Michigan Muskie Alliance

I was wanting to take a late summer or early fall trip to the western part of the u.p.. was thinking the cisco chain the last week of sept. or first week of oct. ( she said she would fish with a jacket on not a winter coat, can't win them all!!). is this a good choice? we will be coming from dayton ohio area. any info would be appreciated.

Great choice. To me there is no better place to spend a week than on the chain of lakes. Lots of scenic water, you probably won't even be able to see it all, varied types of fishing and good fishing, real nice fish. Beautiful stuff- especially that time of year!

There's no shortage of water with some real nice opportunities at a big one. I would recommend a half day or fulll day guide for the first day. I figured out what I was doing on the last day of my trip when I spent a week there in 2007, could have been a better trip with a guided first day. From now on I will always be guided on at least the first day of a trip. Too much time and money is invested to fish blind and search for a pattern, location, seasonal trends, etc.....

I fished it in 2007 and 2 weeks in 2009. One of my favorite places to fish. Still has the "wilderness experience" feel to it with lots of bald eagles, osprey and loons as you fish. Lots of water to cover with some deep and clear lakes like 1000 island and others that are shallower with a little more water color to them.

thanks for the input. glad to know I was right on my thinking. will try to book something this week. thanks for the tip about hiring a guide the first day. I have been thinking about it but did not know if I should spend the money or not ( I'm tight). probably would do all day if I did, sounds like a lot of area to cover.

You now those "Sportsman's Connection" fishing map books? There's one out for the Western UP and it's filled with not just lake maps but guide suggestions for each lake. Mine is a 2002 version, they may have updated it since I was up there some years ago.

So, here are some dated random numbers of potential info sources on lakes in the area yer headed, I have no personl experience with anybody except Lance Lucky, a musky nut in Iron County with a cool bait shop where i used to pre-order my big suckers. Mr. Becker pops up all over the place regarding the 1,000 Lakes and Cisco chain.

Dave Schingen, (715) 547-3443
Bruce Becker, (906) 358-9880
Ryan Verbos, 906-932-0990
J.W. Pitts, (906) 358-4305
Lance Lucky, 906-265-5339

Hope that's helpful. DNR in Crystal Falls can likely provide suggestions, too.

Good luck!

I'd pack everything from swim trunks to long underwear, and hope you don't need the later. You can plan everything but the weather!

yes, mention the cisco chain and bruce becker's name just keeps popping up. I emailed him last night around 10:00 and he had responded by this morning ( quick response, good sign ). more than likely going to book with him. as far as the weather that is what I figured. that time of year could be beautiful or down right nasty. I spent the fall of '87 doing some work up there for northern states power and the weather can turn nasty quick!! thanks for ALL the great info!!!

Bruce Becker has spent 30 plus years up there on the chain. I've never been out with him but have spoken with him several times on the lake while fishing and he seems like a good guy and knows that water very well.