Big Muskego Lake

[MU Fish]

Was able to get out on Big Muskego lake on 6/16/06 and managed to catch 5 pike and 1 largemouth. One pike was a 40" fish and my dad was the lucky angler. Fished suckers and jigs just as my mentor, Steve (Finseeker), has taught me.
See attached picture. The fish was also released.

[Eric Haataja]

:) Wow that's one heck of a fish congrats and I tip my Hat for the release I'd bet 90 percent of all fisherman would have killed it for a skin mount. Good job chuney! See ya in a couple of weeks.

Eric Haataja

[Finseeker]

Went out last night for the first time. Caught several pike (10 plus) small pike and 1 bass. Missed several other ops before the front blew in. The temp dropped at least 10 degrees and went from dead calm to 20 mph gusts in a matter of 5 minutes.

[luv2fish]

I fish this lake and the bay quite a bit and use shiners and suckers often. The only way i know how to rig them though is just under a slip bobber. Any suggestions??

[Finseeker]

Luv2fish-

If you don't want to use bobbers, put on an egg sinker or Lindy sinker (1/2 oz to 1 oz) depending on how deep you are fishing, the size of your bait and the wind. Tie on a swivel (no snap) this is to stop the sinker from sliding down to your hook. Then tie on a 4-6 foot leader (material of your choice, power pro, heavy mono, flourocarbon etc) then tie on your hook.

I use a circle hook or kahle hook. Size depends on how big your bait is. I would recommend going smaller vs. bigger. You can fish this vertical or drag it behind the boat.

Hope this helps

Steve Everetts
Finseekers Guide Service
www.finseekers.com

[luv2fish]

Thanks for the help steve. Was actually out on the bay today and tried suckers. It didn't produce any fish but i had some for sure bites as my sucker was getting chewed up. One more quick question, when you are dragging them, is there a trick for weeds, or do you just let the weight dangle over the top of them??

Thanks again

[Justind]

Has anyone been out to the big swamp yet? Looking for ice conditions. Im going stir crazy waiting to get my ice gear wet? If anybody knows the ice conditions please post. Thanks.

[curtb03]

I spoke with a buddy of mine yesterday who has fished it the last two days. he says the ice was 4-5 inches. not sure where he was though.

[wolfriver]

I couldn't believe the idiots out there on quads and sleds. Ice was not the best allot of it where I was consisted of about 1/2 inch hard stuff lots of slush when you break through and about 2 inches clear ice, otherwise it was about 3 inches on the harder areas..I went 7 for 13 on tipups, two of the pike were nice chunky 29 1/2" and the rest of the pike were 24 down to 19" My buddy went 1 for 6 with a chunky 25"..ALL FISH RELEASED.. Great day to be out ..Also if you are one of the idiots on a sled with conditions like this after I help fish you out ,expect a kick in the cherries...Tight lines

[Uncle Willie]

HAHA...i just saw the CBS 58 van in the duram channel in the ice. What a bunch of fools. Atleast no one was hurt.

[Eric Haataja]

Was out on Big M this past weekend on Sunday and we did pretty good landing some nice legal pike my client kept and also I caught a giant largie that was just over 6 lbs. We caught our fish on jerk shads, buzz baits and jig and pig and where there was some deeper water. I also saw lots of nice gills out there spawning. Great lake to fish, very little crowds lots of room and plenty of depth this year to run around.

Eric

[Justind]

Anyone been out by Boxhorn yet and have any news on the ice conditions? Safe ice in the channel or by the deep island hole yet? Itching to get out on the ice.

[Eric Haataja]

It's that time of the year out here where there is a tremdous top water bite for pike and bass I usually fish the main lake and deeper weeds and cattails will always have fish along with the dredge holes.
Eric

[luv2fish]

Hey Eric, think i can squeeze my 17.5 ft. deep V out there...I am quite familiar with the lake (been fishing it for 6 yrs) so i know about its depth...Im just not used to having a bigger boat (good problem to have i guess :D:D)....

[Eric Haataja]

Should not be a problem ecspecially since the lake is still up a bit.

[luv2fish]

haha, yeah sorry...i just fixed it...:rolleyes::rolleyes:

Thanks for the reply

[Hunter5]

Fished both lakes today with a friend that told me they were getting lots of crappies. We caught one, a few gills, a few Perch and a few bass. While fishing basses bay I noticed that there are hardly any weeds, excepte right on the shore line.

[Finese Fisherman]

has anybody been seein any geese
any help appreciate it

[Fish Boy35]

fished big m today and man i had a tough day granite i was only out for 2hrs it was still tough. missed one 18"+ swimmin a jig, caught one 16" flippin a ugly otter, a 16.5 on a spinnerbait. then another swing and miss on a flippin jig.


and suggestion to luv2fish, when iam fishin out there i sometimes rig up a circle hook on a planer board weighted down with a 1oz tungsten flippin weight and just drag it along side the deep side of the boat when iam workin shorelines for bass. and i just use the planer board as a bobber and it drags the bait out from the boat a bit too!


Fish Boy

[Skeeterzx185c]

Has anyone been out to the big swamp yet? Curious to know if there is any safe ice yet. Im guessing we are still a couple weeks away from making through the channel to Bass Bay but I wouldnt mind hitting up the main lake if there is safe ice.

[Eric Haataja]

main lake has 4-5 inches according to a guy I chatted with and the pike were going really good on tip ups!

Eric

[Skeeterzx185c]

Thanks Eric, might check it out on sunday after our trip to Castle Rock

[luv2fish]

Fished from 7ish till 1:00 today with little results. Me and my cousin had 6 or 7 flags all day, 1 or 2 of those could be contributed to the wind but the others took maybe 10-15 ft of line out and droppedthe minnow. No fish on the tipups and caught two perch on the AF (Swedish pimple w/ waxie)....Tough, brutal day AND the packers lost in the 4th again to make things even better...We need a new D coordinator but thats a whole new topic in itself ;);)

Good Luck All

Oh by the way ice is still fine, 7 inches with a bit of water on top. Should freeze within the next couple of days with the low temps forecasted...

FF

[Skeeterzx185c]

Heading out to the BIG SWAMP on saturday with some buddies. Anybody been having any luck? Also does anyone know if you can make it over to Bass Bay yet? Is it 4wheeler safe I guess is the main question?

[dusty]

Anyone have any new info on the fishing on Big Muskego or Bass Bay?:

[luv2fish]

They are talkin about the sulfur smell on Big M again....Its like Deja Vu, hopefully we can dodge another winter kill this year. I guess the bite has been average at best on the bay with a few snakes and crappies being taken (buddy has been out a couple times)...

Good Luck

[Skeeterzx185c]

Actually had a weekend off from tournaments so my buddy and I spent a few hours both Saturday and Sunday out on the big swamp. First time Ive been out there for open water in two years. Its crazy how much those bogs move around. A couple of my usual fishing spots were now a bog. We did really well and it looks like the rumors of a winter kill last year were false. We pounded bass and pike the whole time. Lots of 2 pounds bass with a few 3+ mixed in. The real PIG eluded us. Pike were mostly on the smaller side but fun none the less. Swim Jigs were the ticket, color didnt matter, bring lots of trailers!!!:D

This is one of the best straight action lakes in SE WI. If you have kids your looking to get into fishing this is a great place to take them.

As always please help protect this fishery and practice catch and release and within a few years this lake could potentially become a trophy Pike destination.

Also a side note, this lake is now crystal clear thanks to zebras. Please clean your boat when going from lake to lake. A rinse with diluted bleach kills them. STOP the Spread:)

[Eric Haataja]

Made it out there yesterday with clients we fished both out in the main lake and in Basses bay, fishing was decent. Clients landed 20-25 bass and a half dozen pike. We did miss our two biggest bass which was a bummer but nice to see the quality of fish in the lake. Casting Senko's and scum frogs worked well along with flipping jigs up to the cain. Finding deeper channels or water out in the main lake is key sometimes just fishing 2 feet deeper makes a huge difference out there!!

I did not take any pics.

[ernie]

We just moved to muskego area....scouted out launch sites on Big Muskego today. Plan on fishing Big M and Bass Bay tomorrow or weekend. Any newby advise? I'm interested in crappie, pike and bass.

ernie

[Eric Haataja]

Lots of bass up close to the reeds and in basses bay many pike on the weed edges in there, spinner baits and swim jigs work great and there can be a great slop bite as well. Crappies are typically suspended or on the weed edges.

[Skeeterzx185c]

For Bass and Pike I would put the trolling motor on High and cover as much water as possible throwing a swimjig. The fish setup ambush spots on points and edges of the reeds. For Crappies I would fish the dredgeholes by the islands. They are tough to find but when you do there are some nice ones in there.

Eric,
Just a heads up I have the next two weekends for sure, possibly three weekends free from tournaments so if you have any cancellations and want to get out give me a call. I can also do fridays after 3pm. I am probably heading out to Big M this weekend to work on my Flippin skills

[Skeeterzx185c]

The cold front didnt hinder the bite on Big M this weekend. Spent about 6 hours out on the swamp saturday during the middle of the day. Caught 28 bass and 8 pike. Also had 5 biteoffs on bigger pike (30+) biting right through my flouro leader. My one hotspot produced right away with 13 bass all over 15 inches in my first half hour. The true Pigs eluded me again but lots of 2-3 pound fish. Brovarney swim jigs were the ticket.

Side Notes:
The DNR pulled up to me and checked livewells, lifevest and license while I was out there so they are present, make sure you have all the proper equipment and know the size limits.

If you are looking to order any swim jigs you can visit www.brovarneybaits.com Tell them Justin D sent you. Dan is a great guy and will set you up with all you need.

[kickask]

Was out from 7 to 11 yesterday. Happy to report no lead in the head. :) Very slow day. A few LM, very sporadic, largest 16 and a couple small northerns and a couple bite offs. Lake was surprisingly quiet, very little fish movement that we saw. Water was very murky compared to early August when we were there last. I think all LM but one were caught right after seeing some movememt. Unfortunately the activity was few and far between. Nothing on spinnerbaits., or senkos. All caught on swimjigs. Water was 58

[trueangla]

was out there today for the first time with a buddy. Landed 20 nice bass and one 30" pike. Fish came from the marsh and Bass bay out of the tight cover.