On the not-so-frozen tundra of Green Bay, Wisconsin, the Bay lays out like a giant playing field for world-class muskie fishing. Forget the green and gold; the hometown players in this game are cloaked in spots and have facemasks full of gnarly teeth. Mean as a middle linebacker and punishing as any strong safety, Great Lakes spotted muskies rattle the nerves of anyone who treads on their turf, and they now call Green Bay home. The visiting teams consist of muskie hunters looking for the opportunity to hoist their next trophy, if only for a photograph. The muskies have a decided home field advantage, but who doesn’t want a shot at the champ?

These fish quietly arrived on the scene 20 years ago and are now making some noise. They may even claim another moniker for Titletown, U.S.A.—home of the world-record muskie. Enough 50-inch-plus fish have been caught from the Bay in the last several seasons to make it a contender worth naming alongside world-class muskie waters such as Georgian Bay, St. Lawrence River, Mille Lacs and Vermilion lakes, Ottawa River, Lac Suel, and Lake of the Woods.

What’s in a Name?

Green Bay is an industrial town of some 100,000 situated at the extreme southern portion of the Bay where the Fox River enters, while the Bay itself stretches 120 miles from north to south and constitutes the largest freshwater estuary in North America. Averaging less than 10 feet deep at its southern end, the basin progressively gets deeper to the north, with a median depth of 65 feet throughout the main basin, plunging to a maximum of 176 feet near Death’s Door at the tip of the Door County Peninsula. With relatively little mid-basin structure, the Bay is the proverbial haystack with muskies for needles.

For muskie hunters in search of big fish—perhaps even record fish—the big view reveals that the lower part of Green Bay is only the first part to explore. In addition, recent stocking efforts have shifted away from the Fox River and lower Bay to areas where future natural reproduction is more likely. Far too many anglers focus exclusively on the lower Bay due to its convenience to the city, while most fishery experts expect the next giant muskie to be caught far from the shadows of Lambeau Field. To take advantage of this expanded playing field, a short history lesson offers important insights for locating these spotted muskies.

How They Got Here

Beginning in 1989, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources embarked on an effort to reintroduce Great Lakes spotted muskies into Lake Michigan. Decimated by commercial fishing, loss of habitat, and water pollution, the Bay’s historic population of muskies had vanished by the 1940s. The reintroduction program consisted of a three-phase plan: Obtain an appropriate strain of fish to successfully rear and stock; establish a local captive brood-stock population; and document natural reproduction and a self-sustaining population. As with any major fishery project, unexpected hurdles occurred throughout the program.

The original eggs and milt were obtained from lakes Huron and St. Clair, which offered an historic native population of Great Lakes muskies suitable for Lake Michigan. By successfully hatching and rearing these eggs at its Wild Rose fish hatchery, the state achieved the first phase of its reintroduction program in 1989. After maintaining a local captive brood-stock source in a nearby natural lake from 1989 to 2001, the state established one in the Fox River in 2002. This source was threatened in 2007 when the potentially fatal fish virus, Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHS), was discovered in Lake Michigan.

To counter this setback, Wisconsin secured 1,200 yearling Georgian Bay-strain muskies from Fleming College in Ontario, Canada, in April 2009. These fish were certified VHS-free and determined suitable for stocking in Lake Michigan. For the future brood stock population in the ongoing reintroduction program, the state will utilize three inland Wisconsin lakes as rearing locations for these muskies. Unfortunately, the fingerlings take 5 to 7 years to reach sexual maturity. Absent new disinfecting techniques to certify that current adult brood-stock muskies from Lake Michigan are disease-free, there could be a gap of several years in stocking. On a positive note, strong stocking numbers for the years 2002 to 2006 suggest good year-classes of big fish through 2016.

The final pieces of the puzzle require documentation of natural reproduction of spotted muskies within the Bay and the development of a self-sustained fishery. The first half of this equation was realized last year, when the state confirmed the recovery of an unmarked fingerling muskie on two separate occasions from the mouth of the Menominee River. While this limited discovery of naturally reproducing muskies is a long way from proclaiming a self-sustaining fishery on the Bay, all signs point to a healthy fishery.

The lack of any radio tracking studies on the Bay’s muskie population means anecdotal evidence provides the best understanding of their seasonal movements. Through time on the water, local guides such as Bret Alexander, of Alexander’s Sport Fishing Guide Service (alexandersportfishing.com), offer valuable information on the location and behavior of spotted muskies. As a multispecies guide fishing year-round on the Bay, Alexander has a good perspective on what any portion of the muskies is doing at any given time. He charts his various muskie encounters throughout the year, using this knowledge when he wants to pull another needle from the haystack.

Early Summer—Stay Small and Spread the Field

Having fished the Bay since the program’s inception, Alexander focuses on the large flats adjacent to spawning locations once the season begins in late May. Fish gather in these areas to recuperate after spawning. He favors dark-bottomed bays that warm quickly and draw in baitfish such as suckers, drum, and carp. These bays may be as small as a few acres or up to a few thousand. Apart from fancasting to feeder creeks and notable cover on these featureless flats, Alexander utilizes a trolling approach in early summer.

Since most Wisconsin inland Class A muskie waters prohibit trolling, muskie hunters on the Bay borrow from the trolling techniques honed by walleye, salmon, and trout anglers on Lake Michigan. During early summer, Alexander runs 6 rods with Off Shore Tackle planer boards and large versions of walleye stickbaits, using lures like large Rattlin’ Rogues, X-Raps, Bomber Long-A’s, and Yo-Zuri Sashimi Jointed Minnows to track true behind boards and match the size of the early-season forage. “Keep a keen eye on your electronics,” he advises. “Wind and current trap warmer water that attracts pods of baitfish along distinct thermal breaks. Mark these areas on your GPS plotter and make repeated trolling passes through them. Muskies don’t eat all the time, but you have to be in the right place when they turn on.”

Midsummer—Go Deep, Read the Coverages, Don’t Punt

As summer progresses, muskies take on one of two characteristics: They become cover-oriented, or they free-range for forage. Cover-oriented fish set up deeper on large, established weedbeds along the west shore of the Bay. From Peat’s Lake, Long Tail Point, and Sumiaco on the south, to the rivermouths of the Oconto and Peshtigo at mid-Bay, and then stretching from the Menominee River to the northern extremes of Big Bay de Noc, there is no shortage of spots to chuck Double Cowgirls, M/G’s Muskie Tandems, and other assorted bucktails and topwaters.

Color preferences change daily with water quality and locations fished. The lower Bay tends to cloud up quickly with its shallow, soft bottom. Here, firetiger patterns and bright-colored baits dominate. The waters at the north end of the Bay generally stay clearer and colder, and natural colors like white, silver, black, and gold produce better in these waters. However, a strong 20 to 30 mph blow can foul the water  in any area of the Bay and change color preference within the course of a few hours.

Besides weeds, muskies key on rock humps and points also frequented by walleye, drum, and smallmouth bass. Wind direction plays a key factor in selecting which rock humps to target on a given day. Alexander favors humps that top out 5 to 10 feet from the surface, and has less success fishing small ones that extend to the surface. Humps that contain some weedgrowth produce muskies more consistently. Alexander explains: “If I land more than 3 or 4 walleyes or smallies from an area without a muskie sighting, there probably aren’t many muskies around. Pack it up and move on to the next spot. These big muskies aren’t boat-shy or afraid to steal a free meal. If they’re around and hungry, you’re going to know it.”

To the north, the points and reefs surrounding Door County Peninsula and Big Bay de Noc offer prime structure for big fish. Deep-diving trolling baits are the lures of choice on the upper Bay. Due to the excessive drag that these baits exert on the line, planer boards are a less viable option for this application. Big baits that dive down 15 to 30 feet like Muskie Mania 9-inch Ernies and 10-inch Believers bury some in-line planer boards designed for walleye fishing. A large mast-and-ski setup, downriggers, or flatline trolling are the main options for muskies suspended around deepwater structure.

Other areas to consider in the upper Bay include pier heads and harbor mouths. These structures create current eddies, which in turn funnel in bait and attract muskies for much of the season.

Fall—Prime-Time Action

During fall, muskies congregate in areas that draw concentrations of baitfish. On the upper Bay including all of Door County, whitefish are key forage, spending much of their time deep in open water and gradually moving shallower as the temperatures cool. They continue this migration until spawning on reefs in November. This shift to shallower water draws muskies. Here, casting Magnum Bull Dawgs, Swimming Joes, and other soft plastic baits that can be counted down to a desired depth allows thoroughly working key areas of the reefs.

On the lower Bay, shad are the prey of choice. When water dips below 50°F, they invade the Fox River and other rivers on the West shore of the Bay. Muskies follow this migration and work in packs to corral and slash through balls of bait. The scene can be reminiscent of offshore saltwater fishing. Muskies chase shad to the surface, and flocks of seagulls attracted by the commotion swoop down for an easy meal.

Multiple hookups frequently happen when these conditions exist. As quickly as the action heats up, it cools off. Anglers must be willing to take a run-and-gun approach to chase down active fish, or remain patient and repeat established trolling passes throughout the day until fish become active.

Bring the Right Equipment to the Game

During fall, muskie anglers on the lower Bay rely heavily on trolling techniques. Wisconsin allows 3 lines per angler and most make full use of their allotment. Standard practice involves using long medium-heavy rods, with high-capacity casting reels, a mainline of 50-pound-test monofilament or 80-pound braid, and a heavy fluorocarbon leader to troll shallow-diving lures. Lures are spread from the boat with the use of planer boards and trolled at 2.5 to 6 mph. Other options include adding prop wash rods to the trolling spread, or a pump rod held in the angler’s hand and occasionally pumped to impart additional action to the lure.

The braid-versus-mono debate on the Bay hinges on the positive attributes of both lines. Anglers favoring braid find that it offers a higher breaking strength, allows for better hooksets due to its low stretch properties, and withstands chafing from the planer board releases better than monofilament. Mono guys like the feel of the line, pointing out that stretch absorbs the constant surging and stalling that boards experience when trolled in moderately large waves. This allows lures to have a consistent swimming action. In extremely cold conditions, monofilament does not retain water and freeze up to the same extent as braid.

Many anglers also add a slight twist to their presentation. Borrowing from their walleye brethren on Lake Michigan, they run a large spinner rig on their mainline in front of the leader. The rig consists of a size 5 or 6 Colorado blade and a large clevis to accommodate the increased diameter of the mainline, followed by 6 to 8 colored beads, and running the rig in front of the 3-foot leader of 100-pound fluorocarbon. The lure is then attached to the leader.

The spinner rig provides added flash and vibration and theoretically lengthens the overall presentation to nearly 4 feet—a supersized muskie meal that still pulls nicely behind the planer board. As a secondary benefit, it acts as a weed guard, stopping weeds from sliding down the line to the lure.

A traditional 6-rod trolling spread on the Bay has its outside lines running on the longest rods in the spread, which helps to lift the line off the water at the steepest angle possible. Bret Alexander uses Fenwick’s Techna AV 8-foot rods with Abu Garcia 7000LC reels and 80-pound Spiderwire. Outside boards carry the shallowest baits, run 15 to 20 feet behind the board and 60 feet from the boat. Top baits include Shallow Invaders, Grandmas, Shallow Raiders, and Jakes.

Middle boards are run 40 feet from the boat with shad-style baits like Rapala Super Shad Raps and Lindy Shallow Big M’s, fished 10 feet behind the board. A Fenwick Techna AV rod 7.5 feet long is used for the middle rod and an AV 7-footer for the inside rod.

The inside rods are then set with smaller, deep-diving lures fished tight to the boards. Baits like Baby Jointed Depth Raiders and 7-inch Jointed Believers are set 5 to 6 feet behind the board to keep the lures out of the way of the middle and outside boards. These jointed lures also have a faster, more erratic action than the straight baits run on the other boards. Adjustments are made to the trolling spread based upon the conditions and behavior of the fish.

For those anglers willing to work a little harder, casting continues to be rewarding in late fall. In river settings, muskies use current breaks caused by man-made structure like retaining walls, bridge abutments, pilings, and mooring posts. Industrial sites discharging warm water also attract and concentrate fish. Casting Musky Innovations’ Shad Clones and Magnum Bull Dawgs to confined pieces of cover offers an opportunity to connect on fish that cannot be targeted by trollers. Pulling a lively sucker on a down rod also offers casters a second chance to trigger fish that refuse to hit a lure.

The health of the Green Bay fishery hinges on proper fish-handling and release. Groups like the Packerland Chapter of Muskies, Inc. have financially supported the restoration program for years. In addition to lobbying for an increased size limit from 50 to 54 inches, such groups stress that anglers should always be ready for a possible encounter with a giant fish. Standard equipment should include a large net with an oversized hoop and protective coating, heavy-duty cutters, and extra-long pliers for extracting hooks.

With the season in full swing, get a game plan together and take notice of this whole new class of muskies. Sure, the playing field is stacked in favor of the hometown players. And yes, the trolling spreads resemble a John Madden teleprompter gone wrong. But the lure of tackling these giant upstart muskies should be enough to get any angler off the bench and back in the game.

In-Fisherman contributor Steve Ryan lives in Des Plaines, Illinois.