Mille Lacs Lake is known as a very good muskie fishery. It may not always put up big numbers of fish, but there are good numbers of big muskie swimming in this lake. There are several guides that fish this lake specifically for muskie and big fish over 50 inches have been reported here consistently over the last few years. If you want to target these big fish, your best bet will be with a local guide who knows these waters very well.
Fish the Offshore Water
There is lots of water here and the offshore waters are home to some of the biggest muskie in the lake from summer through fall. Because it is so much water to fish, you should try focusing on deeper water around the reefs. Some anglers will cast and some will troll. By trolling, you can cover a lot more water and hopefully, find more muskie willing to bite.
Fish the Shoreline Cover
Muskie can often be found in the shallower water less than 10 feet deep as well. Fish the rocks and weedy areas during low light conditions and make sure to make longer casts due to the water clarity. Muskie will move in to feed on a variety of different fish around some of the cover located closer to the shorelines here. We aren’t talking about beating the banks like many largemouth bass anglers would be fishing, but seeking out some of the cover a little closer to shore can be productive during low light conditions.
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.
Best Baits for Muskie
There are many types of baits to target muskie. Anglers don’t have as many options when using live baits since many of the fish that muskie eat can not be used as bait. Suckers and big chubs are usually the best options for most anglers that want to use live bait. For artificial lures, there are a variety of big baits to throw. Most anglers fish with bucktail spinners, some type of swimbait, topwater lure or jerkbait when chasing muskie.
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Best Rigs for Muskie
There aren’t too many different rigs for muskie fishing because you only have so many options for throwing some of the gigantic baits needed. Also, most anglers use lures for muskie or big sucker minnows, so you really don’t need too many rigs to target muskie. However, there are still several rigs you should know about, especially if you are going to be using live bait.
The Carolina rig, drop shot rig and quick strike rig are some of the best rigs for muskie.
Best Techniques for Muskie
Anglers use a variety of techniques for muskie. Casting is most popular, but jigging and trolling are also very effective techniques. Learn more about some of the best techniques for muskie page.
Learn More About Muskie
Our muskie fishing section has tons of tips on the best lures, live baits, where to catch them and how to catch them.
Visit our muskie fishing website to learn more.
