Posted by Rainman from dialup-65.56.128.97.dial1.chicago1.level3.net on February 14, 2002 at 20:08:02:
In Reply to: Re: muskie fishing@lake of the woods posted by nubbin on February 05, 2002 at 22:19:26:
Early July is the start of the summer peak. If it's a late spring your best bet is to find beaches with emerging weeds. This will be some of the warmest water and the walleye will still be hanging out here (forage). I always start throwing black/silver bucktail or a big spinnerbait to see if I can find any aggressive fish. Someone should also throw something a little slower like a jerkbait or a shallow crankbait in a natural color like perch or sucker pattern.
If you get a real hot day or it starts raining pull out those topwaters. In my opinion, there is no better rainy day bait than a walk-the-dog style top water. Water temp makes no difference! I landed a 40" muskie & had a 45-48" hit at shabbona in the rain this november in 43° water.
Prop topwaters seem to get good around 6:00 until dusk.
Late July you have to deal with the bloom, so it's usually best to go with brighter colors and bigger baits (they're easier for you to see, I don't think muskies care). When the bloom is thick I like to toss top waters even in the brightest sunlight.
The best advice I can give you is cover good water and make mental notes of where you get follows. Go back to these spots when you get weather changes like sudden windshifts, when the wind just stops, when a storm is rolling in or just blew through.