Nighttime air temperatures in the 40s lowered water temps in northwoods lakes. In this report, Steve discusses the types of lakes he fished and why, and reveals what lures and techniques produced a bunch of muskies, including his largest Wisconsin fish so far for the 2025 season.
Steve returns from a fishing trip to Ontario to find water much too warm in northern Wisconsin for musky fishing, so he rescheduled his guide clients. But his report from Canada includes important info if you’re planning to fish there soon.
As promised in a previous episode, Steve outlines the basics of night fishing for muskies. As he says, “When you get a strike at night, every musky is a 50-incher until proven otherwise. When you set the hook and the water starts flying, you’ll find out why I enjoy it so much.”
In this week’s Northwoods Musky Report, Steve discusses ways to catch muskies off deep weed edges, and then explains the effect very warm water has on muskies and their ability to survive the catch & release process. He also gives a shoutout to the Musky Clubs Alliance of Wisconsin and how its members have stepped up to help our fishery.
Summer weather is firmly upon us and muskies are following their typical patterns. In this week’s Northwoods Musky Report, Steve discusses what’s been working best and explains ways anglers can best release their fish in midsummer water temperatures.
In this week's report, Steve interviews a client from Texas who boated his first five muskies. Then, Steve discusses how the client caught his fish, reveals current patterns, and discusses an important topwater tip.
In this week's Northwoods Musky Report, Steve discusses the torrid bite that occurred for PMTT anglers on the Eagle and Three Lakes Chains; reports on St. Croix Rods' Customer Appreciation Day; and ends with the musky action report from his boat.
Steve begins this week's Northwoods Musky Report by interviewing an angler who caught his first two muskies while fishing with him. He then discusses how the cold weather of last week changed the muskies' preference to stop-and-go lures, and explains why such baits work.
With a cold front blowing into the northwoods, the muskies stopped chasing bucktails for a couple days and demanded stop-and-go baits. Steve reports on the University of Esox Musky School held last weekend and talks about what worked for the anglers in the school who boated a true bruiser of a musky.
The muskies were biting on Wisconsin's northern zone musky opener and Steve and his friends boated a bunch — precisely how he predicted they would in his report last week. In this episode, Steve reveals everything that worked.
In this week's episode, Steve discusses and explains his lake choice, preferred locations, and the lures he will fish during the northern Wisconsin musky opener.
Forward facing sonar, also known as live sonar, is a hot-button topic in the musky fishing world. In this episode, Steve reports on the debate, how the issue led to the end of one longtime musky fundraiser tournament, and how the organizers of other tournaments have reacted.
Steve and his friend struggled to find walleyes on Opening Day but then put together a pattern that allowed them to catch their limit. Steve explains what worked for them, and discusses a completely different pattern that worked for Rhinelander guide Andy Hendrickson. Following that, Steve discusses two different patterns that produced crappies.
In his first fishing report for the 2025 season, Steve provides updates on local conditions and then explains how he and northwoods guide Rob Manthei plan to fish on Opening Day.
Steve can’t hide the fact he thinks the pre-turnover period is the best of the year for musky fishing. In this week’s report, he quickly covers location and then reveals his favorite baits for catching muskies at this time, and why.
Many northwoods lakes contain a heavy algae bloom right now and Steve discusses how you can overcome it. He talks about how you can help muskies find your lures in the green water, as well as where you should fish. Steve wraps up this segment by reporting on the catch of his biggest musky of the year so far, and how practicing what he preaches paid off.
Cool nights, warm days, bright skies and little wind are typical for what many call the “dog days” of August. In this week’s Northwoods Musky Report, Steve reveals his game plan for such conditions and tells the story of how he and a client succeeded while following these tactics.
In this week’s segment, Steve reports from the National Championship Musky Open where big muskies — and lots of them — were caught by tournament anglers. Steve reveals the best patterns.
It’s the week of the National Championship Musky Open in Eagle River, and Steve previews the tournament, explains why you should join, and discusses current fishing conditions, hot lures, and why he thinks big muskies will be caught.
Steve begins this week’s Musky Report with updates on water temperatures in northwoods lakes as well as the musky stocking issue. He then previews a number of upcoming musky events.