Depending on their range, muskie generally spawn between late March and mid-June. They will spawn in water temperatures between 45 and 60F in lake or river areas that are both shallow and weedy. Muskie tend to spawn at night or during the early hours of the morning.
When fishing with jerkbaits for muskie, using a stiff wire leader is always a good idea, as stiff wire provides security against bite-offs and improves lure presentation. When casting with bucktail spinners or trolling with crankbaits, you can instead use a heavy fluorocarbon leader.
In order to successfully catch muskie at night, you should target weedy areas, drop-offs, humps, and the shallow waters of bigger bays. Noisy or vibrating surface lures, such as poppers, crankbaits, and bucktails, will be most effective in the dark.
Muskies have very large mouths filled with razor-sharp teeth. They have both bigger canines and smaller needle-like teeth. An adult muskie can have between 500 and 700 teeth in its mouth. The biggest of these can be up to 1 inch in length.
