Kenora | Area Waters | The Fish | Fishing Calendar | Map
There are a lot of muskie on Lake of the Woods and the Kenora area can definitely hold its own compared to the other areas on Lake of the Woods. There are good numbers of muskie here with some very big fish too. You have so many areas to fish with islands, points, bays and offshore structure here. Whether it is weeds or rocks, you can find muskie throughout the Kenora area.
Catch Lots of Muskie
Kenora is home to a lot of good muskie water. With access to the main lake so close to town, anglers can find some many awesome fishing spots for muskie all season long. Because of the pressure in this area, you may not catch as many muskie as you would in the Northwest Angle area, but you definitely could have multi-fish days once you learn this part of the lake.
Catch Big Muskie
There are plenty of big muskie in the Kenora area. Take a look at the map and you’ll see why anglers have so many options here. You can fish shallow bays, rocky points, reefs, islands and tons of main lake structure. Muskie up to and above 50 inches are possible here.
Muskie Fishing Kenora in the Spring
| Month | Avg. Air Temps °F (Hi/Lo) |
| March | 31° / 8° |
| April | 48° / 26° |
| May | 63° / 40° |
The muskie fishing opener is typically the 3rd Saturday in June, so the muskie anglers must wait until the summer to fish for muskie here.
Muskie Fishing Kenora in the Summer
| Month | Avg. Air Temps °F (Hi/Lo) |
| June | 72° / 49° |
| July | 78° / 56° |
| August | 74° / 53° |
The muskie opener is an exciting time for anglers in the Kenora area. Lake of the Woods is one of the top muskie fishing destinations to visit and when the muskie opener arrives, there will be plenty of anglers out on the water targeting them. You will find plenty of muskie in the shallows still since water temperatures will be perfect for a variety of fish to be in the shallows. That means muskie have lots of food to eat around many rocky points, weed lines and in many of the bays also.
Muskie Fishing Kenora in the Fall
| Month | Avg. Air Temps °F (Hi/Lo) |
| September | 62° / 43° |
| October | 49° / 34° |
| November | 30° / 17° |
In the fall, the muskie fishing can be outstanding. Early in the fall, you will still find a lot of muskie in deeper water as they can be found around big schools of walleye and smallmouth bass and other fish too. Once the fall progresses into early October, the die hard muskie anglers will usually find them shallow, deep and anywhere in between as these fish put on the feed bag finding food wherever it may go. From mid- September to early October, anglers usually catch some of the biggest muskie of the year and there is a lot less fishing pressure on the lake during this time.
Fishing the Bays
There are many bays to fish in the Kenora area of Lake of the Woods. It may be weeds or rocks, but there are plenty of fish in the bays to help attract some muskie there too. Spring and fall usually provide some of the better fishing in the bays for muskie, however, you can find some muskie relatively shallow throughout the summers as well. Find the bait fish whether they are relating to weeds or rocks and start casting your favorite muskie baits.
Fishing the Drop-offs
There are some really good drop-offs that hold good numbers of smallmouth bass and walleye. These spots usually produce better in the summer and fall. Find the walleye and bass and there’s a good chance some muskie may call these spots home as well.
Fishing the Points
There are so many points to fish and many of them will hold either smallmouth bass, walleye, northern pike or a combination of them. The points will have lots of rock and some will have weeds too. Muskie will relate to both, so when fishing the points, make sure you’re covering a lot of water because there are so many points to fish here.
Fishing the Islands
You have lots of islands to fish and many of these islands are great spots for smallmouth bass, walleye and northern pike too. With a combination of rocks, weeds and some nice drop-offs, you have a ton of areas that can hold muskie.
Fishing the Reefs
Reefs can be hit or miss with muskie, but there are plenty of these predators that patrol the reefs for an easy meal. The reefs usually hold plenty of walleye and smallmouth bass from summer through fall and muskie can often be found patrolling these areas to find an easy meal.
Fishing the Rocks
With rocks everywhere, it’s hard not to be fishing the rocks when targeting muskie here. Muskie will gladly eat a smallmouth bass or walleye, so you can definitely find plenty of muskie cruising around the rocks whether that’s an island, point, reef or just a rocky shoreline.
Fishing the Weeds
Muskie love the weeds just like northern pike and there are plenty of nice weed edges near deeper water here that will hold some nice muskie. You will definitely find more pike in the weeds, but if you target the weeds with muskie baits, you will most likely run into some quality muskie here.
Using Leaders for Muskie
Muskie have some serious teeth. Use quality steel leaders to avoid bite-offs. If you are fishing clear water, you may need to go with a fluorocarbon leader to get bit. Most anglers will not go any lighter than 100 lb. fluorocarbon for muskie and don’t be shocked if you lose a big fish due to a bite-off. Some anglers go as heavy as 140 to 150 pound fluorocarbon. Ideally, you want to be as stealthy as you can so you can get more bites, but if you go too light with the fluorocarbon, you risk losing fish and possibly killing some big fish due to the lures getting stuck in their mouths.
