Cedar Lake is one of the better drive to muskie fishing lakes in Ontario. It is a great lake for a variety of different fish and there are good numbers of a variety of species of fish. Those huge numbers of other fish give a lot of muskie plenty of food to eat year round, which helps to create such an amazing fishery. Eagle Lake probably gets more attention for its muskie fishery, but Cedar Lake is at least in the conversation when you talk about great muskie lakes in Ontario. Anglers can have multiple fish days here with big fish above 50″ a definitely possibility if you put in the time.
Catch Lots of Muskie
It isn’t easy to catch a muskie, but it is a lot easier to catch a muskie on Cedar Lake than many other lakes. Many people will come here have days where they don’t catch a single muskie, but there are plenty of anglers who come here and multiple fish days. If you know how to target them and you put in the time, it is possible to have many multiple muskie days on your fishing trip here.
Catch Big Muskie
You probably have a better chance of catching a big muskie if you fish bigger bodies of water such as Lake of the Woods or Eagle Lake, but there are plenty of big muskie here to catch. When the wind blows on some of those bigger bodies of water, you probably won’t even go out and fish those days. On Cedar Lake, you should be able to find plenty of spots to still target muskie when the wind blows. For many anglers, Cedar Lake is a go to destination for targeting a big muskie.
Fish the Bays
You have plenty of bays to fish and these areas can hold plenty of muskie from spring through fall. In the summer and fall, the deeper weed edges will usually be more productive.
Fish the Deeper Shorelines
The deeper shorelines hold a lot of smallmouth bass, walleye, perch, crappie and bait fish all season long. Muskie will be close by so they have an easy meal within striking distance. You may find rocks or weeds on these shorelines, but muskie will be found in both areas. The key for the deeper shorelines is other fish. If you can find schools of other fish, there is a good chance that a muskie or two may be nearby as well.
Fish the Offshore Structure
Islands
You have enough islands here to fish this pattern on the lake. The islands are great spots for walleye and smallmouth bass during the summer and fall months. The deeper shorelines will usually be the best places to find a muskie around the islands.
Rock Humps
Walleye will be found cruising the rock humps all summer long and into the fall as well. Smallmouth bass love these spots too. You may have to move spot to spot before finding the bigger schools of fish on any given day, but when you do, you may want to throw your favorite muskie baits because these predator fish will be here too.
Fish the Rocks
Muskie can be found around the rocks all year long and there are plenty of rocky areas to fish throughout Cedar Lake. Whether you are fishing shallower early or late in the year or deeper rocks in the summer and parts of the fall, plan on fishing the rocks a bunch if you are targeting muskie here.
Fish the Weeds
There are enough weeds on Cedar Lake to target muskie along the weed lines. You also have a lot of rock to fish, so don’t stick to the weeds if you aren’t seeing any action in these areas on your trip here. If you fish the deeper weed edges, you will have a good chance to find some muskie and you’ll probably catch some nice pike too.
Best Baits for Northern Pike
Northern pike are known for eating just about everything they can get the mouths on and there is definitely some truth to that. For the most part, if it swims, pike may eat it. There are some baits that definitely will catch more pike than others though. Spinners, crankbaits, spoons, swimbaits and soft plastics are some of the best lures for targeting pike. Live baits such as minnows and perch are great baits too.
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Best Rigs for Northern Pike
There are many different rigs you can use for northern pike, however, since pike are so aggressive, you really don’t need to use as many of them as you would if you were trying to get good at largemouth bass fishing. For most situations, you can keep it real simple with a jighead and a minnow or soft plastic bait. To learn about some of the rigs that you can use, take a look at our best rigs for northern pike page.
Best Techniques for Northern Pike
Anglers catch pike with many different techniques. Casting, trolling and drifting are most popular ways to target pike, but there are some other methods that also work well too.
To learn more, take a look at our best techniques for northern pike page.
Learn More About Northern Pike
Our northern pike fishing section has tons of tips on the best lures, live baits, where to catch them and how to catch them.
Visit our northern pike fishing website to learn more.
