By Jed “Big Musky” Buelow
Tomahawk Leader Co-Editor, Sports, Nature Editor
Red and orange leaves floated past the boat as we worked a stretch of weedy shoreline of a Tomahawk area flowage that had proven deadly the past couple Octobers.
The wind was gusting strong out of the west preventing this angler from tossing Suicks, so bucktails and Bulldawgs were used to try and entice a T-bone strike from a musky out the shallow weeds. My buddy was casting a Nimmer Swimmer swim bait when the water up along the shore of an island we were casting exploded and a big tail broke the surface out away from the boat.
The rod doubled over as he kept pressure on the fish as he worked it back to the boat. As I struggled to get the net, the fish made a run at boat side and became wrapped in the motor. I urged Frank to keep pressure on the fish as I raised the prop out of the water. A few intense seconds later the motor emerged and behind it a nice 40ish musky was found hanging from the lure.
Once in the net the line was freed from the motor. The fished was unhooked and my buddy posed for a photo with his biggest musky to date before it was released back into the lake. Well done Franky!
It should have been our second musky in as many days, as the day prior I hooked into another musky while soaking a large minnow on a Tomahawk area flowage. I was using a simple hook and sinker rig when the fish hit.
I really like using this simple rig in the fall as it can result in some giant walleyes as well as musky. Using lighter gear I fought the fish for a good five minutes before it finally shook free of the hook. From the looks of it the fish would have been around that 38” to 40ish inch mark.
The weeds were still pretty green the past couple times out, so I suspect the shallow water bite will remain good heading into the upcoming weekend. They are calling for the first frost of the season Friday morning and water temperatures are dropping quickly so it won’t be long now before we have to deal with turnover.
This is a great time of the year to get out and target musky on Tomahawk area waters. Lures that can be worked in and around the shallow weeds should continue to produce as fish seem to be less in a chasing mood and more in the filling-their-bellies mood prior to turnover.
Good luck to everyone heading out this week and coming weekend. The fall colors are at peak and many are out chasing birds and big muskies. Good luck and enjoy your Northwoods water time!