Shallow water muskies
August 12, 2024 White Bear Lake 1 photo

Trip Summary

I spent this last week targeting very shallow water, typically in 3 to 4 foot sand flats with small, scattered broad-leaf cabbage patches. Some of these cabbage beds are as small as a 20' x 20', and they are holding multiple fish. How I approach these flats is, move in a zig-zag pattern across the flat with my trolling motor, and as I found these isolated patches of cabbage, I would map them out on GPS so when I come back, I know exactly where the best locations are. With this recent cooler weather, the water temperature has dropped significantly and there are a number of muskies starting to move into the shallows, and it's only going to get better as we get closer to September. I had 2 different baits in the water at all times, one being a tail rotating topwater, like a Lake X Fat Bastard. The second was a double 8 bucktail, like a Spanky Baits Fireball. When I'm throwing a topwater, I use a Tackle Industries 9'6" MH or XH rod, the 9'6" makes boatside maneuvers a bit easier when trying to keep the bait moving on the surface. With bucktails, I'm throwing those on a Tackle Industries 10' XH, the extra length allows you to make very large and smooth boatside maneuvers so your blades don't stall on the turns, which is extremely important, especially in shallow water. Typically, I prefer a overcast day with a slight breeze, that seems to be the best for active muskies in skinny water. Sunny days will still hold fish in the shallows, but they seem to be more boat shy due to visibility.
Brandon Norten
White-bear-lake, Minnesota, United States
Musky Geek Guide Service thumbnail
The late Summer/ early fall transition is really starting to heat up with these cooler nights. Muskies are stacking up in the shallow structures and shallow shoreline flats. OPENINGS FILL FAST SO DON’T HESITATE, BOOK NOW BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE. ...

Other reports from this captain

September Transition
September Transition
September 1, 2024
Over the last week there has been a significant amount of muskies using shallow locations including green cabbage, red cabbage, milfoil and a sand/gravel mix. These fish have been chasing a variety of baits but mainly some sort of fast moving blade bait, like bucktails and spinnerbaits. With the increase in musky activity, there has also been an increase in fishing pressure. When these muskies see a lot of fishing pressure, they tend to stick tight to their preffered weed beds and home locations and only chase when they are really ready to feed. This last week was a struggle to find following fish, it's difficult because we want to gather intel by seeing fish. We want intel on where they are located, cover they are using, and baits they are chasing. That's part of the fun in musky fishing, is having interaction with them and figuring out how to out-smart them, but when they won't budge, it can get frustrating. On the bright side though, if you keep fishing known musky locations, you WIll catch fish. All week we were getting bites, we just weren't getting the follows we were hoping for to help lead us in the right direction. The fish pictured above, was one of three muskies caught in that morning session, and not one single follow! We are entering a very consistent, fish producing time of the season, arguably one of the most predictable times of the season, and without a doubt a time all of us musky fisherman look forward to every year.
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