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News from the Underground - September Tournaments
Late September is prime time for musky tournaments across the species’ northern range. Tournament organizers aim to time these events with the muskies’ shallow-water fall migration, drawing hopeful anglers competing for fame, fortune, and prizes.
The action kicked off on Lake of the Woods at the Northwest Angle from September 17–19 with the PMTT Championship. Across three days, 33 of the 50 competing teams—totaling 66 anglers—landed 117 muskies. Multiple fish surpassed 50 inches, topped by a 52-inch monster. Many professionals cited relief at the vastness of Lake of the Woods, which allowed the field to spread out and target unpressured fish.
The following weekend saw several major tournaments unfold across the region. Hosted in northeastern Wisconsin, the three-day Hayward Lakes Tournament drew 435 entrants, with 55 anglers registering 72 muskies led by a 48-inch top catch. Meanwhile, the George Wahl Tournament, hosted on Saturday, September 25, by the Twin Cities Chapter of Muskies, Inc., took place in the Twin Cities Metro area. This one-day event likely matched last year’s field of around 135 participants, with 12 anglers combining to land 13 muskies capped by an impressive 51.5-inch fish. Further north, the Nestor Falls Cup on eastern Lake of the Woods featured a unique two-day format where teams could register only their two largest fish per day. Hosting 38 teams (76 anglers), 31 teams logged a total of 68 muskies, with the largest measuring 50.5 inches.
Analyzing the numbers highlights clear trends in tournament productivity. The PMTT Championship and the Nestor Falls Cup led the pack, each yielding roughly 0.5 muskies per angler per day. This high output reflects the world-class quality of Lake of the Woods alongside a concentrated field of elite competitors. By contrast, the Hayward Lakes and George Wahl events both averaged around 0.1 muskies per angler per day. While those areas boast expansive water, heavy seasonal fishing pressure makes coaxing bites significantly tougher. Nonetheless, trophy-sized fish were present across all waters—every tournament except Hayward recorded at least one musky over 50 inches, and even Hayward delivered a respectable 48-inch leader.
Late-September musky tournaments demonstrate that while top-tier, low-pressure waters like Lake of the Woods yield the highest catch rates, dedicated anglers can still connect with giant, 50-plus-inch trophies across heavily pressured regional fisheries.
The Bite - Your Musky Briefing
Minnesota
Unusually warm weather interrupted the shallow water bite throughout the state. Bait that had been schooling in the shallows has pushed to break lines that abuts shallow structure. Look for muskies to scatter a bit as more seasonable weather returns.
What’s Working Now — Deeper presentations worked on break lines or just off the break line, including rubber and crankbaits. If bait is higher in the water column, stop-start baits like dive-rise and twitch baits have also been productive.
What’s Out — Shallow presentations on shallow flats. Muskies have abandoned the shallows lately.
Wisconsin
Muskies are showing up in a mix of shallow and mid-depth locations as the fall transition continues. Jerkbaits have been getting a good response from fish, but live suckers are becoming the key to putting muskies in the net consistently.
What’s Working Now — Jerkbaits like the Suick Thriller, Phantom Softail, and Livingston Titan are good options for covering shallow and mid-depth structure. Live suckers on quick-strike rigs remain the most consistent approach.
What’s Out — Relying exclusively on artificial presentations when fish are reluctant to commit. Having suckers available can make the difference.
Northeast US
Water temperatures are dropping into the lower 60s, and feeding windows are getting shorter. Morning topwater action remains decent, while midday success has become increasingly dependent on weather. Sunny days have produced good action on smaller presentations, particularly around structure adjacent to deep water.
What’s Working Now — Livingston Lil Makk, Bucher TopRaider, and Lee Lures Chopper are options for morning topwater action. Smaller presentations like the Livingston Critter and Bondy Bait can be effective in 4–8 feet on sunny days. During cold, cloudy conditions, slowly worked weighted jointed glide baits, including the Phantom Softail, are worth trying along the first break in 12–15 feet. Slow-rolled spinnerbaits like the Bucher Slopmaster and Musky Mayhem Moon Series along weedlines remain options for evening fish.
What’s Out — Expecting an extended night bite. Night fishing has largely shut down outside of a brief, approximately 10-minute feeding window around moonrise. Evening action is also slowing.
Southern Waters
Water temperatures have settled into the 60s, opening up a wide range of productive depths. Muskies are scattered throughout the water column, making versatility and covering water important as fall patterns continue to develop.
What’s Working Now — Swimbaits like the Chaos Tackle Medussa, Musky Innovations Bull Dawg, and Livingston Menace offer options for working different depths. Bucktails such as the Musky Mayhem Double Cowgirl and Buchertail can help cover water and locate active fish.
What’s Out — Committing to a single depth range. With muskies distributed from shallow to deep, limiting your search to one zone can mean overlooking active fish.
Illinois and Ohio
Water temperatures are holding between 70 and 74 degrees, with noticeably cooler air temperatures helping maintain a productive shallow-water bite. Threadfin and gizzard shad continue pushing shallow, drawing muskies into weeds and the backs of coves. Two distinct shallow patterns are producing fish.
What’s Working Now — Weed beds in 4 feet or less adjacent to breaks of 10 feet or deeper have been productive with the Livingston Lil Makk during low light, Smoker Tackle SS Shiners, Crane crankbaits, and pull-pause presentations with Chaos Tackle Medussas. In the backs of coves, Joe Bucher Slopmasters are producing in 3 feet or less. The Livingston Howeller DMC has also been catching bass along ledges, with occasional muskies mixed in.
Additional Options — Bucher TopRaider and Lee Lures Chopper for shallow topwater work, along with Musky Innovations Shallow Invader for working weed edges and nearby breaks.
What’s Out — Ignoring feeding windows. Outside of low-light periods, nearly all reported muskie catches have occurred during major feeding periods. Timing has become just as important as lure selection.
The Underground Take
October is delivering a wide variety of musky patterns across the country. Northern anglers are seeing shorter feeding windows and an increasing reliance on live bait, while warmer southern fisheries continue to offer productive artificial lure fishing. One common thread is emerging: successful anglers are adjusting their presentations to the conditions rather than forcing a single fall pattern. Whether that means fishing shallow topwater, grinding a weighted glide bait along the first break, or keeping a sucker in the water, flexibility remains the key to October success.
Underground Intel - The Scattering
As October arrives, muskies are on the move. Water temperatures are sliding into the 50s, triggering a sharp decline in photosynthesis and clearing the water as late-season nutrients dissipate. Falling temperatures, shortening daylight, and dying weed lines send an unmistakable signal to muskies: winter is fast approaching. While the September shallow-water push gathered fish together, this next leg of the seasonal progression scatters them once again.
Many anglers dread this transition as water drops below 60 degrees. Turnover looms, and muskies sense it, making consistent patterns notoriously difficult to establish. Because turnover can make the deep water column inhospitable, muskies move to avoid it. On multi-basin lakes, however, different basins turn over at different times—a dynamic smart anglers can exploit. To shift between basins, muskies must navigate narrow pinch points. Concentrating on pinch points with noticeable current is particularly effective, as these spots gather forage and offer structural rest areas for traveling fish.
Forage migration is another key driver of fall musky movement. Panfish such as bluegills and perch congregate near remaining green vegetation that still produces oxygen. Find healthy green weeds, and you will find the panfish that hold muskies in the area. However, these shallow muskies have faced weeks of heavy fishing pressure and grow increasingly wary in clearing water. Precise presentations are critical. If you cast standard lures, pressured fish will ignore them entirely. Swapping lures frequently is often the key to dialing in a shallow bite.
At the same time, pelagic forage draws another segment of the musky population in a completely different direction. In lakes with ciscoes and whitefish, dropping water temperatures prompt these baitfish to gather ahead of their late-fall spawn. Targeting this pattern presents real challenges: these deep-water baitfish are heavily impacted by turnover, and their pre-spawn movements can be subtle; weeks before the actual event.
Despite these challenges, the rewards are significant. By focusing on known spawning areas—typically gravel flats adjacent to steep drop-offs—you can work outward to locate staging bait. The largest muskies in the system actively intercept these schooling fish. Better yet, this pattern remains viable right up until ice-up. Establishing the location of these forage schools early keeps you dialed in for the rest of the season. Muskies often anticipate the movement before the baitfish fully consolidate, giving you a valuable window to present lures before competing against dense clouds of natural forage.
Locating muskies in water that is in the 50s is undeniably tough, and even seasoned anglers view pre-turnover as one of the most challenging windows of the year. Yet, by paying close attention to basin transitions, remaining green weeds, and deep forage movements—while refining your presentations—you can stay on fish and set the stage for an outstanding post-turnover bite.
Underground and In the Net
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Musky Lure Review - Livingston Big Makk
The Big Makk from Livingston Lures is a tail prop topwater bait. With a weight of 3.7oz and a body length of 6” (8.5” with the tail hook), it is a standard musky-sized prop bait that can be cast long distances. However, there a few features that distinguish the Big Makk from other offerings. First, there is the horizontal slot in the mouth of the bait with an interior wedge profile. This slot stabilizes the lure to prevent rolling even after the lure has been run for long periods. Prop baits that develop a distinctive squeal typically do so because the central shaft has been roughed up through use, and this produces friction that induces a prop bait to roll. The Big Makk anticipates this problem. What is more, Big Makk also features an integrated ticker that clacks against the prop. This changes the sound of the typical “plop-plop” that is produces by tail prop baits; it is more of a chugging plop, similar to the “Pacemaker”. The innovation here is that the ticker is attached to a split ring, so when a more subtle sound is required the angler can easily remove the ticker. There is also a rattle chamber contained within the tail of the bait for even more noise. In general, the Big Makk is a loud topwater that is capable of being run at any speed.
The latest release of the Big Makk has included beefed up hardware, intended to improve the resilience of the rotating tail and the through-wire. With that new release, Livingston has also released a smaller version “Lil Makk” (4” long, 1.5oz, and lacking the "ticker”).
Build Quality: #4 out of 5 |
Versatility: #3 out of 5 |
Ease of Use: #5 out of 5 |
Innovation: #4 out of 5 |
Big Fish Potential: #4 out of 5 |
Underground Verdict: For those looking for a loud, moderate-sized prop topwater, Big Makk delivers. It runs true at a variety of speeds. At $33, it is a well-priced addition to your topwater game. |
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Getting 1% Better…
While you can’t control where muskies will be, you have complete control over how you present your lures. Remember, when you’re working a lure focus on the depth and speed of your presentation. Other than musky location, those are the two most important factors contributing to whether your get bit or not.