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Our family is going on our annual fishing trip in the northern part of Wisconsin the second week of June. We are not very good at muskie fishing and would like maybe a couple of lures we could buy that may work. The lake we go to is Pioneer Lake just north of Eagle River. It has a lot of tall weeds and the main areas we fish that have the weeds are anywhere from 3 feet of water to 15 feet at the deepest. Usually it is about 6-8ft where we seem to catch the most northerns/bass. There are some monster muskies in this lake, had one a couple of years ago eat my bass that I was reeling in, it was a 12 inch bass and only the tip of the nose and tail were outside of the muskies mouth, the bass was sideways. We fish with medium heavy poles most of the time with spiderwire, do have bigger poles with spiderwire on as well if that makes a difference. Any suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks

Outdoor, I think Fish 30acre makes muskie lures, Id pm him and see what all he makes…..Good luck on your fishing trip, It sounds like alot of fun:)

I hope your guys have a great trip!  I have been musky fishing in northern wisconsin for 20+ years primarily around Hayward (La Courte Oreilles, Grindstone, Rice, Big Chip. . .).  I would recommend that you start with some classics like a 9” suick (I like the unweighed perch pattern for really weedy areas), big bucktails like a double cowgirl and some crankbaits to fish in a little deeper water.  Keep in mind that you can pay a ton for custom musky lures.  I have some and they can be effective but I still believe that you can’t beat the classics.  I also like to use a heavy or medium/heavy when throwing big musky baits.

Good luck!

Those sound good! Put them on my list for Bass Pro. Can’t go on a fishing trip with out going there about a dozen times!!! Any others you think of let me know.

Thanks

Bulldawgs can also be good and I would get a topwater bait or two.

I’m not a seasoned musky fisherman.But with the issue of the weeds,What about some large weedless plastic jerkbait type lures? Spinners w/weedless hooks and plastic trailers or weedless spoons w/plastic trailers? If Wisconsin had anything like Illinois past winter,watch out for the weed growth this summer.I’m amazed at some of the early growth of grass here in some of the Illinois lakes already.

I like the soft plastic idea thanks!

I’m pretty much now a fly guy,but years ago I used to fish for pike alot and one of my favorite lures was a large black or white strip of pork rind from uncle josh.I would nose hook it with a weedless hook,and fish it like a jerk bait,letting it fall into prime area’s.I don’t even know if they still make the pork strips or if maybe plastic might be better,but I used to have really good luck fishing with that set-up.Also caught a few nice bass along the way fishing with it.

Also believe there’s some large spinnerbaits that are supposed to be good for fishing in the grass.Check out the grinder?
I just read an article recently that said that Musky can also be targeted at night.It said that in high pressured water,some anglers were having success fishing top water baits at night for large musky…that would be crazy fun!

Catching Muskie at night would be crazy.

Thanks for the lure ideas now off to go buy them!

I believe there has been some very good advice for what to fish with here. However I must confess I have spent the money on some high dollar musky lures to come up empty. The shocking part is the number of musky I have caught while bass fishing with 3/8 spinner baits, or zara spooks, or even large grubs while walleye fishing. I do have a nice one on the wall that was even caught on a 1/4oz T1 spinner bait. I do not profess to be an expert musky angler as I tend to opt for what the waters I am fishing are going to give up. I just love to feel the bend in the rod and preferably the drag giving up line….

Wish I had seen this post earlier.  I’d begin by learning as much as you can about the fish you intend to catch.  There’s tons of info from books, TV, videos, internet, etc..  For starters, do you have the proper catch and release equipment?  Net, (fish friendly),  pliers, hook removers/cutters, jaw spreaders, gloves.  Can you safely pick up and properly hold a musky out of the water for photos?  Your safety and protecting this resource should be a priority, then you can spend gobs of money on lures and tackle.  Pick up any musky fishing magazine (Musky Hunter) and you can quickly see the the types of lures people throw.  Bucktails and topwater lures seem to dominate most musky fishing, but there are just too many types/colors to list here.  Hope you had a productive trip.