me around for awhile, before it finally tired-out. I didn't even know it was a Musky til I got back to the dock and showed it to my Dad (I thought it was the biggest northern in the lake  ). This was back in the 60s... we didn't do much catch & release back then... we ate them. 
I've got some lures still in the packages that I've never used, made by a good friend of mine (Joe Bucher). Can't wait to try them. |
| My grandpa was catching muskies daily around the park falls area before they moved back here. Their not necessarily an up north fish, they have them right here in kenosha county in silver lake. I still remember the one my grandpa hooked twice back when I was like 10 up at lac vieux dessert, a lake on the WI MI border. It was like a damn alligator in the water. The 12lb test was nothing, snapped it right off twice. |
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I'm slowly getting back into fishing. Someday I will catch something larger than a panfish It's OK dude, you are no less of a man just because all you catch is "cat food." Fishing was the thing my Dad and I landed on that we could truly share and it was the last thing we did together before he passed. Early in our fishing careers we went down different paths and by age 12 it was clear we had to have two boats, partly for my Dad's own safety. One trip to the ER was enough. One boat was dedicated to catching cat food or "groceries" for the freezer, the other boat was for pursuing exotics. Exotics was defined as any fish larger than your hand. There was was one rule, if Dad felt we were falling behind on catching our limit of Perch and Gills, then everyone rigged some slip bobbers and ultralights and we would rendevue at the fish house with our baskets. Hey, he was paying for the trip. Even when I was an adult with my own boat and family, if Dad needed cat food for the freezer, slip bobbers came out! I would curse him because sometimes the fish were too god damn small to clean, cat food. He would come right back with the accusation I only fished for exotics. The first trip we took after he passed, at some point I asked, who is going to break out the slip bobbers and catch some cat food for the freezer? We are no where near our limit! The baton had been passed. So even though we may mock you, your skills and manliness, you do have value. FYI if you use true slip bobbers, you will catch big fish while panfishing. If you smoke and use ultralights while doing it, you will look way cool too. |
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My grandpa was catching muskies daily around the park falls area before they moved back here. Their not necessarily an up north fish, they have them right here in kenosha county in silver lake. I still remember the one my grandpa hooked twice back when I was like 10 up at lac vieux dessert, a lake on the WI MI border. It was like a damn alligator in the water. The 12lb test was nothing, snapped it right off twice. Lac Vieux Desert is known for it's Tiger Muskies. A Tiger is a northern pike / musky hybrid, and are very "aggressive" fish.
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First one I caught, I was 12 yrs old, and fishing for northerns in a 10' jon-boat, casting an ancient red/white Daredevil lure, on a lake near New Auburn in Rusk county. Must be a magic age. I was 11, we had just moved to ND. I joined the Scout troop on base, most of our camp outs were in MN. I see a Pike and I am mesmerized by it. WTH is that thing? I spend all winter reading Fishing Facts (74-75 when the art work on the covers was worth the price alone), Outdoor Life and Field & Stream. I had a paper route on base delivering the Minneapolis paper on Sundays and saved my money. My research determined that if I was going to land a state record Pike, I needed a Bait casting reel. I went down to the BX on base and sat there with all the reels. Being two handed I determined that I in fact was a left handed fisherman so I bought an Abu 5001C. To go with it, a Lew's Speed Stick that collapsed. This rig would fit in my pack. I bought some cranks and I was ready. Spring came and on one camp out I find myself on shore in an isolated spot with what surely was the largest gathering of Pike ever in the shallows. You know, the 100lb Pike we often see. They were maybe 15 feet away, circling some crappies and just going to town. Oh my God my time had come! ALL HAIL Pike Slayer is here. I make my first cast..................birds nest. I fix it, I reel in, I make my next cast, birds nest. This routine continues for every cast. I was 11.5 years old and on the verge of having a life ending heart attack. I did this for god knows how long but yes you are right, I didn't catch a single fish. Clearly I had some skills issues that needed to be worked out that nobody mentioned in all those articles I read, but from that day on I was hooked on Pike. My concern is Muskie fisherman seem a bit obsessive, even to me. |
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My concern is Muskie fisherman seem a bit obsessive, even to me. Yup, they certainly are. My Dad was a musky fishing fanatic. He never fished for anything else. To him, panfish were just "musky bait". He's gone now, and i've got his rod & reel (Heddon rod and Abu Ambassadeur 6000C... exact same as mine, so I have two of each) and most of his lures. Musky fishermen are almost as obsessive as duck hunters. My wife does not understand why someone would need 10 fishing rods & 50 bucktails / crankbaits... or 12 shotguns and 150 duck & 75 goose decoys, and a spare closet full of camo clothes. But she accepts my obsessions. |
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Musky fishermen are almost as obsessive as duck hunters.................................... But she accepts my obsessions. Whoa, not good. That is why I stayed away from duck hunting. I saw where that was going! I honestly thought the love of our Lab/bird dogs would bring my daughter and GF over to bird hunting. Fail, but they do get the guns thing. GF is not thrilled about Muskie Expo tomorrow. I expect some kind of diversionary tactic to get out of going. Our overlap in fishing has been to let her run the boat while I fan cast off the front. She is learning to anticipate where I want the boat to go. 
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How did I miss this thread? I'm a musky fanatic! FYI, there's a Musky Expo in Wausau on Mar 2-4 at the Patriot Center. Last year it was a decent show. The MN expo in April is closer to me so I'm going to that one this year.
If anyone is up in NW WI and wants to fish, let me know. I caught 40 muskies last season up 47". The year before I broke the 50" mark twice. I avg 370-400hrs on the water each season the past 3 years. 
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How did I miss this thread? I'm a musky fanatic! Poser. True fanatics knew about this thread. Having spent two hours at the show I am now in fact an expert. They said the Friday show had more people there then the show they had in Chicago, which is usually their largest show. We went Sunday and met a lot of great people, some from up Nort near you. My GF is outgoing, loves the outdoors, even use to be a river guide but fishing is not her thing. She goes on trips with me, just does not fish much BUT she has found Pike interesting. What was really nice, is just as expected, in booth after booth people won her over time and again. She really enjoyed it and being a Grateful Dead fan she liked the pretty colors on the lures. I told her she would. She even stopped to watch a few lures being worked in the demo tank. Good sign IMHO.
I also went to meet a guy who was there with Slammer Lures, Steve, he was very nice also an avid hunter. As a guy who has used Crankbaits for 40 years I freakin' loved their new injection molded baits. I bought a couple of their smallest lures on the spot. I regret not taking a picture of the Taxidermist booth, the guy only does reproductions of released fish and he had a very large Albino Musky in the display. My GF knew I wanted to meet the Musky Brothers and she found them while I was looking over the justencase products. When I was their age I met the Linder Boys so I wanted to meet the next Brother fishing team. Plus I wanted to tell them I liked what they we were doing. Good kids, check them out. When I grow up and become a Mucky Fisherman, I want to be like them. |
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inferno, trolling on the Bay? I've done a share of that myself. How was your year this year? It seems to have really slowed down in the last couple years up there. That one was caught trolling on the St Louis River between Duluth MN & Superior WI. I've fished Green Bay twice with Dennis Radloff (musky guide), but we only snagged one small one. We were out there on Nov 20th (2010) when Brett Jolly's boat got the 50lber. Sounds like GB has little to no natural reproduction, and the fish population is declining. We had a flood way up north last June and that washed out all the weed beds making for a very tough season. By Oct I had only caught 7 or 8 fish. Then I found an area that was holding lots of smaller (34-43") fish and did well until I quit in mid Nov. Also spent a lot of time fishing unfamiliar lakes last year. Namekagon showed me some nice ones, but most were seen randomly swimming by the boat instead of following. |
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inferno, trolling on the Bay? I've done a share of that myself. How was your year this year? It seems to have really slowed down in the last couple years up there. That one was caught trolling on the St Louis River between Duluth MN & Superior WI. I've fished Green Bay twice with Dennis Radloff (musky guide), but we only snagged one small one. We were out there on Nov 20th (2010) when Brett Jolly's boat got the 50lber. Sounds like GB has little to no natural reproduction, and the fish population is declining. We had a flood way up north last June and that washed out all the weed beds making for a very tough season. By Oct I had only caught 7 or 8 fish. Then I found an area that was holding lots of smaller (34-43") fish and did well until I quit in mid Nov. Also spent a lot of time fishing unfamiliar lakes last year. Namekagon showed me some nice ones, but most were seen randomly swimming by the boat instead of following. The very best musky fishing I've ever had is the Flambeau river, below the Turtle Flambeau Flowage dam. There used to be a guide service that'd float you down the river, from the landing by the dam to about 15 miles downstream toward Park Falls. They used old wooden boats, as there are a few rapids you must go through that'd ding the hell out of aluminum boats. My dad and I used to go several times a year, and we both caught 50"+ fish almost every trip, and I swear to God we saw some 60" fish in that river. We'd each have a rod with a sucker out, and we also would cast bucktails into the "pools" below the rapids. When they'd hit, the whole pool would just EXPLODE when they broke the surface. It was an awesome experience you'd never forget. The same stretch of river had awesome smallmouth bass fishing too.
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| 45, I got confused by the arch on the bridge in the back ground but now that you mention it I can see that it's not the Tower Drive bridge. Yes Green Bay has no reproduction to speak of. A couple guys on my pro staff are guides on GB and they have had some bad years the last couple years. I had a 5 fish day up there about 6 years ago and I launched at the begining of a Packer game and left after the game! |
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45, I got confused by the arch on the bridge in the back ground but now that you mention it I can see that it's not the Tower Drive bridge. Yes Green Bay has no reproduction to speak of. A couple guys on my pro staff are guides on GB and they have had some bad years the last couple years. I had a 5 fish day up there about 6 years ago and I launched at the begining of a Packer game and left after the game! I follow Bret Alexander on Facebook, and he seemed to have a decent season in 2012. There were rumors of Winnebago becoming the next big thing, but either guys are keeping quiet or it hasn't happened yet. I had a 5 fish day this past Oct, but they were all small ones. We had a 9 fish day topped with a 49.5" in 2011. That was one of those days when everything lined up right. No matter what you think you know about those fish, they always have something to teach you. Each season is different. The challenge makes it so fascinating. |
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The very best musky fishing I've ever had is the Flambeau river, below the Turtle Flambeau Flowage dam. There used to be a guide service that'd float you down the river, from the landing by the dam to about 15 miles downstream toward Park Falls. They used old wooden boats, as there are a few rapids you must go through that'd ding the hell out of aluminum boats. My dad and I used to go several times a year, and we both caught 50"+ fish almost every trip, and I swear to God we saw some 60" fish in that river. We'd each have a rod with a sucker out, and we also would cast bucktails into the "pools" below the rapids. When they'd hit, the whole pool would just EXPLODE when they broke the surface. It was an awesome experience you'd never forget. The same stretch of river had awesome smallmouth bass fishing too.
There's a couple guys doing float trips down rivers near Hayward, all flyfishing. Once I get more comfortable with casting I'm going to try that. The biggest musky I've ever seen is the one pictured above. We have stained water where I fish, so you can't see all the follows you get. Any Muskies Inc members on here? I'm in chapter 33. We have a tournament in July, and Take A Veteran fishing outing in August. |
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I missed the show. Too much going on and couldn't make it happen.
My neighbor's grandfather was a fishing guide in Eagle River for a number of years. The house is still in the family so we went up there a handful of times last summer to check out some of grandpa's "secret" holes. The first weekend up there, I caught my first musky and it was at night. I haven't had that much fun in a long time. Can't wait for some warmer days to get the boat in the water. If the 2nd/3rd shift workers keep buying up all the ammo, I'll be doing a lot more fishing and a lot less shooting this summer. |
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Some day Im going to make it to that show. The Madison Fishing show is OK, but I really want to hit the musky show. Luckily Im not as obsessive as most people. I usually switch between bass and musky in the same day depending on where Im fishing in the Madison chain, and how many weeds are floating =/ So did anyone make it there? Is it worth a 1.5 hour trip? How are the speakers?
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Quoted: Quoted: inferno, trolling on the Bay? I've done a share of that myself. How was your year this year? It seems to have really slowed down in the last couple years up there. That one was caught trolling on the St Louis River between Duluth MN & Superior WI. I've fished Green Bay twice with Dennis Radloff (musky guide), but we only snagged one small one. We were out there on Nov 20th (2010) when Brett Jolly's boat got the 50lber. Sounds like GB has little to no natural reproduction, and the fish population is declining. We had a flood way up north last June and that washed out all the weed beds making for a very tough season. By Oct I had only caught 7 or 8 fish. Then I found an area that was holding lots of smaller (34-43") fish and did well until I quit in mid Nov. Also spent a lot of time fishing unfamiliar lakes last year. Namekagon showed me some nice ones, but most were seen randomly swimming by the boat instead of following. The next state record will come from the upper fox/Green Bay. Trust me ;) I fish in Canada every year with one of the WI DNR Musky biologists. There is a stocking program up there. |
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inferno, trolling on the Bay? I've done a share of that myself. How was your year this year? It seems to have really slowed down in the last couple years up there. That one was caught trolling on the St Louis River between Duluth MN & Superior WI. I've fished Green Bay twice with Dennis Radloff (musky guide), but we only snagged one small one. We were out there on Nov 20th (2010) when Brett Jolly's boat got the 50lber. Sounds like GB has little to no natural reproduction, and the fish population is declining. We had a flood way up north last June and that washed out all the weed beds making for a very tough season. By Oct I had only caught 7 or 8 fish. Then I found an area that was holding lots of smaller (34-43") fish and did well until I quit in mid Nov. Also spent a lot of time fishing unfamiliar lakes last year. Namekagon showed me some nice ones, but most were seen randomly swimming by the boat instead of following. The next state record will come from the upper fox/Green Bay. Trust me ;) I fish in Canada every year with one of the WI DNR Musky biologists. There is a stocking program up there. Yes there is a stocking program but right now we are in a very thin time period as the stocking was halted for a couple years due to VHS and those are the year classes that we would have been catching right now. There are some dig fish in the system for sure but as long as the state still recognizes Louie Spray fake fish I don't think we will see an official new state record. |
| True, but record class muskies are much older than the period they stopped stocking. They have shocked some absolute monsters in that area. Its too bad VHS stopped the stocking of Winnebago. Not that any record class skies would ever be grown there, its just much closer and I actually know those lakes...haha. |
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Bago' could grow some big fish. Good forage base with sha, and I bet lots of rough fish. Huge system. It'll be interesting to see what happens with Green Bay. With all that shallow water it's hard to believe they're not reproducing. Odd.
They stopped stocking up here in 2004 (iirc), and we've caught both strains (we have WI and MN fish) that were naturally reproduced. One has to wonder, since both our fisheries drain in a Great Lake, how many roamers dissapear out into the ozone? A year or two ago I saw pictures of a musky caught off shore in Milwaukee that had come from GB! |
| The big lake is pretty cold for muskys, sure they can live there bit I'm not sure that's their prefered water. I heard one DNR biologist say the only problem with the muskys in GB is that they actually get big to fast! They don't live as long because they are basically obese! |
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I highly doubt Lake Michigan is too cold for them. They go out into Lake Superior, and Georgian Bay ONT, has huge muskies.
They will follow the baitfish out of their comfort zone, but they might not stay there for long. For example, they can go deeper to eat ciscos, smelt, or whitefish, then suspend in the top 15' of water where it's warmer with higher oxygen levels. |