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Muskie Fishing:
Clearwater Lake and Pipestone Lake are the best-kept Muskie secrets in Ontario. Considering the amount of Muskie and the massive size of some of the Monster Muskie that have come out of the lake, Muskie hunters have been doing a good job keeping it quiet and to themselves. Even in the prime time of year there is a lot less fishing pressure than you would expect. Regardless of the zipped lips of our Muskie fanatics, those in the know come here to fish because of the largeness of our muskies. Call it genetics or just a great forage base or a combo of both, the strain of muskies here are fat. Some of the "girthiest" muskies around. Compare pics of some of these northen muskies to their southern cousins and these muskies compared by length and weight outweigh them every time.
Clearwater Lake and Pipestone Lake have traditionally been a destination for Walleye and Pike hunters. The Muskie population is incredible. Our guests don't even have to fish for Muskie to catch them. Every week guests come back from a day on the water and tell us stories of Monster Size Muskie following their Walleye up to the boat and many times stealing the Walleye. If the guest happened to be using a steel leader and his or her line was not too thin, they have reeled in Muskie on just Walleye equipment.
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Muskie are found all through the chain of Lakes. There is more than 70 miles of water for them to patrol and an endless banquet of feeder fish to get fat on. Generally looking at all the lakes, you could say the most common size Muskie is 36 to 42 inches. Just about every week guests catch Muskie in the 43 to 49 inch range. The really big Monster Muskie in the 50+-inch range are found throughout the chain of lakes but they are more common on the big lakes of Clearwater and Pipestone.
Really big Trophy Muskie are known to be a bit claustrophobic. They like going into shallow bays or along the shore to feed but they like big open water to their backs. Pipestone Lake and Clearwater Lake is where the biggest Muskie get caught. During the summer there are a few Muskie in the 50 to 55-inch range that get caught and released by our guests but they are not near as common as smaller Muskie in the 36 to 42-inch range.
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Almost all Muskie hunters that fish our lakes troll along the shore and around islands or cast into patches of Muskie Cabbage and Wild Rice. When you only have a week on the lake you want to go for numbers and hope to get a trophy. Out in the open water is where the true monsters are. This is an untapped fishery, which most people do not take advantage of because they don't have the time. Out in open water and suspended in deeper water are massive schools of Whitefish, Lake Herring and Cisco. These are all oily fish that are rich in nutrients and energy. This is where the really big Monsters are feeding. Generally we want our guests to catch lots of fish so it's safer to send them to the spots where we know they will catch Muskie. If nothing is happening close to shore we encourage our guests to try some open water trolling.
Predicting how many Muskie you will catch in a day is impossible. Muskie hit in any kind of weather as long as it's consistent. Changes in weather can cause the Muskie to slow down or stop feeding all together. Changes in weather also give the Walleye a spark so we suggest you fish for Walleye during weather transitions and then back to Muskie if the weather stays consistent. There is the old saying that Muskie are a fish of 10,000 casts. That's a load of crap where we are. We have had guests come to the lodge and do nothing but Muskie fishing and have caught 10 in a day. You cannot expect that and generally a boat should bring in one Muskie about every 2 to 3 hours. This is based on being an experienced Muskie hunter.
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The bottom line is Clearwater Lake and Pipestone Lake are two of the best Muskie fishing lakes in the world. The Ministry of Natural Resources here in Ontario conducted an extensive Muskie population assessment by netting hundreds of thousands of Muskie across the province. Clearwater Lake and Pipestone Lake were named in the MNR's list of the top 15 lakes in Ontario that are capable of producing the next world record.
Muskie Galleries:
2010 Muskie Fishing Photos
2009 & Older Muskie Fishing Photos
Lures for Small to Medium size Muskie:
J-11 Jointed Rapalas (Trolling)
J-13 Jointed Rapalas (Trolling)
Medium to Large Thundersticks (Trolling)
Medium size Spinner Baits (Casting)
5-inch Suick (Casting)
#2 or #3 Mepps Bucktail Spinner (Casting or trolling)
Small Swimwizz or small Believers (Trolling)
Mid-size Jack Pots (Top Water)
Spooks (Top Water)
Creepy Crawlers (Top Water)
Mid Size Jerk Baits / Crank Baits (Casting)
Medium Jitter Bugs (Casting)
Lures for Large Muskie:
Large #4 or #5 Mepps Bucktail Spinners (Casting)
Large Spinner Baits (Casting)
Large Lucky Strike Wooden Muskie Plugs (Trolling)
Large Hedon Muskie Plugs (Trolling)
Large Suick (Casting)
Medium to large Ziggy Lures (Trolling)
Medium to large Willy Lures (Trolling)
Medium to large Wiley Lures (Trolling)
Medium to large Believers (Trolling)
Medium to large Swimwizz (Trolling)
MuskieTrain Lures (Trolling)
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