Muskie – Two Perspectives on an Apex Predator
The muskellunge is the definition of an apex predator and one of the fiercest freshwater fish you can tangle with. They have captivated anglers for decades, including Pete Maina, a noted muskie and pike expert, and multi-species guide Josh Teigen, who each fish for them every chance they get. There are many ways to catch these big, toothy fish, and they bite year-round, but both anglers believe the fall bite is where it’s at.
The cooling weather gets them active, and your chance at the biggest fish of the season is right now with the right approach. Maina and Teigen both like to fish quickly this time of year, and each shared tips on finding the biggest muskies and targeting them effectively.
Teigen’s Shallow Approach
As fall arrives, cooler weather in the northern states has all fish on alert and ready to feed. That’s the case for Teigen around his Wisconsin home, and it’s good news for muskie anglers.
“Once the water is finally starting to cool down, a lot of those big muskies that were out in the open water during the summer will start to slide up shallow,” he said. “On clear lakes, you’ll find them on weed edges in 10 to 15 feet of water, and on the stained lakes, they’ll get into 2 to 5 feet of water because that’s where the panfish are. They are mainly feeding on perch, bluegill, and sometimes suckers.”
With the muskies heavily feeding, Teigen loves this time of year because he can fish fast with bucktail spinners and topwater lures. “You can burn them over the shallows, and you don’t need to feed them because they are so aggressive this time of year,” he said. “I like to look for any weed points and flats that are near deeper water, often right near the deepest part of the lake, where they can easily come up and feed. Also, the bigger the grass flat, the better, because you have the potential to contact multiple fish, and if it’s a smaller spot, it may just hold one.”
Teigen will also watch the wind and current, since each can be a clue to finding active fish. “The windblown side of the lake will also push those fish into the shallow weeds, and the nice thing about the fall is you can fish the outside edge of grass, and also the inside line right tight to shore, and both can be really good,” he said. “We also have a lot of connected lakes here, and the channels between the lakes can be great because there’s always a little bit of current in there. The muskie will also move from lake to lake, and that can be like a highway for them this time of year.”
Among his favorite lures are the Joe Bucher Outdoors Top Raider and Musky Frenzy Ringer 8 bucktail spinners. Both let him fish quickly, and each does a good job of getting the attention of fall muskies. He’ll fish both on 9- to 10-foot muskie rods, an Abu Garcia Revo Beast 400, and a mainline of blue 100 lb Seaguar Threadlock hollow-core braided line.
“The longer rod makes it easier for you to make your figure eight. You can make a wider turn, which is super important when one follows it, and I’d say 85 percent of the fish you catch with a bucktail are going to be on your figure eight next to the boat,” he said. “I use the 100 lb Threadlock for everything with muskie fishing, and it compacts on the reel very nicely, and you hardly ever get backlashes when casting it as you do with other braids. I also like the blue color over the white because it hides in the water nicely.”
For his leader material, he opts for a short leader of 130 lb Seaguar Big Game Blue Label fluorocarbon and says it has benefits over a wire leader often used in muskie fishing. “That wire sticks out so much, and I feel like the less chance they can see it, the better, especially in clear water lakes,” he said. “We will also usually run a rod or two behind the boat with a sucker rig. Those come with wire, but I learned several years ago from Pete Maina to tie them with fluorocarbon, and it makes a big difference because they see that wire so well.”
Maina’s Fall Mini-Seasons
Pete Maina has spent decades targeting muskie and educating anglers on how to catch more of them, including Teigen. Maina knows their movements and says each fall segment offers something different: a shallow push, a tricky time when the lake turns over, and then another great bite that lasts until the lakes freeze over.
“The first thing that generally happens is you have shallower movements by fish that spend most of their time suspended over deep water,” he said. “Every system is a little bit different, but essentially you always have newer fish moving shallow that weren’t there during the summer, and they are generally more active and apt to hit lures.”
Sometimes the fish get very shallow, and Maina will always try jumbo topwaters and bucktail spinners. “They can get ridiculously shallow, in 2 feet of water sometimes,” he said. “You’ve got to give it all a shot and try different depths, and if it’s not working shallow, try going even shallower because it’s definitely a thing sometimes, but I generally won’t start my mornings there.”
Once the water cools more, many lakes have a turnover that truly turns over the fishery and spreads everything out. “That happens every fall, especially on deeper lakes that don’t have a lot of current, and the water from the lower part of the water column will roll over to the top,” he said. “That’s when everything is mixing with the oxygen levels and water temps, and the whole food chain can be everywhere then, so there’s a lot of confusion then. The muskies can still be shallow; they can be on weed edges, suspended over deep water, and on the bottom, which can make it harder on you to find them.”
In these instances, a wide range of lures can be in play. “Topwaters and bucktails lose their effectiveness some with the cooler weather and turnover,” he said. “This is when 10 to 12-inch jerkbaits and soft plastics start ruling the roost. Once it cools down, you can catch them on deep-diving crankbaits, jerkbaits, and have fun running a pattern because they can become fairly predictable. Some days they may be on the top of the break and sometimes at the base, so you’ll just have to figure out that pattern every day.”
For all baits, he also likes to mix up his retrieves. “I like to try a variety because some days you have to work it very erratically with a lot of twitching and then other days it’s more of a pull-and-stop with sweeps of your rod tip followed by a pause,” he said. “Then there are days, especially with jerkbaits and plastics, where they want slow movements and a lazier retrieve. It’s something I like to remind myself of to determine what mood the fish are in that day.”
When the water cools even more, a vertical approach can also be the ticket. “We start having success fishing vertically, jigging sharp breaks with heavy plastics and blade baits, as well as fishing live bait in places where the bottom transitions from hard to soft,” Maina added.
For just about every lure listed, Maina uses the same rod setup with a 400-sized baitcast reel. “Either a medium-heavy or heavy rod, and nothing less than a 9.5-foot rod is my choice, and I’ll go as long as 10.5 feet to have more control for your figure eight and to get better directional changes,” he said. “A heavy rod is good for the baits over 6 ounces, which we certainly use in the fall, but if you were to only get one all-around muskie rod, I would go with the medium-heavy.”
For line, Maina opts for a mainline of Seaguar Threadlock hollow-core braid and will adjust the pound test depending on the situation. “80 lb is my standard for both casting lures and trolling, which can also be very good this time of year,” he said. “I’ll go a little heavier on my quick-strike rigs with suckers and use 100 lb and sometimes 130 lb. Threadlock has the most abrasion resistance I’ve ever seen with braided line, and I jokingly call it the ‘forever line’ because it holds up so well, even when trolling and you come across shallow rocks and the Threadlock is the first thing that contacts it: it holds up to everything.”
Connected to the braid, Maina goes with 130 lb Seaguar Big Game Blue Label fluorocarbon and will adjust his leader length depending on whether he’s casting, jigging, or trolling.
“The great thing about that is how abrasion-resistant it is; it will handle rock contact and the muskie’s teeth,” he said. “I’m so confident in it that I replace the wire on my quick-strike rigs and use that instead. I use it for all my leaders and generally use a long leader of around 8 feet when trolling, a few feet for jigging, and go all the way down to 12 inches when I’m casting jerkbaits and bucktails, in case I need to do a figure-eight by the side of the boat. The bait is generally only 16 to 18 inches from your rod tip, so that’s plenty of room.”
Muskies can be highly aggressive, but they're also notoriously elusive and picky. It’s part of the fun of targeting them and why catching one is so rewarding. Both Teigen and Maina have spent countless hours chasing them and know the little details matter for this species, but they agree that the fall months can offer some of the best muskie fishing of the year with the right approach.
Seaguar Threadlock 16-strand hollow-core braid is available from 50 to 200 lb tests in 600- and 2500-yard spools in blue and white.
Seaguar Big Game Blue Label leader is available from 90 to 400 lb tests in 30-meter coil bags.