Although any fly fishing trip gets my blood plumping, there has been one specific trip that for the past four or five years that has become a staple in the annual lineup. Fly fishing for muskie up in the Northwoods of Wisconsin is not only an intense challenge, but features some of the most beautiful and scenic country that you will ever see. As has been the theme for trips this year, due to work obligations, we only had a couple of days to fish. For anyone that has fly fished for muskie knows, this can be a recipe for a let down, but we were fortunate enough to find some fish and have a great time per usual.

The first day of fishing was a typical day of muskies doing what they love to do – being stubborn and difficult. Although we had a handful of follows and fished some perfect looking water, the fish weren’t wanting to cooperate. Throwing 12-inch bufords to smaller bucktail baitfish, we tried it all and did not end up with the mean greenies that we were after day one. Fortunately enough, we still were able to get into some by-catch with some pike and smallmouth bass (one being a total pig that had us convinced at first that we had a muskie). After a tough but fun day on the water, we even took out a pontoon boat to a local lake to try our luck – same story, led to some pike but no muskie.

However, the following day was looking promising, in that we were seeing muskie blow up on bait and feeding actively. We also had an eat, the fish just didn’t stick (the strip set on my end was a bit suspect!). Honestly had never seen anything like it with these fish. With that said, we knew we were coming back the next day.

For our last day of fishing, we were able to make some magic happen. Upon arriving at the lake, fish were everywhere and we were seeing muskies left and right. It was one of the most active days of fly fishing for muskie that we have had – seven follows for the morning. After a hour of fishing, we finally had a nice muskie in the boat. Although no monster by any means, a true beauty of a fish that put up a strong fight. The thing with muskies is that no matter how big the fish is, it is a well-earned reward seeing one in the net.

The highlight of the trip happened about 30-minutes later when I watched a massive gold flash explode on his fly. Funny enough, he was throwing about a 4-inch bucktail buford that is usually used for smallmouth (smartly on his end, we had been seeing smaller fish in the water, so he trimmed down the fly size). After a chaotic fight, my dad had his biggest muskie ever in the boat, and many cheers were to be had with our guide  (friend now after these years) Brad. A great father’s day reward for my best friend, and it was one of my coolest fly fishing memories watching him get his biggest muskie in the boat. Super special moment.

Once again, the Northwoods didn’t disappoint. Although the numbers of fish were limited, the hunt was well worth it, and the final day magic kept everyone on their toes.

Tight lines,

Joe