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Fishing Report for Muskie using Live Bait Rigs in Fall

Jason Halfen

Blue Ambassador

10/19/20

  • Species

    Muskie

  • Season

    Fall

  • Technique

    Live Bait Rigs

  • Structure

    Submerged Vegetation

It seems like winter is just around the corner at the Chippewa Flowage near Hayward WI. On a weekend that featured snow, wind, and then some more snow, we managed to make contact with several big Flowage muskies on suckers. The only fish we were able to trigger were shallow - from shoreline out to the inside weed line. In many cases, we idled along a promising stretch of shoreline and imaged these fish with Humminbird MEGA Side Imaging - before we ever put a bait in the water. Once we spotted a fish, we circled around, lowered large suckers rigged on quick-strike rigs and suspended beneath a float, and used our Minn Kota Ulterra to pull us through the zone at speeds of 0.3-0.5 mph. Seems like a fair number of fish in those ultra-shallows - give that a try if you're heading up in the next few weeks. Keep in mind, the Flowage has already been lowered by about 5 feet, so you'll encounter a fair number of navigation hazards that aren't normally a problem. Be sure to use the Water Level Offset feature of your Humminbird Lakemaster card to account for the low water.

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