Predators are always looking for an easy meal. Right now, that means crappies are close to shore trying to spawn. The favorite muskie snack will change over to bluegills around Memorial Day, calling for a simple change from the chrome/black to the firetiger-pattern magnum Rat-L-Trap. You'll hook more muskies throwing the standard 1/2-ounce Rat-L-Trap, but the hooks on this lure simply won't hold up to a fish with both substantial dimensions and a bad attitude. Bucktails are always a good bet on both the Waukesha and Dane county lakes, with smaller bucktails usually outproducing baits with eggbeater dimensions.

The DNR doesn't keep data on occupations of muskie anglers. If they did, I suspect the proportion of CPA/bean-counter anglers on Pewaukee would be greater than on any other Wisconsin water. Statistically, Pewaukee is the best muskie water in the entire state. Bean-counters wearing DNR patches tell us the number of adult muskies per surface acre in Pewaukee is nearly double the ratio found on top muskie waters in the northwoods, with .52 adults per surface acre swimming in this 2,400-acre lake. Many fish over 50 inches swim here, with multiple year-classes of muskies from wannabes up to trophy status. Although Pewaukee is easier to fish than Okauchee, it sees plenty of intelligent fishing pressure.

Right now, the fleet is concentrated on shallower waters on Pewaukee's east end. These waters warm quicker, with a topwater lure or bucktail fished over submergent weedtops the smart way to fish. Once summer arrives, action is better off deeper weeds on the other end of the lake, with night the best time to fish.

The old adage about toothers of magnum dimensions being a fish of 10,000 casts holds true on this lake. Maybe that's why motor trolling is the preferred method here and on other Waukesha County waters. With .52 adult muskies per surface acre, you would think the time between hookups would be more frequent. Obviously, most angling efforts are concentrated on the acreage that holds the back half of the fish!

Oconomowoc doesn't get as much species-specific pressure as Waukesha County's other two top muskie lakes, perhaps because sparse vegetation and ultra-clear water conditions make it tougher to fish. Muskies that are "sunning" are notorious for disinterest. If you just want to go muskie "looking" in the spring, check out the water below the Okauchee dam upstream from Oconomowoc. A number of muskies migrate downstream from Okauchee every year, with most Esox hooked in this 767-acre lake taken by trollers over the deeper basins at either end. Beyler reports many fish over 40 inches are swimming here. On opening day and for several weeks thereafter, the Okauchee dam tailwaters and the saddle between Oconomowoc's two deep basins are high-percentage spots for muskie anglers.

Beyler reports many fish over 40 inches are swimming here. On opening day and for several weeks thereafter, the Okauchee dam tailwaters and the saddle between Oconomowoc's two deep basins are high-percentage spots for muskie anglers.

Contact: Dick Smith's Live Bait & Tackle, (262) 646-2218.

SILVER LAKE
This 500-acre Kenosha County lake is a popular destination for muskie fans from all over southeastern Wisconsin, and probably a third of the boats have Illinois registrations on any given day.

DNR biologist Doug Welch stocks Silver at essentially two muskies per acre every year, with most of the muskie biomass 30 to 38 inches -- and generally lacking in typical muskie restraint when a bait comes whizzing by.