From the Rower's Seat

Musky fishing is always a team sport. There is a TON of hard work involved and everyone has a part to play. I have been obsessed from time to time with fishing for muskellunge. Unfortunately I have also found myself not getting out as much as I would like due to other obligations during what I consider musky season. Thus, when a couple of buddies had an epic couple of days back in January, it got me fired up to get back out there. 

My original goal had been to spend quite a few days on the musky streams this winter. In fact, I set myself two specific goals for this winter. First, catch a musky as it has been a while since I have personally caught one (despite lots in my boat from friends and clients), and second, catch a big brown trout on the Clinch on a streamer. My favorite musky system has several different sections that I like to fish with more begging to be explored. The only way to explore them is to simply get out there and spend time on the water. When it got to early February and I still hadn't made any musky trips happen yet this winter, I knew it was time to make a change.

Musky Fly Fishing in Tennessee

I checked in with my buddies Pat and Chris and a plan was made. We would float a favorite section with more than enough water to fish in a day. Between us, we had rods ranging from 7 through 11 weight. The heavier rods were for "real" musky flies, and the lighter rods were for when our arms got tired and we needed to throw smaller stuff. I've seen plenty of musky caught on 3-6 inch flies, so I know it can be done even if the big stuff is more exciting.

We all met up at the takeout first thing and piled all the gear into my truck and boat. Soon, we were headed up to the put in. After a quick pause at the top of the ramp to unbuckle boat straps and rig the anchor, I backed the boat down and it was quickly launched. Parking the truck didn't take long, and soon I was at the oars maneuvering Pat and Chris into position to fish the first narrow pool.

Floating a Small Musky River in Tennessee

We drifted slowly down the river. Several incredible looking holes slid by without any excitement. Then we turned the corner into a big pool that has always looked fishing but never produced. With excitement running high, we got a couple of good casts into some structure and.....promptly hung a log. Oh well, that is streamer fishing. As I was backing in to free the fly, Pat suddenly spoke up excitedly, "There's a musky!" Sure enough, I had finally seen a musky in this pool that just looks too good to not have a fish. We interacted with this fish for a while, getting a couple of half hearted follows, but something clearly wasn't right with our presentation. We changed flies and otherwise worked the fish, but with so far to go in our float, we didn't have time to seriously target this fish. 

Before long, we were drifting on down the river looking for the next fish. It didn't take long. We were entering the major feeding period based on the solunar fishing tables. In the next couple of hours, we moved several great fish. At one point, I had yielded the oars to one of the other guys. As I was doing a figure eight over a deep pot, a fish came out of nowhere and worked through the eights with me for several passes before just disappearing. We backed up and got a slightly less enthusiastic response before coming to the same conclusion that we did on the first encounter: we simply had too far to go to play too long with any one fish. 

Not long after, I switched back onto the oars. Our number of encounters was excellent by musky fishing standards, but we were still looking for that first eat. On our first encounter, I had remembered a fly that I wanted to experiment with and quickly rigged it up. I had kept it sitting to the side and waiting for another opportunity to try it. That moment would come soon. 

Video of My Musky on the Fly in Tennessee

Want to see some awesome footage from this musky? Check out the video my buddy Chris put up on YouTube HERE. While you are there, please give him a follow! Now, for the full story below...

Catching a Tennessee Musky on the Fly

We were coming into yet another amazing looking hole (aren't they all?!?!) when Pat again announced, "There's a musky!" The fish slid off of a shallower sand bottom and slunk into the deep pool. Musky often will "soft spook," meaning they will be uncomfortable with the boat in shallow water or otherwise, but will also lay down nearby and even interact with you again if you are careful. I slowly maneuvered the boat back up until we could clearly see the fish laying on the bottom and then slipped the anchor down ever so slowly. Then the guys started going through both flies and presentations. By the time they were running out of ideas, I was ready to reach for my rod with the experimental fly. Asking permission to target the fish, the guys readily agreed, and I stood at the edge of the middle of the boat where I could see the fish. 

On the first cast, the fish quickly engaged with my fly. Bingo! Sure enough, it followed all the way back to the boat and then seemingly ate. When I set, there was nothing there. I slammed the fly back in the water. Last winter, I was fishing with my buddy Jeff when he had something similar happen. Getting the fly immediately back in the water gave us a second opportunity and he landed the fish. Remembering that moment, I got the fly in front of the fish as quick as I could. Sure enough, the fish seemed to be looking for the fly still. Immediately, the fish turned, put its nose right on the fly before the gills flared and it hammered my fly. Game on!

The excitement in the boat reached fever pitch as I worked the fish back and forth. The guys were excitedly taking turns running video and waiting with the net depending on which end of the boat the fish was on. Finally, after several almost there net attempts, we slid the fish into the net. With several whoops and hollers, we moved the boat over to a shallow spot where I could properly spend time getting the fish healthy and back in the pool it came from. After taping the fish out at just under 40" (a new personal best), I cradled it in the water for a while before it suddenly jetted. 

Photo courtesy Pat Tully ©2024

Photo courtesy Pat Tully ©2024

Our Day of Musky Fishing 

Goal number one for the winter season accomplished, I jumped back on the oars for a large portion of the day. The agreement early had been that whoever got a fish would be rowing. I was more than happy to spend the rest of the day on the oars. Only when it started to get late and we had a long ways ago did I ask for help on the oars. We took turns to get on down the river. The day ended with ten encounters, 9 follows, and one landed fish. Not a bad day of musky fishing.

Even with the winter fishing season winding down, I'm hoping to get back out there sometime soon. In the meantime, I'll be out on the Clinch looking for that other goal for my winter season...

Video of My Musky on the Fly in Tennessee

Want to see some awesome footage from this musky? Check out the video my buddy Chris put up on YouTube HERE. While you are there, please give him a follow!

Midging For Musky

Muskellunge, also known as musky or muskie, is the fish of 10,000 casts, or at least that is the rumor. In my experience, sometimes that is accurate and other times people show up and throw a mere couple hundred casts before catching one. Having the right fly is relatively important, but I'm not convinced it is as crucial as putting in the time. Musky are weird fish. They'll eat when they are good and ready but usually not otherwise. That is, unless you can trigger some instinct. That is just one reason that big streamers can be effective. The fight or flight they can trigger usually doesn't scare something this big and bad. No, a musky will stay and fight. If they feel like it. Or else they'll just stare and wander off, too lazy to do anything about it. 

Why Musky Eat Small Meals

Sometimes, instead of big flies, you have to downsize a little. Think about throwing a small snack instead of a big meal. M&Ms instead of a steak. To accurately utilize the advantages that small flies present, you need to consider the life cycle of the muskellunge.

Musky are spring spawning fish. Females and males swim around together and "broadcast" spawn in weedy areas. Those eggs don't take long to incubate and usually hatch within a couple of weeks. The tiny fry grow quickly, going through a list of food sources that are increasingly larger. Once they get "big", favored foods include suckers and other bottom or near bottom feeders, although they are opportunistic enough to eat just about anything. However, even at larger sizes, they still have a memory of those good meals when they were small. 

Another way to think about it that many more fly anglers can relate to is this. Brown trout are often considered the perfect species to target while streamer fishing. Their aggressive nature and willingness to chase down and kill smaller bait means they are susceptible to large flies. However, they at least began their life eating bugs just like any other trout, and given the right conditions, they will return to those old habits. A large hatch is often just the right trigger to get large brown trout eating those little snacks again. 

Last year, the largest trout I had anyone catch on a guided trip with me (27.25") was a brown trout which ate a small #18 midge pattern fished on 6x. That fish undoubtedly ate sculpins, smaller trout, and the odd mouse or other goodie, but it still went back to the tried and true snacks that were always available every day of the year on this particular tailwater. Musky are no different.

Midge Fishing for Musky

Midging for musky first appeared on my radar during an early musky float. This whole obsession started when I got a call from my good friend and fellow fly fishing guide, David Perry of Southeastern Fly. He had got the bug himself and wondered if I wanted to join on a musky expedition. I still remember that first trip. We didn't see fish most of the trip, but close to the end we did have a small musky flash a streamer that wasn't much smaller than it was. Not far downriver, we saw something else strange. At first, and for a few trips after, I thought that the musky were gulping air much like you will see with gar. Eventually, I started putting a few things together. 

These apparently "gulping" fish were exhibiting this behavior almost exclusively during the late hours of evening when swarms of midges were over the water. I don't like to think that I'm slow, but it did take a few times seeing this before the wheels really started turning. Eventually, I finally decided to tie a midge on and the rest is history. 

Area anglers have long wondered why we show up to takeout ramps with what appears to be trout rigged rods. In reality, I just like to take advantage of those latent habits that musky still revert to every once in a while. Just like large brown trout will go back to their favorite snacks from their young days, musky will also start eating bugs, even tiny ones. When they start exhibiting this feeding behavior, they will rarely engage with a traditional large musky fly. They become rather selective, focusing on the tiny emerging midges or at other times, caddis, mayflies, or stoneflies. In the summer, hoppers and other terrestrials are important for the same reasons. You'll catch more smaller fish (think 20-35"), simply because they are closer to the time in life that they regularly ate these types of meals, but large fish can be caught on occasion as well using midges.

While I have enjoyed keeping this under my hat, I finally started feeling a little greedy. Finally, one day I was taking a picture of a midge caught musky and realized I couldn't share the picture with the little midge hanging out of its mouth without giving away my long time secret. So, I decided to share the knowledge with the hope that it will help some other anglers unlock the mystery of the fish of 10,000 casts.

"Midge caught musky for Kendall." ©2022 David Knapp

Rigging Midges For Musky

Probably the best news I can share is that musky are NOT line shy most of the time. Thus, I use the heaviest fluorocarbon tippet that I can fit through the eye of the little hook. Unfortunately, this doesn't usually end up being very big. Something between 0x and 2x is usually the heaviest that you can get through a #18. The tricky part about this whole thing is getting a good hook set without shredding the tippet on their sharp teeth. Because you really can't use the standard steel or super heavy fluorocarbon on such a small hook, you have to rely on good luck. Thankfully, you usually get enough eats when this fishing is at its peak that you can afford a few break offs. Once the hook sticks in the outside edge of their mouth, the key is to fight carefully and take things easy. 

I usually rig just about the same that I would for trout. I prefer hanging a small midge under a tiny strike indicator. When muskellunge are rising to hatching midges, they are normally taking many more bugs just under the surface. A midge pupa pattern will fool most rising musky. I like a pinch of wool for an indicator like the New Zealand strike indicator system. White looks a lot like the bubbles that are also drifting downstream and won't spook fish. While musky are usually not super spooky, they do get cautious when eating bugs since they are sitting high in the water column and visible to areal predators. While eagles, osprey and herons probably can't capture a large adult musky, they will still occasionally try and can leave some serious wounds. 

The rod should be fairly stout, because you will be doing battle with a large fish, but you don't want something that is overkill for the flies you are using. I usually go with a 6 or 7 weight rod, but just make sure it has a good sturdy butt section that will allow you to quickly play the fish. Since you are using light tackle, it is imperative that you push the fish hard. It isn't ethical to play a big fish to exhaustion on light tippets, so at some point you'll need to just start pushing hard and hope for the best. That advice applies to playing large trout as well. 

A basic floating line on a good quality reel rounds out the setup. Don't forget a large net or musky cradle. Because you are using unusually light gear, a good net will often make the difference between landing the fish or losing it at the last second. Don't forget some forceps or long nose pliers for removing the tiny hook. You don't want to get your fingers too close to the business end of a musky. 

A Few Last Tips on Midging for Musky

I don't usually midge for musky except in the cooler months. In the heat of the summer, you don't want to add any extra stress to these fish. If you must fish for them in the warm months, stick to super heavy tippets and get those fish in fast and above all, keep them wet. In the cooler months, water temperatures are not a concern and you can probably do some lighter tippets and smaller flies. If you are out musky fishing and a big hatch starts, look for the tell tale rise forms that first got me started on midging for musky. Once you see them, switch to an imitation of whatever is hatching. You'll be glad you did. Good luck!

Musky Time

Around here in Tennessee, some of us fly flingers have taken to fishing for musky on occasion in the colder months.  When the weather is warm, it is hard to pry ourselves away from the trout and smallmouth fishing.  However, as soon as it gets cold enough to have the freestone trout lethargic, we gravitate towards either chasing trout in tailwaters or trying some new stuff.  Well, it is about time to start trying some of that new stuff for this year.

I've tied a few monstrosities that I hope will look delicious to a musky.  There are a lot of patterns out there that people have invented just for these critters, some of which are so giant that I think my arm would fall off if I had to toss it all day.  Still, when you see a huge shadow materialize behind the fly, it is hard to not think that you need some larger flies.

Normally I throw stuff that would be small to medium sized compared to what a lot of musky guys are throwing.  My most recent ties are a little larger than some stuff I normally tie but still nowhere close to being as large as what a lot of people like to throw.  I'm just hoping to see some fish.  Catching them will be a bonus on this first trip of the year but before winter is too far gone, I hope to find some monsters!