SWIMMING WITH MUSKIES

"The country that muskies are found in is symbolic of the fish itself -wild, beautiful, inspirational."

 -Steve Heiting, from the book Musky Country 

"Tiger Fury"  -Love this painting of a Tiger Musky by Rick Kelley

Land of Lakes!

   Our search for Wisconsin's clearest lakes

has taken us to the Minocqua, Eagle River,

Rhinelander area in Oneida & Vilas County.

   This is Northwoods Wisconsin at its finest. Absolute Land of Lakes. Third most concentrated amount of glacial lakes in the world!
  Since the logging days faded out in the '40s this area has become famous for its fishing, with special attention given to the pursuit of some of the biggest muskies in the world.

Swimming with muskies

  Our typical exploring motto- "Searching for clear water & a fish dinner" has been replaced by "Searching for clear water and fish diners"; we are looking for the top predators in these Wisconsin waters -muskies. This Wisconsin official state fish can get up to 5 ft long & weigh nearly 70 lbs!

  We've come up here to look for muskies -to try to get some on video with an underwater camera -swapping my underwater speargun for a GoPro camera.

   I'm often asked to take pics or video of some of my underwater excursions. I've been slow to get on board with doing that, the underwater photography I've seen just doesn't come close to conveying my experience of being below the surface. True to the limits of all photography when it comes to capturing real life, but freediving, in my opinion has a greater degree of sensory dynamics going on than typical photo scenes -harder to capture.  

  But, I seem to need at least some type of goal when I dive -whether fish hunting or gathering water plants for a meal, and since these particular Wisconsin counties do not allow underwater spearfishing, the idea of catching some of these huge predators on video has grown on me, providing goal enough & has inspired my inner Jacques Cousteau child. 

 "Swimming with Muskies" sounds scary (I say it for dramatic effect 😉). Sometimes called "water wolves", these fish look intimidating. But attacks are nearly non existent. There has been the rare incident of a muskie or northern pike biting a swimmer that was wearing a shiny object -mistaking it for a small fish or other prey. Like most wild creatures, they are so tuned into their usual food choices that they don't haphazardly attack odd objects.  
   

   Also, as elusive as these fish are to anglers, 

called "the fish of ten thousand casts", they are fearless in the water. Like all top predators, when full grown, they are the kings -& especially queens, of their domain (female musky get bigger than males). Because of this, they are fearless & quite approachable & at times they are the approachers. 

  Divers, including myself, with my limited experience, have experienced turning around & seeing a muskie a couple feet away watching me -unnerving! I love underwater photographer Eric Engbretson's account of his first suprise encounter with a muskie:
 "The first time I came face to face with a muskie underwater in its environment, I thought I was going to have a stroke. 
  My arms and legs flapped involuntarily in panic and I stirred up a cloud of silt that quickly enveloped both the beast and me.

  In stark contrast to my initial panicked surprise, its reaction was just the opposite. Its demeanor was calm, and its steely-eyed gaze remained fixed on me the entire time like a gunslinger in a Clint Eastwood western. This was a fish filled with confidence, instead of fear."

Looking for muskies, got distracted watching
something else, turned around and saw this 
musky staring at me from a couple feet away.

Finding Muskies

   According to my mentor on this subject - Eric Engbretson, the best time of year to see muskies is when they're spawning in the spring. When water temps are around 55° muskies head to shallow water looking for a mate(s). The prime time is generally between early May and before opening Musky fishing season -the weekend before Memorial Day.

   We stopped at a couple suggested musky lakes -Little Tomahawk lake in Oneida county & Star lake in Vilas county -normally very clear, but found them to be too murky for my gig. A late ice out disrupted the more typical schedule of water clarity & the water temps that are needed to get muskies spawning. Finding clear lakes can be tricky timing anyway, difficulty now upscaled by the need for particular water temps for a particular fish to spawn. 

   A stop at the famous Rollie and Helen's musky shop in Minocqua was most helpful.  We were told by a guide there to try Snipe Lake in Vilas county because it is a shallower lake that would probably have clearer & warmer water in light of the later ice out.

Snipe Lake!
  Dull headed by our long drive & unexpected amount of difficulty in finding a lake to dive in, I'm especially longing to slip below the surface and be refreshed by that energizing lake world. 
  Chilly waters made my wetsuit a must. As soon as my head submerges all senses come alive & the game is on -trying to spot & video a muskie. About 20 min into the search, I had my first view & footage of a muskie. 
   We make our best plans to cross paths with a wild creature; fishing, hunting, photography, but in the end they make the rules -part of the appeal to me & many other kindred spirits. When things occasionally go according to plan, it can be very satisfying. 

  Saw plenty of muskies after that one, but that first viewing was especially memorable. (I'll post a link to my YouTube video at the end). 

 

The One That Got Away

  

  Skip a year (Covid19 shut down) & I'm back to this same area, hoping to add a couple more videos clips to the first one & finish this blog.

  Spent the 1st day getting some videos of smaller

Walleye

muskies and a school of 20-30 walleye. 

   My goal was to hang out with a "big girl." Finally I spot an especially big musky. Got what I thought was a good video. Checked it that evening and found "SD card error." Lost two hrs of videos! -including that big musky.  😕 

  Quite frustrating! Became sort of an attitude reset for me; I see that I easily get so wrapped up in the technology part of capturing (or in this case, failing to capture) & sharing my experience that I miss the experience, become uptight, anxious, less appreciative; lose that wonder & joy in creation & thankfulness to the Creator that has been the heart of my enjoyment of these outings. 

  

  Nothing can erase my experience of sharing the water with this impressive fish; the slo-mo appearance of this huge dark shape, gaining distinction & clarity as it came closer, circling around me about 8 ft away. I follow it with my camera, hoping It'll come closer. Finally curiosity seems to win & it angles in for a closer look at me -bout 3 ft away. Eye to eye contact, shared awareness..."bonding" -lifetime memory!

   I imagine something passes between us. After this, she drifts away, seen enough I guess. I would have loved to have lingered longer but my breathold was giving out anyway. 

    Am I disappointed that I didn't get this fish on video? Definitely! Would love to have had that experience AND been able to share it with others. But in my best moments I embrace that "reset" i.e. not letting that tech failure poison my memory of that & future experiences. 

Drawing of a Musky by Grandson Gabriel

FOR THE FISHERMAN  

  I'm impressed with size of the smallmouth bass

in Snipe lake! Didn't see any perch but saw a lot of perch eggs (skein). Plenty of walleyes in that isolated school on the west side. Good amount of smaller muskies, couple of medium size ones & the bigger one I spoke of earlier.

FOR THE SNORKELER/FREEDIVER

  So many lakes to choose from is the fortunate problem a diver/snorkeler has in this area.

   Of the top 10 clearest lakes in Wisconsin, 5 of them are in this area:  Lee lake in Oneida cty. Fence lake, Vilas county. Wind Pudding lake in  Oneida county.  Blue lake, Oneida county.  Black Oak lake in Vilas county.

  Most of these lakes are clear for a longer period of time than southern & central lakes that tend to cloud up in the summer. Visit those lakes in the spring & northern lakes later. 

FOR THE PADDLER 

   Snipe is a smaller lake; 216 acres. Not a bad distance to paddle around. I think the best way to enjoy any lake paddle is to stick fairly close to the shore. You have the satisfaction of noticing your progression of travel and shore areas are where wildlife is usually found.

   I didn't see loons but heard them calling. Saw an eagle agitating a mallard family. Polarized glasses would make gazing into the clear water at Snipe lake -looking for fish, a lot of fun. Not many motor boats on this small lake. The six times I was there I saw 5 or 6 boats 👍

Some favorite reads on this area of the northwoods (to get you in that "Upnorth" mood):

• Musky Country; The Book Of North America's Premier Big Game Fish. By various authors.
• Three Record Muskies In His Day; The Life And Times Of Louie Spray.  By John Dettloff
• Any of John Bates books; A Northwoods Companion -Spring & Summer, & River Life, are a couple favorites.

GETTING TO SNIPE LAKE

  

   With the GPS, the boat launch didn't work, so I used this address to get a couple hundred yards  north of the boat launch: 1786 Wilderness Trl, Cloverland TWP (Vilas) WI  

        Distance From: 

• Eagle River   17 minutes 
• Chicago   5 hrs 30 min
• Madison  3 hrs 45 min
• Milwaukee   4 hrs
• Wausau   2 hrs
• Green Bay   2 hrs 40 min