There are several different ways a muskie angler can stack the deck to improve not only the number of muskie he catches, but also the percentage of "boated" fish vs. strikes. A lot of these will be s.o.p. for you seasoned muskie anglers but, hopefully, I'll suggest something new for you too.

For the novice, these are things that it took me years to learn. Benefit from my past mistakes. I have always made it a habit to learn as much as possible from other anglers, and I thank my mentors. Muskie fishermen are hesitant (definite understatement) to part with secrets. That's why so many of us fish alone.

There is an excellent muskie angler on the Detroit River that I have seen for better than twenty years, but only recently would he do more than wave hello. He wanted to make sure that I had the best interests of the resource in mind. In the past couple of years, he has made suggestions that have improved the quality of my fishing considerably. My first suggestion is to try and find a successful angler willing to share some of his knowledge with you. Do not expect him to reveal his favorite spots. It takes years and years of hard work to locate and learn to fish specific muskie structure. To become a good angler, you need to do the same.

This naturally leads me to the second tip. There is absolutely no substitute for time on the water. You can talk about it, read about it, watch videos about it, but the bottom line is that YOU have to be out there to catch fish. Why are fishing guides able to consistently (well, some of them anyway) put their customers on fish? It's mainly because they are out there almost every day. Even when they don't have customers, they are out there reading the water. They follow the fish transitions as they occur.

Another important tip is to try and learn a new area each time you fish. Even if you will just make it a habit to start "a little further south" or north etc., you will expand your fishing spots considerably. If you fish a fairly large body of water, like I do, it's a good idea to plan on fishing a completely new area, at least occasionally. This will probably mean, and I know a lot of wives won't appreciate this, that you should leave your fishing buddy at home. You won't be able to concentrate on the new water properly if you are worried about whether or not your buddy is catching fish. This will also give you the "quiet time" for observation that is so important when working a new spot. I have found new muskie spots by having one "porpoise" while I was quietly drifting by (I have no idea why muskie do this, and would appreciate it if someone can enlighten me). Sound carries well over the water and many a feeding fish have given themselves away. You might miss this if "George" is along complaining about his job.

A lot of experts are currently preaching that you should end each cast with a good figure eight. They are right. A good figure eight will have the rod tip well under water and the lure changing speed and circling like a seemingly disoriented bait fish. It is something that I also need to work on. I am always anxious to make the next cast but need to keep in mind the importance of finishing the current one properly. We need to practice this technique until it becomes habit.

Spend as much time as possible perfecting the skills that will set you apart as a superior angler. There used to be a statistic quoted that went something like this...5% of the fishermen catch 95% of the fish. I don't know how accurate that is, but I know that the general intention of the statement is true. Why is it that one fisherman can work through an area and not draw a strike while the next one boats fish? Is it luck? Nope. It's the difference between a guy who fishes and a guy who has perfected technique to a point that sets him apart.

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