The Rhinelander Daily News - Online news and information for the Rhinelander, Wisconsin region

How does one spell “musky fishing? Some spell musky as “muskie” and others talk about musky hunting rather than musky fishing. Three of us who just returned from a trip to the state of Minnesota spell it “frustration!” For several years we have been listening to the fish stories told by members of the musky fraternity who have returned from a fishing trip to one of the large Minnesota musky lakes. Those stories about huge muskies, which have not received much fishing pressure, caught our attention. A trip was in the planning stages for some time.

Last fall we joined the members of the Headwaters Chapter of Muskies Inc. for their annual September outing. That outing takes place on Lake of the Woods in Ontario, Canada. The details of that trip were reported in this space one year ago. Although we caught muskies from Lake of the Woods we were not pleased with the average size of the muskies we saw and caught.

Just over one week ago my good friend, Dr. Larry Mozan, flew to Rhinelander from Orange County, Calif., to join us on a trip for some Minnesota muskies. Dr. Larry and I traveled to our daughter’s in Chippewa Falls where we met my long-time hunting and fishing buddy, Tom Twesme. His boat was attached to my pick-up and we headed north.

The drive was pleasant and was interrupted by a run through a grocery store. Tom had caught a musky in excess of 50 inches from the lake where we were going during July. To understate the obvious, we were filled with hope and Dr. Larry was discussing his plan for a press release with pictures of us holding huge muskies.

While driving north we were watching the digital thermometer in the pick-up as the temperature kept falling. By the time we reached the cabin the temperature had dropped 21 degrees. At the marina where we slid the boat off the trailer the dockhand told us that the water temperature had dropped 10 degrees in the past two days. Just what we did not want – a serious cold front.

Tom had caught his trophy musky with a buck tail like lure that has two very large blades. That lure, which has accounted for many large muskies, is called a double cow girl. Dr. Larry calls them Dale Evens and threw one most of the time we fished.

The first evening that we fished was cold and windy but we were filled with anticipation. Rain suits were welcome as were windbreakers for the entire trip. We fished for four days and never had a musky hit a lure. We did see eight muskies follow lures to the boat and caught one nice sized northern. The group from Muskies Inc. who fished Lake of the Woods caught 15 muskies for 12 fishermen. Their largest musky measured 49 inches and was caught by the senior member of the group, John Schmidt.

While we were fishing on the huge Minnesota Lake we saw loons, eagles and more fish ducks than we could count. One afternoon while fishing a rocky shoreline we watched a doe and her two fawns feeding in the yard of a cabin. The lake where we fished has many islands, most of which had a cabin or several cabins on them. Like the lakes around Rhinelander, a large percentage of the cabins were closed for the winter.

We were disappointed that we never had a musky hit one of our lures. After seeing the size of the fish that followed our lures back to the boat we vowed that we would return again next season, hopefully not at the same time that a severe cold front blows through the area.

For many among us the best time to be outdoors has arrived. Fall like weather has arrived and several hunting seasons are open. Fall fishing is regarded by some as the best fishing of the entire year. For many years there was very little fishing pressure on our lakes once we passed the Labor Day weekend. Now, since fall fishing has been promoted, our lakes continue to receive increasing pressure throughout the fall. We do see fewer personal watercraft on the water during the fall.

Most of the grouse hunters who ventured out this weekend were frustrated by the dense cover that remains in the woods. The ferns are turning brown and falling to the forest floor. Each week more and more leaves will fall.

Normally I do not begin to hunt deer with my bow until mid-October. By mid-October visibility has improved in the woods and some bucks will be starting to rut and will be more active.

Take some time to be outdoors. Fall is here.

Tell us what you think...

Comments »

The comments above are from readers. In no way do they represent the views of the Rhinelander Daily News.