I know there are Muskies in Lake Zumbro…my son caught a small one and I’ve been to the DNR website and saw that they have been stocked. But I’ve never heard of any decent sized ones being pulled out of there. I’ve never noticed anyone fishing for them either. Does anyone fish for Muskies in Lake Zumbro?
I have not fished for them but I have heard of some decent size ones being caught the last couple years. 
Thanks, Bill
there are soooooo many toothy critters in that lake, it gets to be utterly annoying. i lose soooooooo many jigs to northerns/(musky?) every spring, it just erks me the wrong way….. 
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i have only once spent time actually fishing for northerns/muskies in the lake. we did catch a few northerns, one being around 6# and another that was lost that was a bit bigger. never saw a musky. i have heard reports of bigger muskies being caught in the lake, BUT HAVE NEVER SEEN ANY SOLID VISUAL EVIDENCE or HAVE HAD A DIRECT CONVERSATION WITH ANYBODY WHO HAS CAUGHT ONE………and until i do, i’m going to be a bit skeptical. the lake is full of little ones (12-16″) that i kept catching last spring while crappie fishing, so there will be some larger fish someday. i don’t know how fast they grow, but i think actually targeting muskies in the lake might be a strech for a couple years yet. 
Jake, by the looks of your pic the Muskies will find you. You look like a taste dinner to them. 
Couldn’t resist Bud. 
Thanks, Bill
well if the muskies prefer carp, they sure are in the right body of water 
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the bulk of the large muskies are caught below the dam.
…….i was DEFINATELY well aware of this , but i think the question was geared toward the lake specifcally. i just wasn’t sure what the population of sizeable muskies in the lake was.
i plan on being on that lake A LOT this spring and summer. it’s such a great fishery with an unbelievable varitey of fish, along with some darn nice ones too. maybe i’ll tango with a beastly musky or two in my adventures. 
i’m always interested in targeting some brutes…..maybe a rochester gang get-togther is in order for sometime this spring/summer…..even though there only seems to be about 5 or 6 of us
I wouldn’t mind having a group out there targeting muskies and then meeting at the end of the day and comparing notes. Sound like a plan? 
sounds like a grand ol idea to me. i’m not sure about that whole “notes” thing, being that by this summer i’m gonna be pretty well “noted” out , but i will try and remember the size of and how many i catch .
I have to agree with the guys that have commented on the size of the muskie/northern in Lake Zumbro. I had the opportunity to do some spring trap netting while I worked for the DNR in Lake City. Al Schmidt is the fisheries specialist that coordinates the muskie stocking program and he took me out to pull the nets a couple days. We were looking specifically for muskies, and found a couple in the mid 30 inch range, but the northerns we got were incredible! The largest taped out at 42 inches. If I recall right, the one net we pulled had somewhere around 10 large pike from 35-40 inches! That was neat to see in such a “unpopular” northern lake.
As far as the muskies in the lake, I think they are harder to target as much of shoreline drops off into deeper water so fast. I personally don’t know the lake that well, but I don’t THINK it has the classic “cabbage” type weed beds like a mille lacs or Leech and so on.
Like mentioned earlier, the river below the dam has been a super success in holding/growing muskies. While I did the creel surveys there in 1998, quiet a few muskies were caught below the spillway. Also, the DNR has shocked numerous large muskies downstream while doing their annual smallmouth electrofishing. I believe the biggest they told me they found was 46 inches. Also, crappie Tom, correct me if i’m wrong, but I believe these muskies ARE the Leech Lake strain, not hybrids. I know I saw a few of em during the netting, and unless i’m mistakin, they were pure strain muskies. just curious.
I would think the northerns would be a blast to fish through the ice. I don’t know the lake that well and wouldn’t know where to start, but if you found the big gals, you would have a blast! Let us know if anybody gets one of these brutes! Good Fishin!
I am amazed at the thought of big muskies in the river below the dam. I used to canoe the river every year and found many sections that were very shallow. I can see how they could survive just below the dam but not much farther down stream. Strange. Anyway, it sounds like there is some interest in a seek and release mission…sometime after 6/5/04. 
Once we all start getting back down there and the forum is full of reports etc from all of us its bound to grow. Alot of good fishing info/reports/etc doesn’t stay quiet for very long. Its spreads and the fisherman come to check it out. Thanks, Bill
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I can see how they could survive just below the dam but not much farther down stream.
i’ve seen many a musky WAAAAAYYYYY downstream of the dam…..like all the way down towards millville. believe me, they do fine down there. 
as for the northern fishing in the lake, i think the thing is that there’s not that much classic gator habitat. there are 2 maybe 3 decent sized shallow bays, and another 2-3 small little bays that get shallow……all of these places get fished HARD for the toothy critters. the majority of the rest of the lake is nothing but steep banks that go straight to 30′ of water. not the type of water you can catch many fish throwing a big spoon or bucktail around. this deep water “refuge” is the reason the fish have a chance to get big, they just go hide out there at the all you can eat carp buffet all day (the other reason why they can get so big) . to get to these fish it would probably be worth switchin up your technique a little. trying out some BIG tubes or jiggin style swim baits might be the way to go.
……alright…..now i’m really startin to get pumped……my hands are shacking so bad i can’t type straight…..i really need to go fishin…..is there anything we can do to melt this ice a little faster. 
You could set up tip ups with sucker minnows and catch some northerns through the ice. That way you won’t have to wait for open water.
Thanks, Bill
Muskie and northern in lake zumbro…. Ikow were im gunna be going every weekend once the ice melts…… only caught about 10 muskie my whole life. the sure are a fun fish to catch.
NEWT MAN,
HAVE TO MAKE IT ON A WEEK NIGHT WITH BAD WEATHER, OR MAY BE CATCHING WATERSKEE’S INSTEAD.
CONSIDERING AVERAGE GROWTH RATES, AND THE FORAGE, I GUARANTEE THERE ARE FISH OVER 40 INCHES THERE. I’M IN!!
I HAVE A SECRET PLUG IN A PURPLE BOX.
oh, come on guys…..those waterskiers are all part of the whole naturalistic experince of the mighty Zum. 
i just couldn’t imagine the lake without them
I imagine if you hook a waterskier he would put up a good fight too. Have I just invented a new sport?
Gator Hunter
Hello
Just loged on today. Sounds like a great place to get info. Been fishing on and off now for many years. I got married and had some graemlins . So I have been puting every thing on hold for a while :bawling. My dad and I are getting more time to go and I would like to try muskie fishing. We are going to Canada in July . My middle daughter is 10, we took her fishing last year and she stayed in the boat did not complaine except when it was time to go for 8 hours. So I know I have at least one of my daughter on my side. Well just wanted to intro duce my self and say hi.
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