Staging Muskies

[trimbelle22]

I think somebody brought this topic up last spring, but I thought it was worth bringing up again. I went to the spillway between lake monona and lake wingra in madison, wi this afternoon and watched 10+ muskies "stage" like salmon before a spawning run. Most of them were below the spillway/waterfall and just hanging out, a couple into the mid 40" but most probably mid to upper 30". At one point I could see 6 muskies within a ten foot radius. A few of them tried the leap up faith up the waterfall unsuccessfully, but there were a few above the fallls that must have made it earlier, only to flop back down during the time i was there watching. It was pretty interesting to see and I got a few pictures. I plan on going back to watch later this week and will hopefully get some better photos to post or maybe even a video.

Just wondering if anyone else has heard of this or seen something similar. Also, if you get a chance, check it out because it is pretty cool to watch.

[Nick Kuhn]

I have a picture of it in the photos thread, page 7 by my settings. Would be cool to see. FMN rules have changed so I can't even repost it here, and I'm too lazy to re-host.

[setterguy]

Sounds very cool...can't wait to see footage.

[JimBuck]

That sounds very cool. Keep us updated on the footage. Always excellent to observe something like that.

[b1gf1sh1]

yep, i'll be wandering (very stealthly) a couple areas, in a week or so, watching some HOGS sun themselves and plucking crayfish like potato chips off the bottom. ... very fun to watch no matter how many times i get to see it. but jumping falls? no i never saw that yet. maybe i'll try and find a place around here, or at least closer to here, lol.

[ZEEK1223]

As a kid we used to spear carp in the creek that fed into a muskie lake. we used to see multiple muskie in the shallows in the spring. We always kept our distance. They wouldnt move a bit, even though we were thrashing trough the water 30yds away.

[trimbelle22]

Not the best pics, but it gives you the general idea. I didnt catch any of them in the act of jumping up the spillway...

[fish with teeth]

nice pics, that would be a blast to see

[Musky Buck]

That's pretty cool, 1 year on muskie opener i got to see dozens of spawning fish, many paired together, video'd for a bit and then left them alone. It sure is neat to see them just going through there yearly rituals, but with a muskie it's almost if they know how much we plot and scheme them.

[cbrooks]

The first time I saw a muskie was off my brother dock one night in mid May some time. I thought it was two large northerns.one was about 4 feet the other 3 feet side by side. I wish I would have had a camera. They sat there in two feet of water for ten minutes before drifting off. I had no idea what a muskie look like or knew anything about them. That was my first encounter with a muskie, that was pretty cool. That was only three years ago.