Michigan Muskie Alliance

Hey guys, always been an avid big game hunter, getting into the fishing pretty heavy now since I dont drag race in the summer anymore. Really wanting to get into Muskie fishing, I am the type of outdoorsman that is big on respecting the game and management so dont worry about having another idiot running around killing these fish (even by accident/ignorance), I have been reading up on the best methods of healthy release and plan to practice to the very best of my abilities. Related to that, the gear I purchased is as follows, if its not correct please let me know so I can exchange before the first trip out:

Cabelas medium heavy muskie rods, Abu 6500 reels, 65lb braid. Thinking trolling will be my best bet at getting hooked in but will probably do some casting in the future as well.

I plan on trolling and starting on St. Clair and have done some research on some spots etc, help would of course be appreciated. Any other good lakes for Muskie trolling in the SE Michigan area would be a great help as St. Clair is a bit of a drive.

Few more specific questions:
-Whats the best time of year for St Clair Muskie? Worth going out now or should I wait till later to start at this?
-What kind of depths of water should I be trolling in and how far down should I aim at running the lures?
-Whats the ideal trolling speed?
-When running something like a Bucktail I'm assuming I will have to run an inline weight to get it down to depth, how far behind the weight should I run the leader and lure?
-Plan on running 4 rods to start with, should 2 be down rods and 2 be on planers? How far back and down for each?

ANY advice and help is greatly appreciated!!!

If I could offer one tip to anyone that will save you a ton of money on gear... before getting started hire a guide so you go out and get the right gear the first time (no I'm not trying to drum up business). What you have for rods may seem OK for doing both (casting and trolling) but a year down the road you'll probably not be happy with them for casting or trolling.

The 65# braid you got is really only appropriate for lightweight spring lures when casting and you'll probably not be happy with it trolling, especially if using planer boards. 80-100# braid is standard for casting and 30-50# mono is standard for trolling with boards. Next you'll need leaders and they aren't similar when casting or trolling. Trolling leaders should be 4-6' in length made of 60-100# flouro (unless fishing rocks then wire is imperative). Casting leaders should be 12-18" in length and single strand wire for most applications with a stay lok snap or split ring for connecting lures (cross lock and coast lock snaps will break).

There are a couple lakes in the SE Michigan area (Diane and Hudson) but with both being heavily stained they're likely very hot and it would be unsafe (for the fish) to catch and release muskies.

This is pretty much peak time on St Clair. The depth of the baitfish on your graph should dictate the depth of the lure, with an important rule being don't troll below the fish. Trolling speed right now depends on the lures, some lures don't run well together when running bucktails 3.5 - 4.2 is usually best but crankbaits are usually best at 4 - 6 mph. With four rods I would run all four on boards if the water is clear and only in stained water take one off the boards. Distance back is dependent on how deep the lure runs, again keeping in mind that you don't want to be too deep.

I know Will isn't trying to drum up business, but you should book a trip with him you'll get a education like a Vulcan mind melt. It will be well worth it. Also there is a good video release in the general section. I fish Hudson a lot and I would imagine water temps are too much right now. I always have a open seat for anyone, could try this fall. Where do you live? Steve

SE Michigan near Ann Arbor. I definitely plan on booking a charter, just wanted to gather info before then as well.

Have heard that the Dumps and possibly out by the light might be good spots to try on the USA side this time of year?