By Tim Buffington, L.V.O. Sport Fishing
Hey there, Northwoods anglers, and welcome back to the LVO Sportfishing Report! I’m Tim Buffington, ready to get you dialed in for another week of fantastic fishing here in the Northwoods.
We’ve got a special musky report for you this week, because after seven hours of grinding, it took a heavy dose of PMA—Positive Musky Attitude—to unlock a major power window where every fish in the lake wanted to eat! We boated a 42-incher, and only five casts later, 13-year-old Gideon hooked into a monster 49-inch giant! Right then I knew it was time to capitalize as we tangled with and lost four more fish in that incredible bite window before the sun finally set for the night.
The Report: A Night of True Northwoods Magic
The story started about a month earlier when Eric reached out to me. He and his family had just bought a cabin up here in the Northwoods, and he wanted to learn the ins and outs of their new home lake. But more than anything, his two sons—16-year-old Oliver and 13-year-old Gideon—had never musky fished before, and learning how to chase these toothy critters was all they could think about.
So, we put a game plan together to teach Eric the layout of his lake, while giving the boys a masterclass in musky fundamentals.
We started the evening focusing on the basics: the long casts, the figure-eight at the boat, and most importantly, the PMA—Positive Musky Attitude. To me, PMA is the absolute heart of musky fishing. You have to genuinely believe that the next bite is coming on every single cast, and when it finally does, you have to be ready to execute.
Once I felt confident the boys were dialed in, we started casting weed edges, and within minutes, Gideon had his very first follow of the night! He was a little green at that point and naturally slowed the bait down when he should have sped it up, causing the fish to turn away. Shortly after, we had one more follow and hooked into two great northern pike, but then that initial window slammed shut. The grind was officially on.
Even though the fish went quiet, the kids looked like absolute professionals by the end of the first hour. I kept preaching that PMA, telling them a major bite window would open up eventually, and when it did, we’d be ready.
As we hitched closer to dark, we were positioned directly across the water from Eric’s new cabin. I clipped a black, slow-moving topwater Hog Wobbler onto Eric’s line out of the back of the boat. His wife and daughters were sitting up on the cabin deck, and I’m pretty sure they could clearly hear everything that happened next.
Eric made a perfect cast right to a weed edge. Two cranks into the retrieve, that Hog Wobbler completely disappeared. In a fraction of a second, the boat went from zero to a hundred miles an hour! A few minutes later, we had a beautiful 42-inch musky in the net, and the boat absolutely erupted in celebration.
Knowing we were in a major power window, I knew we had to move fast. We snapped a couple of quick photos and got right back to work. On Eric’s very next cast, another fish choked that same black Hog Wobbler, but unfortunately unhooked.
I looked at the boys up in the front of the boat and assured them that their baits were just as good and to keep hammering. Oliver was throwing a Lake X Fat Bastard, and Gideon was chucking a Pandemonium Tackle Marvin single 8.
Exactly five casts later, I watched an absolute true monster engulf Gideon’s Pandemonium Tackle bucktail just feet from the boat!
I immediately knew he had hooked into something incredibly special, and I completely held my breath until that fish finally cleared the hoop of the net. At that point, the entire lake knew exactly what was going on! The boys were literally jumping for joy, and my own heart was racing like it was my first musky ever. Moments of pure, unfiltered joy like that are absolutely why I do what I do as a guide.
That massive fish measured out at an incredible 49 inches. After a few quick pictures, we slid her back into the dark water and thanked her for the fight of a lifetime. And if things couldn’t get any crazier, over the next hour we had four more heavy hits that unfortunately didn’t make it to the net before the sun finally set.
I am pretty sure Eric, Oliver, and Gideon will be looking out from their cabin dock for years to come, remembering that unbelievable night on the water. I know I’ll be thinking about it for years, too.
Inside the Bite Window: How the Stars Aligned
Now, when you look back at a night like that, it wasn’t just luck. We put ourselves on the spot-on-the-spot at exactly the right time to capitalize on a textbook Northwoods power window!
Right when the action exploded, the moon was directly underfoot—and in my book, moon underfoot has always been my absolute favorite over moon overhead for triggering true giants. Combine that moon phase with a strong southeast wind, and the stage was set.
The area we were working is pretty large, and when that heavy wind blows, it fishes big. It created a massive current seam that stacked up baitfish being pushed right into the zone, and I truly believe there were dozens of muskies stacked up in that area, just waiting to ambush anything that swam by.
Now, I’ve always loved an eastern wind for big muskies and pike—and the two great northerns we caught earlier in the night proved it. While those east wind bite windows can be short, it always seems like the absolute biggest fish in the lake choose that exact time to step up and eat.
To top it all off, warming conditions had our water temperatures climbing right into the mid-seventies. That completely spikes a fish’s metabolism, activating them to chase bigger, faster-moving baits. Gideon’s Pandemonium Tackle Marvin single 8 was a perfect match for that 49-inch monster, though with the mood she was in, I’m sure she would have choked a bait twice that size if she wanted to!
A Quick Note for the Multi-Species Anglers
Now, I do want to extend a quick apology to all my walleye and panfish anglers tuning into the Tomahawk weekly fishing report. We didn’t dive into your numbers or patterns this week, but a legendary Northwoods musky story like that was simply too good not to share in full detail.
Don’t worry, though—Aquatic Arts and I will have you completely covered with a full, comprehensive breakdown on the walleye, crappie, and bluegill bites next week to get you right back on the fish!
Outro
That’s your LVO Sportfishing Report for this week.
Get out there, be safe, and enjoy another fantastic week of fishing in beautiful Northern Wisconsin!
And before you head out, be sure to stop by Aquatic Arts bait shop for all your tackle, fresh live bait, and local expert advice.
And remember, if you’re ready to swap screen time for sunshine and smiles on the lake, give LVO Sportfishing a call — we are here to help at 715-612-1090, or look us up on Facebook for the latest smiles!
As always, good conservation means great fishing ahead, so don’t be afraid to let ’em go so they can grow!
From LVO Sportfishing, tight lines, everyone, and have a great week!
Before You Hit the Water
Need bait or tackle before your next trip?
Aquatic Arts Fishing Pro Shop stocks fresh minnows, leeches, crawlers, musky baits, terminal tackle, and the local knowledge to help you make the most of your time on the water.
Whether you’re chasing muskies on the Willow, walleyes on Nokomis, or panfish on one of the area’s many lakes, stop in and see us before you launch.