musky/northern fishing

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muddy
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musky/northern fishing

Unread postby muddy » Sat May 08, 2010 7:34 am

Who on here really lives/breathes big musky and northern fishing? I have no idea how to catch them but really want to make a trip and "get into them".

Anyone know any reputable guides who are somewhat inexpensive?

When is the best time to go?

Where is the best place? States or Canada? I'd rather stay in the states if possible.


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Re: musky/northern fishing

Unread postby Sam Ubl » Sat May 08, 2010 8:45 am

Minnesota has some reputable lakes, but their big water lakes and lodging/guides are expensive, however, there are some great guides on those waters! Estimate around $200/$250 for a half-day and $350/$450 for a full-day, depending on you choose. . . I'll point you to the right guys once you decide on a lake.

MN waters I would recommend for BIG fish pictures are:
Cass Lake
Leech Lake
Bemidji
Minnatonka
Mille Lacs
Vermillion

BUT...If you're the adventurous type like me, you'll reconsider the above mentioned lakes and ask for a guide who will take you on some smaller ponds for some awesome action with the chance for a biggie. . . I don't know, after a while I get sick of looking at the giants they pull out of those big lakes where average fish are mid-forties and 50's are common. . . It's like seeing big deer shot out of a fence or something - that's my opinion anyways. You want a bragging picture that feels good inside to show off because you know it came from a place where people haven't seen the same fish a thousand times, fish a less known body of water or a small one.


Wisconsin is my favorite! I love the Northwoods with all the little puddles to fish. If you want to come to South East Wisconsin, a couple good friends of mine are wonderful people to spend the day in the boat with, AND they are true masters of the waters they guide. I'd take you but I'm so busy with tournaments and time on the water with friends and family, I rarely have time to take others out.

You want to ask me about people, lakes, blah blah blah, please do - I have a lot of answers.
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magicman54494
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Re: musky/northern fishing

Unread postby magicman54494 » Sat May 08, 2010 9:07 am

You can really hammer the big northerns in Canada in the early spring when the suckers run. The last time we went (many years ago) we caught about 200 in 4 days. The smallest was about 26" the biggest was 42".
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Hodag Hunter
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Re: musky/northern fishing

Unread postby Hodag Hunter » Sat May 08, 2010 10:29 am

First, one must decide if your after big pike or big musky.....rarely do they co-exist. Before anyone second guesses what I just said I mean in fishable populations.....one of the few lakes that buck the above statement is Lake of the Woods. LOTW's is mainly in Canada so this is probably out per your description. Another is Green Bay, both big pike and musky, but lacks the "go north" fishing adventure.

If pike is your game and relativly close to you; maybe try Lake Mendota near Madison. Big pike but not the "up-north" feel. Besides Chequamegon Bay, near Ashland, good luck finding big pike waters in WI. Large ones are here but few and far between. Most folks don't venture to WI for trophy pike, sad really, as our state doesn't manage water for trophys. :(

Musky, well Wi still lacks in top shelf trophy water but we do hold our own. Do you want a legit shot at 48" and above or are you looking for a weekend fishing trip with decant action and mid 30 inch fish with a few low 40's thrown in? If this is your pick just ask and I can take you out. , we can have a weekend outing of it and have a few others join in with their boats and fish in and around the Rhinelander area. Good times.

If your set on a guide in WI, not a bad idea, let me know I can hook you up with Mark Lijewski or Rob Manthei. Know both personally and both are good, very good, in fact I think Mark can catch a musky in a toliet bowl.

Sam mentions MN, great trophy fishing no doubt, but most of the lakes he mentioned are true trophy waters and for a first timer I don't suggest heading there. Vermillion is typically a night bite, Mille Lacs was awfull tough last year. I know very good musky fisherman who fished both, many times last year, and were skunked a few weekends. Trophy waters... that comes with the territory, please be forwarned.

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. I live and die musky fishing from mid June thru early October....almost as bad as bowhunting.

Below is what I would call the best of the best.....something to always look forward to.

Pike
http://www.taltsonbaypike.com/

Musky
http://www.andymyerslodge.com/fishing_e ... canada.htm
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Re: musky/northern fishing

Unread postby dan » Sat May 08, 2010 1:02 pm

Musky you can fish a couple days with a great musky guide and catch one or two, or on a bad trip catch none..... Northerns can be easier to catch.
I too, would recommend you pick your species before the trip. Or target one species one day, and the other the next.
If I were in your shoes, I would call Todd Meyers if looking for a guide.
He can get you into either fish. Tell him your from this site and know me and I am sure he will look out for you.
Todd Meyer: 414-916-4710
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Re: musky/northern fishing

Unread postby dan » Sat May 08, 2010 1:15 pm

If you make it up here for the Hunting beast outing and bring a rod there are northerns in just about all the rivers around here. I hammer them and you don't need a guide. But the river fish are not huge. I get them from as small as 20" to as big as about 30 inches. Rare for me to get them in the rivers over 30, but not unheard of... My dad got a river pike that was just under 50 inches in the rock river, and I got one well over 40 inches in the waukesha fox river...
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Re: musky/northern fishing

Unread postby Dewey » Sat May 08, 2010 6:13 pm

Green Bay and the Fox River are the best right now for a large Musky in WI and I have heard that Dennis Radloff is one the best guide's there. I hope to fish there sometime soon.
http://www.sterlingmusky.com/
If I am not bowhunting I am usually musky fishing so it's really hard to make a choice once September begins. We usually fish in Vilas county in the Boulder Junction/Presque Isle area and over to Land O' Lakes. Great area with lot's of history of very large fish.
This August my Dad and I will be heading up to Ontario to Lake Of The Woods(Sabaskong Bay area) This will be our first time musky fishing up there so we are really excited about having a chance at some huge fish.
Be careful.....Once musky fishing gets in your blood you will be addicted for life. Not that that's a bad thing but I now have a hard time fishing for anything else but musky because like the saying goes..."ALL OTHER FISH ARE JUST BAIT"!!!
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Re: musky/northern fishing

Unread postby Hodag Hunter » Sun May 09, 2010 12:30 am

Dewey, Nice area your heading to on LOTW. Been there a few times and hate to leave everytime we go.

Where you staying? going with a group or your first time up? Buddy of mine just bought a place near Mylie's...he orginally leased a cabin for the past 6-7 years but wanted to own. We will make one for sure if not more trips this year. Walleye fishing is fantastic also and don't forget plenty of jigs.

Muddy,

Never thought of it but I know there is a few lakes right in IA that contain musky.....I just don't know a thing about them.
Maybe try this link....would be a start for musky right in your home state.
http://www.muskiesinc.org/Default.asp?a ... ersByState

Another site to hit and maybe introduce yourself is MuskieFirst. A few guys post about fishing IA...maybe they can lend some advice in your home state if don't really want to travel just yet.

http://muskie.outdoorsfirst.com/board/category-view.asp
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Re: musky/northern fishing

Unread postby Dewey » Sun May 09, 2010 2:04 am

Hodag Hunter wrote:Dewey, Nice area your heading to on LOTW. Been there a few times and hate to leave everytime we go.

Where you staying? going with a group or your first time up


Hodag Hunter
We will be staying at Canadian Haven.http://www.canadianhaven.com/
It will just be my Dad and I and it will be our first time up there.
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Re: musky/northern fishing

Unread postby Hodag Hunter » Mon May 10, 2010 2:02 am

Dewey,

Looks to be a good area and have heard good things regarding Nestor Falls.....supposedly water is clearer than western Sabaskong Bay. Good Luck to you and your father.

We fish out from Morson....if you plan on heading that far west I can maybe show some spots on a map for you. From Morson we fish about as far east as Blueberry Island, North to Miles Bay and sometimes Whitfish Bay along with heading West from Morson.
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Re: musky/northern fishing

Unread postby muddy » Tue May 11, 2010 3:23 am

I would say I'm going to commit to musky, I've caught a half dozen pike and from what I hear they're a lot easier to get into. I would then say I'm wanting Wisconsin or Minnesota, something close by. I do not have to hook a 45+ incher, I want to simply see/catch a musky, if it's 30 inches, that's a damn big fish for what I'm used to catching.... if it's 20 inches that's still a new fish on my "life list".

A weekend thing with a bunch of members on here would be perfect as I'd rather meet/greet people that I'll be interacting with for the next dozen years or so than some guy I'll likely never see again (guide) after 1 trip.

As far as the beast gathering, there is a possibility I can make the trip and if there are pike in the river nearby I'll be casting rather than shooting carp. I've killed more carp than any of you can imagine over the years.
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Re: musky/northern fishing

Unread postby Sam Ubl » Tue May 11, 2010 8:34 am

Hodag, curious to how you know Mark personally? Do construction with him? He's a damn good stick, probably one of the most proven in the industry with his consistency. Rob kills it on LSG, or so his legend proceeds him, and from what I can tell from his upbeat personna, he'd be a hoot to spend a day on the water with - good suggestions.

Muddy, Iowa has several decent ski lakes, but from what I know, they are hybrid strain (tigers). Lake Okoboji, Clear Lake, Spirit Lake, Big Creek Lake and Rathbun Reservoir are amongst the once most talked about in your area from what I know. I'm not sure how Iowa is with repetitious lake names, so you may have to do some research to find the actual musky inhabited lakes I mentioned. . . In Wisconsin, we have at least 5 lakes with the same name for many lakes. . .
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Re: musky/northern fishing

Unread postby Hodag Hunter » Tue May 11, 2010 9:35 am

Well maybe we can plan a Beast musky fishing weekend in Rhinelander.? Who ever is in maybe post here. Dan is this allright?

Currently I have my house for sale in Rhinelander and if it's not sold we can stay there for a weekend this summer. (Been on the market over a year and really don't see her going anywhere soon). House is relatively empty, except for a few beds, but with air mattresses no problem sleeping a dozen or so guys. Have a camp fire in the back yard at night, tell stories, drink some beer and more than enough room for guys that want to pull a camper up and park if they so desire. House is about 8 miles north of Rhinelander set in the woods, few neighbors and quite secluded. Nice place to relax after a hard day of fishing.

In case the house sells I also own another chunk of land just west of Rhinelander (10 miles) we could camp on if desired, no power........plans are when house sells I'll build a cabin there but don't see that happening this year.

If guys want to camp right on a musky lake I know of a fantastic musky numbers lake that is free camping and no houses or cabins on it.....almost like being in Canada. About 45 minutes from Rhinelander. Camp sites are limited and only accessible by boat, some of us could be there Thursday night or early Friday to "stake claim" for the weekend. Lake is good perch fishing also.

If the group wants to musky fish a different area of the state, I'm in with this option also.

Lets see what intrest this generates.

Sam,

Fish with Mark on and off, netted a 46"-47" for him last summer. We talk back and forth through out the year for fishing updates/reports. He called the other day and said he took 2nd in a tourney on Cave Run. The man can catch fish no doubt.

Also IA has pure strain fish in most of their lakes.....not all tigers. Has been for years....have an old Musky Hunter mag from '95 or '96 showing them collecting eggs in the spring in IA. Never fished IA personally so I know little regarding musky fishing in IA.
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Re: musky/northern fishing

Unread postby dan » Tue May 11, 2010 9:45 am

Well maybe we can plan a Beast musky fishing weekend in Rhinelander.? Who ever is in maybe post here. Dan is this allright?

Absolutely alright with me!
I will go if Im free and can team up with a boat... Matbe I can get Andrea to come. He is really into musky fishing.
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Re: musky/northern fishing

Unread postby muddy » Wed May 12, 2010 5:15 am

I want to fish musky in a more musky like area, Iowa is not a musky like area. I also have ZERO musky fishing tackle and no boat, pretty much at someone's mercy.
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