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Wisconsin Guide During May??? REDO

Posted By: 5Redman8

Wisconsin Guide During May??? REDO - 03/06/16 03:26 AM

After finding out a 1-2 bite day would be good for Miskies....I have to reconsider our target fish.

We would like to do something new fishing...not interested in largemouth or smallmouth. Open to other locations and other kinds of fish. Want it to be fun and different. We don't care if it is artificial or live bait. Want to catch fish and have fun.




Wife and I are considering a trip to Wisconsin in May and would like to go Muskie fishing.

Any recommendations for guides? Places to stay?

Is the fishing good in May?
Posted By: Scagnetti

Re: Wisconsin Muskie Guide During May??? - 03/06/16 04:19 AM

If I was in Wisconsin in May, I'd damn sure would be at Chequamegon Bay doing some filthy smallie fishing.

Aron Kastern is the go to guide up there.

As an aside, if being around Yankees, who think, act and sound Yankee bothers you in anyway, then you'd be in the WRONG place up there.

BTW, muskie fishing = overrated
Posted By: JasonB23

Re: Wisconsin Muskie Guide During May??? - 03/06/16 05:17 AM

Don't know any guides up there but I have 3 nice loomis muskie rods and a st croix muskie rod if your interested. I have a few abu garcia trophy 6500 tcm muskie reels also I might sell
Posted By: NickHasty

Re: Wisconsin Muskie Guide During May??? - 03/06/16 12:42 PM

Originally Posted By: Scagnetti
If I was in Wisconsin in May, I'd damn sure would be at Chequamegon Bay doing some filthy smallie fishing.

Aron Kastern is the go to guide up there.

As an aside, if being around Yankees, who think, act and sound Yankee bothers you in anyway, then you'd be in the WRONG place up there.

BTW, muskie fishing = overrated


Ha, it's Wisconsin the people are real nice and down to earth. I'd look into guides on the fox river/green bay area. Muskie fishing is definetely not overrated, that being said catching one in just one day could be tough.
Posted By: Jpurdue

Re: Wisconsin Muskie Guide During May??? - 03/06/16 01:00 PM

I'd recommend staying in the Eagle River or Minocqua area. In my opinion hands down the best guide up there is Jeff Van Remortel. He's put me on many Musky, including one 4 fish day with 2 10lb walleye as kickers. Be careful of the dates though, the Musky season does not usually open until the very end of May. I think this year it's May 27th. Prior to that you can not Musky fish in the Northern half of the state. The season opens earlier in the southern half, but in my opinion there is no point in Musky fishing in Southern WI. It's such a low probability event in the south it's not worth your time. All that said, even in the North your odds of a Musky on any given trip are probably 50/50 at best. These are arguably the hardest freshwater fish on the planet to catch.
Posted By: Jpurdue

Re: Wisconsin Muskie Guide During May??? - 03/06/16 01:04 PM

In terms of peak fishing up there... Most fish are caught in June/July/August. May is going to be dicey at best. The ice very frequently does not come off the lakes until early/mid may. I'd hit the back half of June or sometime in July but not near the 4th. Beautiful country up there.
Posted By: Rob Lay

Re: Wisconsin Muskie Guide During May??? - 03/06/16 03:40 PM

I have used Bret Alexander out of Green Bay. I used him for Walleye one day and Smallmouth the other, but his specialty is Muskie. I have never done it, but he gets giants! My take on Muskie fishing it is more like trophy deer hunting. Even the best guides might only get 1-2 bites a day and usually it is the guide that catches it. I watch his FaceBook photos all year and appear he's in 75% of them. September/October best months.

http://www.alexandersportfishing.com
Posted By: beeflover

Re: Wisconsin Muskie Guide During May??? - 03/06/16 03:54 PM

Muskie opener is May 28 north of highway 10 in WI. I've caught fish and would shop for a guide around Hayward, WI. PB is from Whitefish near Lac Courte Oreilles, Early May is the opener southern half of the state.
Posted By: basseditor

Re: Wisconsin Muskie Guide During May??? - 03/07/16 05:13 PM

The upper northern part of the state can still be cold in late May. I think I'd look at Green Bay. There are some giant Muskies in there. Plus, walleye and smallmouth.
Posted By: Allen Bass Fisher

Re: Wisconsin Muskie Guide During May??? - 03/07/16 06:21 PM

Originally Posted By: Jpurdue
I'd recommend staying in the Eagle River or Minocqua area. In my opinion hands down the best guide up there is Jeff Van Remortel. He's put me on many Musky, including one 4 fish day with 2 10lb walleye as kickers. Be careful of the dates though, the Musky season does not usually open until the very end of May. I think this year it's May 27th. Prior to that you can not Musky fish in the Northern half of the state. The season opens earlier in the southern half, but in my opinion there is no point in Musky fishing in Southern WI. It's such a low probability event in the south it's not worth your time. All that said, even in the North your odds of a Musky on any given trip are probably 50/50 at best. These are arguably the hardest freshwater fish on the planet to catch.


Good advice here! I Musky fish for a week every summer in the Eagle River area (old fishing buddy lives up there). Fished Eagle Chain quite a bit, Three Lakes Chain quite a bit. Lots of other lakes up there. I have actually fished for five days before and never caught a fish. Still exciting because usually get at least a few fish to follow your bait. Best I've ever done was catching two Musky's in a single day. Saw lots of other fish follow as well. My biggest to date from up there is 45 inches.
Posted By: redskeet100

Re: Wisconsin Muskie Guide During May??? - 03/07/16 06:59 PM

Check to see if the season is open yet. Typically musky fishing is not great in May, gets better in June and great in July\Aug.
Posted By: 5Redman8

Re: Wisconsin Muskie Guide During May??? - 03/07/16 08:58 PM

I'm gonna have to go back to the drawing board.

1-2 bite average would not be fun for my wife.
Posted By: Jpurdue

Re: Wisconsin Muskie Guide During May??? - 03/07/16 09:09 PM

In general I would say most women would not enjoy musky fishing. Very often you are throwing huge baits that may weigh a pound or more. Reeling the baits in is a chore. (Imagine throwing a 10XD all day). By the end of the day even large lads will have a sore shoulder. If you hook one of these S.O.B's though.... holy cow!
Posted By: dandeeks

Re: Wisconsin Muskie Guide During May??? - 03/08/16 11:15 PM

Being a Canadian with some experience up North, I will add one thing. The big huge bait thing to catch muskies is a complete myth. Many caught on small Mepps spinners, my buddy caught one on a 1/32oz jig head with small soft plastic grub, and I've caught them on 5" stickbaits. Food for thought.
Posted By: basseditor

Re: Wisconsin Muskie Guide During May??? - 03/09/16 03:18 AM

If musky and bass are out, go walleye fishing. It's mostly trolling bait rigs but you can get good numbers in a day. And they are very tasty.
Posted By: Allen Bass Fisher

Re: Wisconsin Muskie Guide During May??? - 03/09/16 06:33 PM

When I lived in Wisconsin (now 26 years ago) I never had a "good numbers" day while fishing Walleye's. Maybe it was just me. Now, due primarily to over spearing (by Native American's), most lakes now have very tight limits (one or two a day) and slot limits or very hefty length limits to keep and eat. Make sure you know the lake limits if you want to catch and keep. They are very tasty though!
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