The author’s son Tommy hoists one of two late-season muskies he caught on his first trip to Lake of the Woods.
September 12, 2024
By Thomas Allen
From the pages of the October/November 2024 Edition of In-Fisherman magazine.
The splashing water began to freeze on the windshield and I was grateful I was sitting behind it as the November wind gusted over water that hovered near 35°F. I snapped back and quickly shook my head after burning my mouth on hot coffee contained in my Yeti mug while dancing between 21/2-foot rollers—think Air Boss Johnson in Top Gun after Maverick buzzed the tower.
We were headed to a very special destination—Big Narrows on legendary Lake of the Woods. I had fat cold-water muskies on the brain. A very special group of men, including my then 16-year-old son, had come together for a week-long adventure at an unbelievable location that perhaps you’ve heard of.
The Trip into a remote camp at Lake of the Woods requires a week or more of supplies. But don't pack too heavy, the boat needs to function. Jay Siemens and a band of fishing fanatics collectively built an awesome off-grid cabin just a few clicks down the lake from Big Narrows proper. We reserved the final week of the season at Uncle Mark’s Outpost for a late fall muskie trolling expedition. It’s truly a special place deserving of a top spot on your bucket list—five stars by my account.
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How did we end up here? It’s a good story that would require an article all its own, but the abbreviated version requires us to step back some 25 years to when I discovered In-Fisherman’s Great Muskie Hunt II, a classic educational video that lit a fire in my gut to become a muskie hunter. Along life’s road I met a few good men who also had a burning desire to troll the tannic waters of Lake of the Woods for giant fall muskies.
Pull-Pause Game Strong Truth is, there are still plenty of casting options for those who prefer that approach during the fall season. It’s a gut check, for sure. If you were to ask those who break boat-ramp ice to keep the late-season muskie dream alive, they’d all agree a special encounter with a monster muskie is hard to put into words. Especially when she’s heavier than at any other time of year.
Pull-Pause Baits Cisco and whitefish both spawn during late fall and often school in large numbers offshore before moving shallower to spawn, which indeed attracts feeding predators. Focus on rocky substrate near main-lake points, underwater humps, and around islands. These calorie-dense baitfish are a top choice for muskies bulking up for the long, dark winter months.
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Late-season casters mostly prefer baits with large profiles that perform well on a pull-pause retrieve. Musky Innovations Super Magnum Bull Dawgs (aka The Pounder) , Chaos Tackle Monster Medussa , Phantom Hard Head and Baby Beaver XL are excellent options that big muskies engulf during late season.
The right rod-and-reel combo is critical to not only keep your joints intact, but also to make countless full-send casts. Modern muskie rods are trending longer and heavier for various presentations, but it has helped “big rubber” anglers the most by reducing bodily wear and tear.
Don’t go cheap on your gear. A couple great setups include the 10-foot Fenwick Elite Predator Magnum in XXXH power ($369.99) paired with a 400-size Penn Fathom Low Profile baitcast reel in 7.6:1 retrieve ratio ($319.95) spooled with 100-pound braid. I also like the 9-foot Musky Innovations Pro Big Dawg Bull Dawg Rod in XXXH power ($250) paired with a Shimano Tranx 500 ($549).
Casting for giants in the fall is tedious, but when she eats, it’s an unbelievable experience. Here, the author hoists a fat 49-incher that ate a Dadson double 10 bucktail on the figure-eight. The Art of Trolling When it’s cold and windy, but your desire to catch a giant still burns hot, trolling might be your game. I love it! But I can assure you, it’s no gimme. Baits need to be tuned, gear needs to be capable of taking numbers of heavy impacts—whether rock or fish—and you must be able to replicate productive patterns.
During the peak of summer, I believe bright colors force fish to show themselves, and they absolutely work into the fall. For my money, however, anything that mimics ciscoes, whitefish, and suckers pays dividends, hopefully to the 50-inch mark and beyond.
Fall trolling baits It’s hard to beat old-school baits like Believers and Grandmas, but current popular options include the Supernatural Big Baits Headlock and Matlock alongside the Musky Candies Customs Sniper series.
While they’re expensive, the heavy-duty aluminum lips on the Headlocks and Matlocks are extremely durable, and the polycarbonate lips and through-wire design make the Musky Candies Customs perfect for this application. Banging baits on rocks equals more fish.
Trolling for muskies late in the fall is one of the great northern experiences. It takes time, commitment and willingness to confront Mother Nature. A couple of smart rod-and-reel combinations for trolling applications include Thorne Brothers Custom Predator Trolling Blank in medium-heavy to heavy power ($229 for the blank, but you can pick the additional components to fully customize the rod, $450-plus for the final product). I like to match it with a Shimano Tekota A Line Counter Reel in 400 size and 6.1:1 retrieve ratio ($219.99) spooled with 100-pound braid. Another option: St. Croix Mojo Musky Trolling Rods in heavy to extra-heavy powers ($225-$265) with a Penn Fathom II Level Wind Line Counter ($299.95).
Trolling is a high-impact approach to muskies, requiring forgiveness in rod and line. A softer rod provides cushion when a big fish eats, and when heavy baits get hung up in rocks (remember the boat continues to move forward once you’re hooked up). Braid works, but heavy mono or fluorocarbon is a solid option, too. Line counters help with consistency and allow for replication. Use a long 8- to 10-foot, 100- to 130-pound fluorocarbon leader with ultra-heavy-duty swivels, split rings, and snaps.
Jigging Up Fall Monsters Somewhere between casting and trolling is a less-common technique that certainly produces numbers of giant fish, and it’s a fantastic option for fall muskie hunters. While it’s safe to assume muskies are less active in really cold water, some are certainly still willing to chase down a bait that’s being cast or trolled, while others are more likely to eat something that’s slow and easy to catch. Two baits come to mind when targeting the latter, the Bondy Bait Original and Red October 10-inch Monster Tube —both excellent vertical jigging options.
Muskie jigs. While not always required, current helps cover water and present the lure to as many fish possible. The goal is to move slightly slower than the actual current speed with a tight-lined lift and drop. Tap bottom and lift again. Muskies often eat on the drop.
A powerful rod is important, too, but anything extra-heavy between 8 and 9 feet is ideal. A couple choice setups for jigging: 9-foot Fenwick Elite Predator in extra-heavy power with an Abu Garcia Revo Toro Beast in 6.2:1 ($329) spooled with 100-pound braid with an 18-inch, 130-pound fluorocarbon leader. Another fine option is a heavy- to extra-heavy-power, fast-action St. Croix Mojo Musky Casting Rod ($255-$350) with a Daiwa Lexa 400 reel ($329.99).
Dragging Meat No self-respecting muskie turns its nose up to a big, lively sucker. They’re a fine option for catching big cold-water muskies. Select bait shops carry limited amounts of giant suckers toward the latter part of the season. A sucker from 15 to 22 inches is ideal for a big, hungry muskie.
Fishing large suckers on a quick-strike rig is a great way to enjoy the waning days of fall on muskie waters. This is an average size muskie sucker outfitted with a custom rig. Depending on the situation, I generally hang a 17- to 18-inch sucker on a hand-tied quick-strike rig and suspend it 4 to 6 feet below a giant float, typically about 30 feet from the boat. Locate breaklines, main-lake points, and weededges. Anywhere all of these elements come together are great places to start.
Mostly, you’ll be running the boat with a remote-driven bowmount trolling motor. The Minn Kota Terrova Quest or Garmin Force Kraken are excellent options to keep the boat moving at 0.7 to 1.2 mph. Don’t go too fast; you want the sucker to swim free and on his own. Just creep along.
Many anglers let the muskie carry the sucker for a minute or so to get the right angle on the fish before setting the hook. A straight overhead swing on a relatively short line is going to be the most productive position to set the hook. Set it and hang on tight! Catching muskies on suckers requires some specialized tackle:
Quick-Strike Rigs: Multiple variations of quick-strike rigs are available. Quick-strike rigs are safe on muskies when used properly, hooking fish shallow. Since the size of available suckers often changes, having a rig that easily adjusts to accommodate 14- to 21-inch suckers is best. I hand tie all my rigs so they’re exactly how I like them—search YouTube for countless examples and options.
Weights: I often rig a couple 1-ounce rubber-core sinkers on the line about 12 to 24 inches ahead of the sucker to keep it in the strike zone. The larger the sucker, the larger the weight.
Enormous muskies often prefer a lively baitfish to the alternative. Evan Blakley was fishing with the author and caught his best ever—a 51-inch monster. Large Foam Floats: A large float functions almost like a planer board, and you can set it to keep suckers from getting tangled in vegetation. When you set the hook, the float simply falls off the line and you can go retrieve it after the muskie has been caught and released.
Stick and String: Rod-and-reel combos for suckers can vary, but I’ve come to prefer a 9-foot 6-inch to 10-foot XXH to XXXH rod. The longer reach makes it easier to get the right angle on a chewing fish. I almost always use a line-counter reel like the Penn Fathom II Level Wind.
Big-Water Management You certainly don’t want to traverse big northern waters without the right rig. Designed and built by legendary builder Earl Bentz, Caymas Boats offers beautiful yet rugged multispecies rigs in their DV Series (DV 19, 20, and 22), providing perfect platforms to cast or troll for big fall muskies.
The Caymus DV 22 The DV 22 (22 feet) is the largest in the DV series. It’s available in three deck configurations to accommodate different angling styles. The boat offers oversized compartments to store rods up to 10 feet in length, and built-in tackle stations in the cockpit area for easy access to your tackle. Learn more about boat features and specifications at caymasboats.com.
Go to Lake of the Woods The Experience: Uncle Mark’s Outpost is open all season long out of Big Narrows, and it’s a fantastic place to stay. Look up Jay Siemens on YouTube for the cabin build experience.
The Resort: Big Narrows Resort has the best view of Big Narrows on Lake of the Woods. We’ve stayed there to film In-Fisherman TV and highly recommend it. Comfy cabins with incredible views. Look up Jordan at bignarrowsresort@gmail.com, Big Narrows Resort , or call 807/444-4482.
In-Fisherman’s Thomas Allen looks on as Guide Spencer Caruso shows off a fine muskie caught during filming of In-Fisherman TV. The Guide: Spencer Caruso of Limitless Expeditions is an energetic and talented young guide on Lake of the Woods out of Kenora, Ontario. Regardless of the species or time of year, he knows when and where to make your Lake of the Woods dreams come true. Check out Limitless Expeditions on Facebook or reach Spencer at spencerguide3@gmail.com or 705/919-1601.
Just Go After six hours of trying to locate our first muskie out of Uncle Mark’s Outpost last fall, we trolled over a 25-foot reef that was shorter than a football field, and one of the reel clickers went off. The rod it was paired with bounced violently. My son Tommy scrambled to pull the rod out of the rod holder. And the battle ensued.
A solid windshield, the right electronics, icy waters, and breathtaking sunsets are all ingredients to giant fish battles in the North Woods. Moments later, a beautiful, almost iridescent green Lake of the Woods muskie was in the bag with high fives all around. My son was elated. And I snapped one of those pictures I’ll treasure for the rest of my life.
It’s easy to sit at home when the gray of November sets in and the north wind blows. But some of the most incredible days on fall muskie waters have occurred when the weather is cold and miserable.
A fall northern run just prior to ice up to chase hungry, world-class muskies is a voyage worth the time. It’s not only about the fish, but also confronting Mother Nature’s rage, wilderness adventure, and brotherhood—not to mention nightly fish fries, cheap cigars, and after-hours cold drinks complemented by embellished stories.
This photo is one the author holds dear. A huge fall Lake of the Woods muskie with snow on the shoreline and bitter air temps. A memory that will last a lifetime.
