There are several rigs at the landing at the village park nearly every day of the season, so the muskies here have seen their share of baits. Follows are common, but because the water is murky, you won’t see a fish until it is practically at boat side. Ben Kueng and other successful anglers here always drag a sucker or two on a bobber line. Muskies that follow a lure often grab the live bait. Kueng and his clients have taken a number of hefty muskies here, most of them on suckers and quick-strike rigs.

For more information, contact the Elkhart Lake Tourism Commission at (877) 355-4278 or go online to www. elkhartlake.com

DELAVAN LAKE
Known more for its fantastic bass, walleye and panfish action, Delavan is also home to a decent muskie population. This 2,000-acre Walworth County lake has sharp breaks along both the north and south shores. Both ends of the lake are shallow, and weeds there provide good cover. The DNR stocks muskies here every year, and they grow fat on the abundant forage.

Motor trolling is allowed, but Brian Gates, who operates Geneva Lake Bait & Tackle on Highway 67 just south of Highway 50 in Williams Bay, said casting is more productive. Try the rocky dropoffs west of Cedar Point and off Willow Point, or deep weed edges wherever you find them. Summer recreational boat traffic is unbelievably heavy, so many anglers switch to night-fishing once the ski-boat plague hits the lake.

For more information, call the Delavan Chamber of Commerce at (262) 728-5095 or www.delavanwi.org , or Geneva Lake Bait & Tackle at (262) 245-6150 or www.lakegenevawi.com/water.htm .

LAKE DUBAY
This flowage on the Wisconsin River between Wausau and Stevens Point is a 6,800-acre maze of stumps, channels and backwaters, all of it muskie habitat. Tributaries include Johnson Creek, Big and Little Eau Pleine rivers and Little Eau Claire River. The lake has a maximum depth of 47 feet in the river channel just above the DuBay dam, but most of the lake ranges from 5 to 10 feet in depth.

The water is stained brown, so bright-colored lures are the rule. Guide Pat Pierce throws large, noisy bucktails and shallow-running crankbaits in spring in the inlets and bays. In summer, he trolls the river channels and flats in the large south basin, where big muskies roam in search of baitfish, especially schools of carp. Topwater baits often produce after dark.

The nice thing about fishing Wisconsin River flowages is there is so much structure, you can almost always find active fish. If trolling the lake doesn’t produce, head for the stumps in one of the tributary inlets. If you strike out there, head upriver and cast to shorelines and below sandbars.

For more information, contact Pat Pierce at (715) 693-4696 or visit www.patpierce.com or Hooksetters Guide Service at (715) 693-5843 or www.hooksetters.biz .