Wabigoon Lake and Dinorwic Lake offer a lot of water to fish for muskie. There are good numbers of fish here, so you have a chance to catch one if you target them and there are some very big fish here too. The stained water also makes it easier to get a muskie to bite, especially for the fish that follow up close to the boat and eat your bait during a figure 8. The lakes have plenty of good shorelines, weed beds and offshore structure to keep you busy while chasing after muskie here.
Shallow Water Fishing
There are so many different types of fish that can be caught in less than 10 feet of water all summer long on Wabigoon and Dinorwic Lakes and the mighty muskie will be there feeding on them. While you may find a good amount of muskie in deeper water too, these shallow lakes have stained water and muskie can be found in shallow water feeding all season long. Find the weeds and rocks and you’ll have a better chance to find some of these shallow water fish.
Murky Water Presentations
Because of the murky water here, you will have more success by brightening up your lures and using baits that create noise or vibrations in the water. The brighter colors, extra noise or vibrations will help muskie find your baits easier so they can eat them. Don’t be shocked by several boat-side hits, so use the figure 8 technique to help catch more muskie.
Fish the Bays
There are plenty of bays throughout these lakes and these bays will hold a lot of different fish. Muskie will cruise around the bays as they search for an easy meal. Weeds are a good place to search for them in the bays, but the rocks will hold plenty of fish too.
Fish the Islands
You have a lot of islands to fish on Wabigoon and Dinorwic. The islands will usually provide better fishing in the summer and fall months. As more fish are found around the offshore structures, muskie will roam these areas as well. While you can find plenty of muskie shallow, some of the deeper shorelines around these islands will usually be the better shorelines to fish for muskie.
Fish the Points
Points are always good spots to search for a variety of fish and muskie are no different. These lakes have lots of points, so you can easily fish this pattern. Because of all the rock hazards in these lakes, you have to be careful if you are going to run around going point to point.
Fish Rock Humps
The rock humps will hold a lot of fish on both lakes. The stained water makes it harder to find these spots, so a good map is needed to find these spots. Walleye, smallmouth bass, walleye, perch and crappie will use this structure throughout the fishing season and many muskie will move onto these spots to find an easy meal.
Fish the Rocks
These lakes have a lot of rocks, so plan on fishing plenty of rocks when fishing for muskie here. From rocky shorelines to rocky points and offshore structure, you have a lot of rock to fish.
Fish the Weeds
There are plenty of weeds available in these lakes as well, so plan on targeting the deeper weed edge as you search for muskie. Some of the shallow water weeds will be productive all season long due to the murky water, so don’t be shocked to find some fish feeding very shallow all season long.
Fish the Wind Blown Structure
The islands and rock humps can be very productive when the wind blows into these structure. These spots will usually hold more fish in the summer and fall, so use these patterns if you’re here during those times of the year.
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.
