By Bob Jensen

Muskies and truly big northern pike are rarely easy to catch. It’s not that they’re more lure-shy than other species of fish, or have some mystical power that enables them to avoid baits or anglers: It’s just that in most bodies of water, these species of fish are not very common. If you put a bait in front of them, they will often bite. The trick is putting a bait in front of them. Because their numbers are generally less than bass or walleyes or panfish, you have to determine where they live. Once you do that, your chances for getting bit go up tremendously.

In the autumn months throughout the Midwest, muskies and trophy pike become more accessible. Now is a very good time of year to go fishing for these toothy critters. Here are some ideas to increase your odds for connecting.

Keep in mind that pike and muskies are two entirely different fish species, and they act differently, especially in the spring. In the fall though, they will act a little more similarly. However, good musky lakes are not often good pike lakes, or the muskies might be in one section of the lake, the pike are somewhere else. It’s been my experience though, that what is good autumn structure on a pike lake will often be good autumn structure on a musky lake.

On good musky lakes, in the fall, deep green weedbeds will produce muskies. So will windblown shallow rock structures that are close to deep water, as will reed beds that are close to deep water. These same type structures on good pike lakes will be productive for pike.

It works well to establish a pattern. Try all the different structures and try to determine if one type of structure is more productive than others. If so, concentrate your efforts on that type of structure.

Lots of baits will catch muskies and pike, but a bucktail is favored by many anglers that chase toothy fish. The reasoning is simple. Toothy fish like to eat bucktails, and when they bite on a bucktail, the odds of them getting hooked are much better. It’s easier to set the hook with a bucktail than with a wood bait because it’s easier to move the bucktail in the fish’s mouth. When a musky clamps down on a wood bait, it can be hard to move. A Bionic Bucktail Spinner or Bionic Bucktail Spinnerbait have accounted for some of the biggest muskies and pike in the Midwest in the past several years. The Spinnerbait style is best in the reeds, as it comes through them cleaner. Add a large Power Grub to the hooks of these baits to add flash and color contrast.

Big fish call for big tackle. Go with a six and a half or seven foot musky rod with one of the larger Abu Garcia Ambassadeur casting reels. They last a long time and are very reliable, and reliable is what you want when Mr. Big hits. Spool it with 65/14 Ultracast line and back off on the drag a little bit. This line casts great and provides arm-jarring hooksets.

Muskies and trophy pike are rarely an easy thing, but they might be just a little easier in the next few weeks. If you want to catch a big toothy fish, now is probably your best chance to do so.

For more fish-catching information, visit fishingthemidwest.com