Muskies

[eyesoneyes]

Spent two days wasting my time fishing Muskies in on the west side. Zero fish caught. Moved to Wahkon Bay and had the best Musky fishing I have ever had. 53, and 4 in the upper 40s! Five fish in one afternoon! Go Double Cowgirls!

[cjac]

Nice afternoon for sure!

How close in time were the fish? Sounds like Mille this year, slow with very random and sporadic windows of activity. This is a good example of where keeping a log will help you to record the situation, weather, water temps in hope of doing it again.

[eyesoneyes]

I worked hard for them! They say you can catch one Musky for every 1000 casts. I believe I caught 5 in 1700 cast or so. Stay with what you know works and keep at it. Just make sure you release them as quick as possible so the guy in the boat next to you has a chance to catch em!

[FLnick87]

Ha it is tough to say catchin 5 skies in one day is workin hard for them! ha congrats, must have been an awesome day

[DHanson]

Congrats! Any pics by any chance? Let's see those hawgs...

[Shack]

Good to hear!

[SJonesi]

With all the pressure on the lake now, why name the location? Have never seen so much stupidity on the water as I have on Mille Lacs this season.It's been a fun ride. Steve

[BigFish1]

Whats wrong with naming the location. Isn't this website here to exchange information? If he wants to name the location why shouldn't he be able too?

[MUSKYMAN1011]

Lets see the Pics!

[PieEyed]

Naming locations gets debated time and time again, but I'm with Jonesi on this one. I think in the end everyone usually agrees that naming a location isn't a good practice. If everyone goes to a hot spot it won't be hot for long. Why not give everyone the excitment of going out on their own and trying to find that hotspot? That's why general location is always best.

[BigFish1]

Shouldn't that be up to the person that writes the post. If he wants to share info, why should he get criticized?

[PieEyed]

You're right no one should be criticized for stating a spot, I was just agreeing with Jonesi that I don't think it's a good practice, that's all. I like to take the other people that busted their hump to find a certain hotspot, into consideration before I post. Each to his own though.

[Fishin Dan]

You would think there is nothing wrong with giving exact spots when you post it, but how are you going to feel when you go out to that same spot the very next day only to find 7 boats fishing exactly where you were?

If you dont mind that then post exact spots. But i can get really frustrating really fast.

It is just usaully a better idea to post a more vague location, or if you got them on the rocks, or in the weeds, or ect.

There is nothing wrong with it at all, its always nice to help a few people out. You just can never know what will happen when you give out even a little bit of specific info,

[muskiedreams]

wahkon is a pretty general spot it is the size of most metro lakes. Congrats on the fish that is sweet!! I am just glad 2 hear a good report from up there.

[AllWet]

Naming locations gets debated time and time again, but I'm with Jonesi on this one. I think in the end everyone usually agrees that naming a location isn't a good practice. If everyone goes to a hot spot it won't be hot for long. Why not give everyone the excitment of going out on their own and trying to find that hotspot? That's why general location is always best.

Would it really be less exciting to know where the hot spot is?

Wahkon is general enough anyway and has always been popular for skis. Post away!

[HuntBigFish]

I'm with muskiedreams, I don't see that he gave any sort of exact location. There's lots of area in that bay and some huge expanses of weeds. I'm kind of glad he gave it up - hoping you all go there anyway so the other spots are less busy

[ILLIFIED]

I spent 72 hours fishing in a 96 hour period on the Lake this weekend, including a 27 hour stint from Friday at 9pm to midnight Saturday hunting muskies and saw one fish. We were all over the lake, north, south, rocks, weeds, sand, shallow, deep, hair, rubber, topwater, jerk, glide. NOTHING. We threw everything we had and even trolled and all we got was a good cooking by the sun.

Try your luck elsewhere till it gets colder.

[Team_Ice_Heave]

I'd have to agree, Wahkon Bay is a lot of water and not very specific. We've been seeing some Muskie (and some bigger Walleyes) in the shallows fishing Smallies. Unfortunately they don't seem to care for #5 Shad Raps.

[pitchn]

Good for you, To do so well when its been really slow,,As for giving up your spot,, I think someones just mad because you gave up their spot...Makes you wonder??

[brdhunter]

Everyone throws back muskies anyway, no one eats them. Most, if not all the muskies caught are still in the lake. Not a big deal when talking about muskies. JMO

[MuskieSlayer]

Everyone throws back muskies anyway, no one eats them. Most, if not all the muskies caught are still in the lake. Not a big deal when talking about muskies. JMO

While most people who target muskie practice strict CPR, there are many who don't. Offering any harvest numbers would be pure speculation on my part, but I think you may be surprised how many muskies are harvested every year from the lake. Besides some of the casual muskie fisherman, some Mille Lacs guides are known to regularly harvest muskies. I won't get into naming names, but the harvest of Mille Lacs muskies has been a particularly hot topic.

[propster]

I guess I wouldn't want to support or promote that particular guide. Those big fish are just too valuable and rare (and old) to remove them from the resource. I'd love nothing better than to catch the state record and watch her swim away so that somebody else had a chance to catch her.

[SJonesi]

Ok, maybe I need to clarify a bit for those who question my post. First, the lake has been an absolute zoo this season. I've pulled up to the WEEDLINE in Wahkon Bay several times this season and have been the only boat there. Within MINUTES, there's 5 boats cutting every which way.It's a big bay, but "the zone" isn't. Go ahead and cast the acres of weeds. Good luck. I'm on the water a lot and this has been the absolute worst I've ever seen it. SEVERAL times in the dark, I thought we might have to jump from the boat. It's crazy. Naming a location has the POTENTIAL to make it even worse.My spot? Hardly.Getting cut off repeatedly by people who obviously don't care or are just ignorant to what they're doing or in some cases, have no idea about boat control is frustrating. Not only to me, but to my clients. The "experience" is being lost in the chase.How would you like to pay a guide $400 and get cut off repeatedly? I have had clients ask me where we're going to fish next season as they want nothing to do with Mille Lacs, and THAT has nothing to do with the fishery itself.Jealous? You bet I am. I'm jealous of those who don't have to "fight" crowds and deal with the idiocy that has plagued Mille Lacs this season all the while trying to run a business. Work your day job and fish for fun.Must be nice. It's a whole different ballgame when fishing IS your job. I liken it to someone walking into your office and plopping their butt right down on your desk. Huh? Exactly.Please don't rush to judge unless you KNOW what you're talking about. Everyone has opinions and unfortunatly/fortunatly the internet gives us a platform to voice them.I apologize to anyone I may have offended, but this stuff needs to be said. Oh, and when did it become OK for a boat to pass 10 yards off anothers bow at wide open throttle? I guess I'll save that for another post.Fishing shouldn't be dangerous. Steve

[SJonesi]

Oh, and congrats to the angler for an awesome afternoon. Hard work and persistence pays ! Steve

[broodwich]

Hey Steve I feel your pain man... I lived in Wahkon for 3 summers (two blocks from the access) and fished the bay alot... The first summer I did quite well and didn't have to fight for spots to often, but the following two summers I actually quit muskie fishing and started bass fishing because it got so ridiculous... Though this website may have an impact on the increased pressure on Mille Lacs I point the finger more at the so called pro's, magazines, and T.V. personalities who have written a hundred articles, countless T.V. specials, and the dozens of DVD's on the monster muskies in the lake... But it ain't just Mille Lacs, all Minnesota muskie lakes are getting slammed... Big Detroit is getting just as bad as Mille Lacs... I also think that muskie fishing is an expensive sport and I believe people feel entitled to catching them because of that fact, hence why people have become so rude... I for one was once a die hard musky guy and MI member but gave it up because I just don't relate to the muskie crowd anymore... BTW I've seen your rig at the Wahkon access a few times but never got a chance to meet you... I guess I was always leaving when the fishing got good

[Tim_Anderson]

I think a good lesson here is that we all need to understand the incredible power of the internet. I have learned, mostly by watching, to be very careful with it.

Yesterday, I'm on the phone with some random person who's just beginning to musky fish, and he tells me that he heard somewhere that some guy caught 5 fish down in Wahkon Bay in one afternoon. Several other people have mentioned the report to me. I saw it on the internet as well. The whole countryside is buzzing with the story.

I have not been down there, but I can just about guarantee you that someone in the background watching would have seen an incredible increase in fishing pressure over the past few days down in Wahkon. There's probably times when the water is beat to a froth!

And I agree with Steve, the pressure and lack of respect for others who are boating or fishing nearby is rampant. Vermillion is the worst I have ever seen, and as of late, it seems that Mille Lacs is heading in that direction as well.

It seems that there are those on the lake with one mission in mind, and that is to catch a musky, and they will do absolutely anything in order to make that happen, which often involves stepping on someone else.

Last week, I arrived on a reef, and set up a drift so that my clients could cast downwind. Another boat was down on the other end of the reef with it's lights off, quickly turned them on, and ran over and got in front of me to fish it before I did. They came from several hundred yards away, and came in and parked about two casts downwind. I figured they had a big fish spotted, and didn't want us to get it before they did. Rather than hollering at them and putting a damper on my clients night, I bit my tongue. Then when they got a ways out, we rolled in behind those other guys and caught a 54 incher. Justice was served! But what they don't understand is that if they would have had their lights on, I never would have stopped by there in the first place.

Guys get rammy all the time on weedlines...but it's really pretty simple. One takes the inside, and one takes the outside, and you go around. You don't pull up 100 yards in front of someone and park. If you need to go in front, go up a few hundred yards or so, and then fish at the same pace. If you want to go slower, then pull in behind someone.

We all need to work hard to promote good fishing attitude and good boating ethics so that this does not continue to get worse. It's a great big lake, and there's (at least for now) plenty of room for everyone to fish. Just remember, like you, everyone is over there fishing...looking for a good experience. Do your best not to dash their expectations, and then perhaps, you can expect the same.

[pitchn]

Only $400 a trip !! I'll have to keep my "Day Job"

[Shack]

Sounds like Big Point and Doe Island Reef around midnight on an October or November full moon from about 99-2004 . You could literally walk from boat to boat in some locations. I just went out and fished, tried to stay out of people’s way and tried to see the fun in it and have fun. It is very easy to point out the bad in every situation and much harder to find the good. I understand though. When ever I am in a spot (shore or in the boat on any waters), someone comes up right next to me, one tends to feel the territorial rush coming on. I have been really trying to curb this feeling the last few years. I know I am not fishing for a living like you guys (all though I wish I was), but when I fish, I want to have fun.

Very good thought guys!

But!! I am still in the camp of Wahkon Bay is a very general location. If naming that area gives people hope (Confidence in a certain large area of the lak) and gets them to head up to the pond (especially this season), I am all for it. A post like the original one gets people to call guides, stay at resorts and support the local economy. Yes, there are people who buy gas and food at home, drive up and stay in their boats. Their all ways has been.

Sharing info though is what this site/forum is for. Last I checked, forum policy says nothing about not giving away locations. Now, if people want to come on here and give out G.P.S, cords, maps and other stuff, by all means go ahead. But, like said, people will use them and be prepared for company.

As far as rude people, what are you going to do about them? Spreading the word is a great thing, but Mille Lacs and rude fisherman go back as long as I can remember. I can still remember a conversation I observed back in 83 or 84 when I was a kid. I was with my Grandfather and we stopped for coffee before a fall time trip at a west side resort we launched at. I remember the main topic of the conversation one time was how rude and disrespectfully other boats and fisherman have become. I also heard at that time or another trip how a couple guys said the lake would fall in a couple years . Speed up to now-a-days and like my father used to say “same thing, only different”.

All you can do is heed the advice Tim has said and IMO go out and have fun.

Good luck!

[BigFish1]

Perfect post shackbash!!

[jnorm1984]

This website is made for sharing info, and besides a "hotspot" is only a hotspot the day it is discovered, especially for skis. Also its not like Wahkon Bay is small, it doesn't really narrow it down- For me, if I hear a tip on a location, I won't even bother if more than 2 days old, whether it be word of mouth, or on this site-