Muskie Fishing: Muskie on the Fly

Muskie fishing on a fly rod is probably the last
thing any sane angler would consider, given its reputation
as a hard-to-catch species. But the fact is, growing legions
of flyfishers are targeting the water wolf, often with
greater success than their brethren using conventional tackle.

It happens just like that! One moment the streamer fly is swimming six inches under the surface. Next there’s a greenish/gold flash, the streamer disappears in a washtub-sized depression, and the fly rod is all but torn from you hands.

Another musky is hooked. Whether it will be landed is another story all together.

Given the legends that surround the water wolf, it’s amazing that anyone would consider the long rod and streamers. But a growing group of knowledgeable anglers has discovered muskie fishing with a fly rod is the most challenging way to hunt the esox. Challenging, yes. But not the impossibility most fishermen think.

Fly rodding for muskies isn’t entirely new. As long as there have been fly fishermen they have occasionally tried muskie fishing, using oversized streamers and heavy tackle. The McNally Magnum, for instance, was first tied by outdoor writer Tom McNally for musky fishing on Wisconsin’s flowages.

Until relatively recently, however, adequate equipment wasn’t available. Sure, heavy duty rods and reels have been around for a long time. But the gear itself was heavy and too tiring to use cast after cast. Unlike, say, flats fishing, where actual casting is infrequent and you almost always cast to a visible target, there is a lot of blind casting when muskie fishing. And you cast more or less constantly.

Things have changed for the better, though. Now, for those who know how, muskies are caught on fly rods with some regularity. Jimmy Dale, who pioneered muskie fishing with fly tackle in the early 1990s, had personally boated 16 of the bruisers in the three years before his untimely death, and lost at least twice that number more. His personal record was a 32-plus pounder.

It’s no accident that the big push came from southern anglers. Musky waters in the South stay open year round. Cave Run is typical. When the lake was impounded in 1964, muskies native to the Licking River were trapped behind the dam. This created a lake fishery upon which the Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources has built. Today, Cave Run is one of the most viable musky fisheries anywhere, with fish averaging in the 15-20 pound range and 30-pounders not uncommon.

With greater access to more fish, Jimmy Dale was able to experiment with muskie fishing until he came up with patterns and methods that were consistently successful. Coinciding with his techniques was the development of equipment suitable for the job, such as rods that combine strength with light weight, and reels with reliable drag systems and large line capacity.

While any large streamer could work, there is always the trade-off of bulk versus wind resistance. “You want to create an impression of something big, alive, and helpless,” Jimmy used to say. “But, by the same token, you want to be able to cast it some distance. The longer the fly is in the water, the better chance you have of attracting a musky.”

Dahlberg Divers work well for these conditions, and that was the starting point for developing a new musky fly. It’s a natural move to make the Zonker strip tails too long, however, which interferes with good castability. Flies are therefore tied with a long strip, which then is trimmed off bit by bit until you’re comfortable casting it. Jimmy Dale’s flies were only 5 ½ inches long, overall, but he could lay them out 70 feet. “With the longer tail, I can only reach about 45 feet,” he admitted to me. “And the muskies don’t seem to mind the shorter tail, so it makes sense to use it.”

There are ways to create that image of bulk without making the fly overly air resistant. Thus, a series of modifications have converted the Dahlberg Diver to the finished musky fly, which I named the Jimmy Dale Special.

Any fly tier can make these up. First tie in a Zonker strip at the tail. Actually pass the hook through the rabbit skin before tying in place, and use head cement or epoxy to bind it to the hook. Surround the strip with a large bunch of marabou, in the same or contrasting color. Flashaboo or Krystal flash tinsel is added for additional attractiveness. And large doll eyes, glued to the finished deer-hair diver head, make the fly more lifelike.

These are large flies, tied on Mustad 34007 hooks, in sizes 3/0 to 5/0. The Mustad 34011, with its extended shank, allows a smaller size because you can tie the same bulk on a 2/0 that normally goes on a 4/0.

Another successful fly type for muskie fishing is the Foamyhead, developed by big game fishermen for saltwater applications. Musky fishermen share the problem of creating an impression of bulk while keeping the fly castable. The Foamyhead solves this problem.

To make one, take any 2/0 or larger streamer. Slide its leader through a shaped piece of dense foam. Heads can be flat, diver types, or bullet shaped depending on your preference.

The head can be moved closer or farther from the streamer by sliding it along the leader. In the water it’s as if there were no gap; fish see it as a single large creature worth chasing. But it casts comparatively easily.

No matter what pattern is used, a wire leader, six to nine inches long, is attached to the fly when muskie fishing. Use nylon-coated steel material. Twist it around itself a few times and melt the nylon sheath with a match, in effect welding the loop to itself.

I was a bit distrustful of this approach at fist. But after losing a fish with the traditional crimp sleeves, I became a believer. Those of us using this technique have never had one come apart.

Retrieves are simple. Cast the fly as far as you can, then strip it back in jerks of about 18 inches. Vary the speed, rather than the length of each strip, and keep the fly moving. The ideas is to make as much commotion in the water as possible to get the musky’s attention, and convince him the fly is a small critter in big trouble.

There is no finesse required, nor possible. Double hauling and full-arm casting is the norm. The fly will likely slap down on the water, too. But this helps as the noise is attractive when muskie fishing.

Above all, remember the four-foot rule. Musky are most likely to hit in the first four feet and the last four feet of your retrieve. So stay particularly alert at those times.