How the Muskie Spawn Works

Th­e spawn itself is prime fishing time, but it may be better to head out before that time. The pre-spawn period can make for some great fishing. Check with your local Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to ensure pre-spawn fishing is legal in your area. If you're good to go, consider giving the pre-spawn a try.

As soon as the water temperature starts to rise in spring, muskies begin their migration to the same breeding grounds as the year before. During this pre-spawn period, female muskies are eating as much as they can muster. The female feeds aggressively during pre-spawn, as she bulks up her egg mass. The pre-spawn period tends to be February and March; you can catch plenty of hefty females during this time.

Muskies are considered sexually mature somewhere between three and four years of age. When they're old enough, they'll spawn when the temperature hits between 49 and 59 degrees Fahrenheit (9.4 and 15 degrees Celsius). Temperature is key to most fish spawns, so check the weather reports for your area to determine the best time to head out with your rod. Typically, muskie will spawn in April.

After the fish have had their share of the spawn, fishing opportunities will drop off. The female leaves the spawning site as soon as she's finished dropping her eggs, usually around one to two weeks after spawning starts. Male muskies tend to stay at the spawning site for a few weeks after spawning is complete. Muskie eggs hatch out in as little as 8 to 14 days. To help them grow, the fry first digest their yoke sac, then nearby plankton and then fish [source: Freshwater Fishing Canada].

Now you know when the muskie are spawning, but where do you find them? Read on to discover the top spawning locations.

As with most things in life, muskie spawns are all about location, location, locat­ion. Feeder creeks and reservoir headwaters are usually clearer, shallower and warm up faster than deeper, darker areas of water. There are plenty of muskies in these areas to fill your cooler.

To find muskie during spawning periods, check out:

When you find the right location, look for specific areas that contain the things muskie like best:

Post-spawn muskie are heading back out of the channels and backwaters, eating whatever comes easiest. Once females are done spawning, they immediately leave the area and head back into deeper waters. She will recuperate for a short while, and then go back to being her normally aggressive self. Males move from the area after a short period of time, also heading to deeper summer waters. Once muskie move from their spawning areas to summer habitats, fishermen will need to change tactics to find this fish, which is aptly nicknamed the "fish of 10,000 casts" [source: Smith].

What equipment do you need to catch muskie? Read on to learn how to fish during the spawn.

Muskie­ can be quite moody, so catching them can be kind of like getting the attention of your oblivious beloved on the playground. In order to get their attention and keep it, you're going to need a healthy dose of patience and some key tools.

Again, you'll need to check with your local DNR about live bait regulations, but if you're going for artificial, try these:

One of the best ways to catch a muskie is to go for the famous figure-8 move. Look out over the water, imagine you're holding a pencil, and draw an 8 right there on the water.

When a tasty treat does swim by, a muskie can strike out at speeds of more than 30 miles per hour (48.28 kilometers per hour) [source: Jones]. Make sure that you're situated in such a way that you don't lose your b­alance. If you're lucky enough to land a huge muskie, the last thing you want is to end up in the water. So grab your poles -- and maybe some flowers and chocolates -- to lure that monster muskie out during the spawn.

For lots more information on muskie spawn, other types of fish and related topics, hook yourself onto the links on the next page.