Muskie are one of those fish species that legend says are exceptionally wary, difficult to locate and hard to trigger into striking. During most of the year that assessment is often correct, but for a brief period every summer muskies get surprisingly predictable.

Muskies are territorial fish and during the summer months it’s common for a particular fish to stake out a piece of aquatic real estate and frequent the area until the fish is caught or a bigger fish moves in and takes over the show. To say that summer muskies are vulnerable to angling pressure during this period is a major understatement. Once you locate a spot that attracts these fish, there will be a potential trophy using the spot all summer long.

The favorite haunts for these summer fish are sunken islands with plenty of deep open water nearby, isolated weed beds with deep water access, the tips of sloping points, saddles between islands, the mouth of rivers and places in lakes where the flow of water is focused into a narrows. It’s spots like this that adult muskie hunt daily and once you’ve discovered a spot is attractive to fish, it will continue to produce season after season.

With this information comes the responsibility to release trophy class fish. Without this progressive catch-and-release ethic the sport we love so much would soon be in jeopardy.

Total Solutions Technique

Crankbaits, jumbo jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, spoons and in-line spinners are all great lures for triggering savage strikes from summer muskies. Larger crankbaits and jerkbaits have a lot of resistance in the water and fishing them all day can be hard on even the most dedicated anglers.

Spinnerbaits, spoons and in-line spinners pull through the water with less resistance and are far less fatiguing to fish. Having both lure groups at your disposal is a good idea. Take turns using the different lure groups. When you start to feel fatigued from throwing the big and heavy stuff, switch off to something lighter and easier to fish. A big part of being effective for summer muskies is keeping yourself fresh, alert and ready for a strike when it occurs.

Total Solutions Equipment

Muskie casting is a job for fishing lines that are long on strength and short on memory. The super lines have become the number one choice among serious muskie casters for a variety of reasons.

First off these lines are very thin for the break strength, enabling anglers to enjoy longer casts and more water covering impact.

Secondly, super braids are amazingly tough yet flexible and they have almost zero memory, making them ideal for casting on both spinning and baitcasting gear.

Thirdly, these lines have near zero stretch which means on the hook set the muskie is certain to feel the business end of any hook.

Berkley’s Big Game Braid  or Stren Braid in 50 or 65 test is a good choice for casting muskie tackle. Spiderwire Ultracast is yet another good braid option for muskie fishing.

All of these super lines have the right combination of low memory, low stretch and thin diameter that makes them ideal choices for casting muskie gear big or small.

Stren Braid

Spiderwire® Ultracast™

Berkley’s Big Game Braid