My name is Justin Gagola and I am avid Musky fisherman. I have fished this illusive species for the majority of my life, and I think this summer will be the 17th year I have been chasing muskies. You may ask what is so hard about fishing for Muskies compared to other species of fish, and the answer I would have to give you is that it takes tremendous amounts of time, and though you may put hours and hours in on the water, you chances of catching a Musky are still very slim.
This species of fish is not abundant like many other species of fish like Walleye, Perch, panfish, ect.. and that is why the Muskie is so difficult to catch. There are a number of effective ways to catch muskies. The most common method is standing up in a boat and casting a lure hudreds and maybe even thousands of times before catching a fish. This method is grueling and can play hell on your back, arms, legs, and hands, but us deicated Musky maniacs will put up with all of these symptoms if it means we have a shot at a 50-plus incher. While novices find any size Musky a feat of its own, we true Musky anlgers are always looking for one of 50 inches or over.
Another way to catch Muskies is much easier and takes little to no effort to do is fishing with a big bobber, with a big sucker hanging underneath free-floating in the water. Many Musky fisherman regard this method as the lazy man’s way and therfore frown on it. I myself have seldom used this tactic for that same reason.
The last method that has a great impact on your sucess rate is that of trolling. Trolling can be very effective and it lets you relax while fishing. The fish in this picture was caught while trolling in late October of 2007 on Cass Lake. There is a difference though when trolling for Muskies as compared to trolling for Walleyes or some other species. For Walleyes, the speed at which you troll tends to be anywhere from 1- 2.5 mph. For Muskies the normal trolling speed is anywhere from 4-7mph. Trolling is starting to become more in our go to plan with every fish we catch using this method. Musky fishing is based on confidence and whatever method gives that confidence is the one you tend to stick with and go back to over and over again.
