A giant tail broke the surface before heading back down into the murky water of a small Tomahawk-area lake we were fishing this past Saturday.

The 40 plus inch musky came out of the weeds to chase a Suick I had started ripping through the weeds. Earlier in the day we started by casting topwaters and spinners to see if we could get any fish to chase. The water temp was at 69 degrees, so we were hoping the cooling temps might help get the fish moving. As the day progressed it became obvious we would have to go into the weeds to get them if we were going to have any action.

Suicks are a nice bait to use to probe weedbeds, as it can be paused in pockets and the weeds can be ripped off clearing the lure once contact is made. That is how the hit was provoked Saturday, but either “user error” caused this angler to set the hook too soon as a result of a case of the jitters or the fish just cleanly missed the bait.

On Sunday morning we decided to head out on a Tomahawk area flowage. The water temp was down to 65 degrees at the time we launched the boat. Wanting to get in on some pretty surefire action before casting for muskies, we targeted panfish in shallow weeds and found plenty of nice fish feeding aggressively. Using a simple slip bobber and chunk of crawler, we caught some real nice gills and sunfish and even kept a few for a meal. The fish really seemed active as a bunch were caught before we started to run out of bait so we decided to try our luck for musky.

Continuing to target weeds and shallower water, we again found a very aggressive bite. Unfortunately it was the northern pike that were on fire and no musky were caught. A bunch of pike were caught providing plenty of action that were put back.

This coming weekend should see some pretty fantastic fishing as the water temps continue to drop and a new moon phase peaks on Friday, Aug. 30. The fall colors are just starting to emerge and should really begin to shine as fall arrives. Happy Labor Day and good luck to everyone heading out this week and coming weekend. Have fun and enjoy your Northwoods water time.