On Green Bay, muskies are target of November hunting
After years of stocking, fishing provides alternative to deer

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11/25/07 By Jim Lee Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers ** you do not have permission to see this link **

"It's a small one," Brett Jolly said as he watched Brad Bodwin slip the net under a chunky, 39-inch muskie.

"There are a bunch of fish out here in the 38- to 42-inch range," Bodwin said. "It will be very interesting to see these fish again in a few years."

The prospect of encountering the current muskie class and their older, larger counterparts is putting Green Bay and the lower Fox River on the muskie-angling map.

Over the past decade, the state Department of Natural Resources steadily has built a population of Great Lakes spotted muskie in the lower bay. As that muskie base has grown, anglers are discovering and continuing to refine techniques necessary to tap into the fishery.

An abundance of shad and other forage has allowed these stocked muskie to pack on pounds at well-above-average rates. A 50-inch minimum size limit ensures fish have time to grow to trophy proportions.

"You can catch muskie in spring," Jolly said, "but the best fishing is in autumn, from late September until the end of November when the season closes.

"My goal next year is to locate the muskies' summer habitat and learn to catch them at that time, also."

Jolly, a Wausau native living in Green Bay, is an accomplished and knowledgeable muskie angler, placing second in Titletown Muskies Inc.'s 2006 Best of the Best tournament on the bay and fourth in this year's event. Bodwin, a Two Rivers native living in De Pere, is a frequent fishing companion.

"I try to get out muskie fishing as often as I can," Jolly said. "Some days, fishing can be tough out here, but there are times the action is spectacular. A week ago, there were about 30 boats in the area we were fishing and it seemed you could see a boat with a muskie on all the time.

"We caught six fish that day, ranging from 39 to 45 inches. My cousin, Jeremy Fusek of Green Bay, was out in another boat and pulled in a 52-incher."

Trolling is the method favored by Jolly when targeting Green Bay and Fox River muskies. On the brisk November morning he introduced this writer to the bay's fishery, he trailed a variety of Bucher Shallow Raider and Grandma-type lures off planer boards in water ranging from 5 to 20 feet.

"Some days, the muskies like bright-colored lures, and other days they seem to prefer natural colors," he said. "I like to try a little bit of everything until a pattern develops."

Lures are relatively small by big muskie standards, usually 4 to 7 inches. "That's about the size of shad and other forage muskies are accustomed to feeding on," Jolly said. "I've tried larger baits, but they haven't been as effective."

Our first muskie was boated at 8:30 a.m. A second fish struck an hour later, when it was my turn to take the rod.

"It's about the same size as Brett's fish," I speculated, upon feeling weight at the end of the line.

Then the rod bent abruptly, a dorsal fin and huge tail flip-flapped the surface about 40 yards behind the boat, and I changed my mind — reversing a state of near nonchalance to sudden fear of losing the muskie of a lifetime.

"Oh, man," I exclaimed, "this is a real good fish."

Bodwin hauled in the remaining lines while Jolly readied the net that eventually engulfed a 50-inch musky. A length-girth formula indicated the fish likely weighed in the neighborhood of 36 pounds.

After a quick round of photos, it was released into chilly, slightly choppy waters that had been dangerously gale-swept the previous day.

A third muskie — 41 inches — was brought to the boat by Bodwin in the final moments of our 5-hour excursion.

"It's hard to believe there is muskie fishing like this anywhere, much less in central Wisconsin," I marveled.

"Until three years ago, I was a bowhunter," Jolly said. "Now in autumn, I just want to spend my spare time out here fishing muskie."

Jolly, who is preparing to launch a guide service for muskies, walleye, trout and salmon, can be reached at ** you do not have permission to see this link ** ad ventures.com or at (715) 581-5678.