In my ongoing attempts at building my lifelist, I find myself needing that largest of the pike species (as well as all the smaller ones). The Cumberland Plateau muskellunge subspecies is native to my area. How should I go about trying to hook one in a small to medium-sized river without a boat?
Fish the heads and tails of the deeper holes with your pike lures… 
Get a boat otherwise you probably will be huckin lures for years without a musky. Or I’d just book a guide for a date in November. That’ll be your best option at getting one.
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Don’t do it. You risk addiction. You may neglect all of the other species you love to fish for. You also face financial ruin. Muskies are bad – very bad. Good luck though!
Addiction & financial ruin have already happened, thanks to the bass!
Buy yourself a good set of insulated waders and take up night fishing. Then hit the areas within a mile or so of the dam’s at night in late fall.
Early spring is good also but you around here, you have to be targeting walleyes. Muskies will show up anyway. Take a picture, quick measurement and release them.
I assume you didn’t want to actually keep the fish anyway.
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Get a boat otherwise you probably will be huckin lures for years without a musky. Or I’d just book a guide for a date in November. That’ll be your best option at getting one.
There’s no muskie guides down here. It’s Virginia. Most everybody down here just guides for bass, catfish, stripers, and trout. Occasionally you’ll see a crappie guide, but I can’t recall ever hearing of a guide specializing in the toothy predators (muskie, gar, pike, walleye, sauger) that are here in good numbers.
I woulda have to agree that without a boat would be nearly impossible. I would just throw a big sucker out there in November and hope one goes by. Other than that get a guide.
I catch muskie in the Wisconsin River every year while wading from shore. My buddies do also.
You definitely do not always need a boat. Just the gusto to pull up a pair of waders and get out there and figure it out.
u don’t need a boat at all. don’t listen2 anything like that…u should tho carry a net and plires/hook cutters for quick release. i fish musky in mn in some small/medium rivers and catch them from shore and in a boat. look4 dams…they create a large amount of current and oxygen/cold water. fish set up in these places all year long but we do especally well in mid summer at night.
1thing u will learn is that river fish are very predictable. when they feed they almost will exclusivly use the same exact spots. think of it like this…in a river the current is always flowing the same way, but in a lake the current changes with wind direction. look4 breaks in the current and mostly look4 WEEDS AND TIMBER.
lastly….don’t be afraid2 throw big baits in smaller rivers. we catch a lot of 40inch fish with big cowgirls and bulldogs in just little river holes.
good luck on your fishing and send me some private messages if u have any more specific questions! -aj
Only thing I got to add to your quest that Tom, Joel and wies said is….. make sure the river you’re fishing in has muskies!!!
Some of the best fishing in our state is for river muskies… they are not nearly as pressured, rivers will allow them to be less susceptible to post frontal conditions, and before I bought my boat, we could always fish large stretches of small rivers to give us the best shots at catching any fish!!!
Mark
From my limited shore fishing for muskie experience I would also think about using lures that are a little more snag resistent. Nothing will tick you off more than getting a $15 crankbait snagged on some submerged log on the other side of a river. Weedless spoons, topwater, and bucktails will likey be more snag resistent the some cranks or bulldawgs, etc. Good luck. Also, bring a net and some good pliers.
Remember, Muskies fear nothing. There is no baits to large or to small they won’t take a whack at. Without going out and spending a ton to get started just pick up a good Bucktail and maybe a large spinnerbait and dress them with white tails.
Have fun & let us know how it goes.
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