Early Spring Muskie

I have been out almost everyday since the opener and have only had one follow. I have been throwing cowgirl jr and glide baits, should I downsize baits for hopes of more success? Or start working the 6-8ft range?

....and the first weekend of May for the southern opener the trigger was speed, speed, speed. Fish were chasing and without working your bait fast they weren't interested. Rule #1 about muskie fishing: There are no rules. Slow down, speed up, big baits, small baits, etc. No rules on that. Start with what you can figure out and branch off of there. You can't catch 'em where they don't live....no matter how magical or hot of a bait you think you have. If you drop a crusty turd with hooks on it in front of a muskie's face you have a better shot at catching one than you do if you plop the greatest bait ever made in a spot where there isn't one. Just a slew of self fulfilling prophecies that make us think we have it figured out and then we get stumped. Gotta vary it up.

If the water is still real cold, SLOW DOWN!! I would lose the double-tens right now unless you are crawling them. Gliders and walk the dog topwaters, fished pretty slow normally do the trick for me in early spring. As was mentioned, look for the warmest water and most especially, the baitfish.

Location, location, location. Changing bait size won't do anything if the fish aren't where you are fishing. Finding warmer water is a good idea but also look for current seams. Depending on the situation current seams provide a heck of an ambush point if a few other factors are in play. Pay attention to wind direction. In a basin your warmest water will be at the surface. If that wind is from the west look to the east because the wind will push that surface water in that direction. As temps warm this flips and you want to look for cooler water but it's too early for that yet. Within those north bays, where overall the warmest water will be present, you can still implement the idea of where the warmest water will be within those warmer bays. Your bait selection might have been just fine but you were fishing in areas where there are no fish. I personally don't downsize at all in the spring.

This time of year try to find the warmest water on the lake which is usually on the north side and fish that with lures that stay in the top 2 feet of the water column. Muskies prefer water in the 68-70 degree temperature range and until the body of water you're fishing has reached those water temps your best bet on finding active fish is in the warmest water you can find. Hope this helps you out.

Guys were telling me they dont downsize in spring. If youve been using smallish baits and not getting any looks, then try upsizing to normal sized baits that youde normally use in summer. Keep trying different stuff till you have a taker. Use your go to type baits. All you can really do is keep after em. Good luck.