For as long as I can remember, there have been stories about an angler hooking into a monster muskie while fishing for pan fish. The story gets better each year, and while the dates and names may change the basic story is the same.

There is a reason that folks hook into muskies early in the season. Muskies will hunt for food wherever it hangs out at, plus muskie search the shallows for spawning ground.

Traditionally spawning for muskies begins around 55-degree water temperatures. Now, some would say that Chautauqua Lake doesn’t have spawning muskies, but others would disagree. Either way, typical spawning locations are shallow bays in 1-3 feet of water, with a mucky or wood-covered bottom. The fish do not attend to the eggs once released, and in about 10 days those eggs will hatch.

Spring muskies seek out shallow water which is warmer than surrounding water. Other species of fish have also concentrated into the shallow, warm water to spawn, providing the muskie with an abundant food supply. Depending on seasonal conditions the muskie may be in the area spawning themselves. This season should have a good spawn, due to the early ice-out and lack of warm weather more than a few days in a row.

Once the spawn is completed, muskies stay in the shallow areas feeding on crappies, bluegills, perch and other fish. They may also seek out deep-water areas adjacent to the shallow areas, typically within several hundred yards. Weed-covered flats near moving water are also a key area to try. Shallow edges with deep water close by should be first stops anytime one heads out, as long as the water temperatures are below 65 degrees. As the spring winds push the warmer top water across the lake, look to the windblown bays for warmest water on the lake first.

Bait selection is critical at this juncture of the season. Small baits in the 3-5-inch range are ideal. Use silver blades on bright days and gold/florescent blades on overcast days. Spoons, buck tails or swim baits are excellent choices during this time of the season.

Weather changes are constant with spring, but just because we get a few days of above-average temperature doesn’t mean the water temperature is increasing exponentially. Watching the weather forecast, understanding the current conditions, and preparing for forecast changes, can give you insight of what to expect on the water each day.

One key to early season musky fishing is to fish slow, but high in the water column. Muskie almost always feed up. Their eyes are positioned into their head so they are almost always looking up. Fishing too deep will be counterproductive. Fishing too fast can also be a detrimental to success. Appropriate speed of retrieval should be just fast enough to ensure the blades are moving on the lure.

In the first days of the musky season, everything is just waking up. Water temperature becomes the key to finding the best places to fish for muskie. Look for shallow bays and areas where the bottom substrate is dark-colored. These will be the places where the sun warms the water more quickly than other parts of the lake. Baitfish, insects and hungry panfish will all be attracted to these warm areas. And, where you find active fish, you’ll find muskies.

For the muskie angler targeting these shallow areas during the spring, the go-to bait should be the bucktail spinner, commonly referred to as simply bucktails.

Bucktails are the simplest muskie bait you can use. Simply cast and retrieve just slow enough to keep above structure.

If you want the bait to run high in the water, right up near the surface, start your retrieve the very instant the lure hits the water. If you want the bucktail to run a bit deeper, let the lure sink for just an instant and then begin the retrieval. As the water temperature continues to warm, you can speed up your retrieve, letting the blade of the bucktail break the surface occasionally, causing a ruckus that should draw a muskie’s attention.

Another good spring bait is the crankbait. Muskie crankbaits are minnow-shaped and made of either wood or plastic. They have a metal or plastic lip on the front end of them that causes them to wobble and dive as they are retrieved. Generally, the longer the lip on the crankbait, the deeper the bait will dive.

During the spring, you should fish crankbaits slow and steady. You want the bait to be easy for the musky to get a good look at it. Some variation in retrieval speed can help induce a strike. As the water warms in the late spring, you can increase the speed of your retrieve and add more pauses and accelerations. The crankbaits you use in the spring should be relatively small, from 6 to 9 inches. Like the bucktail, the crankbait is a good lure for the beginning muskie angler.

The best rods for casting light bucktails and crankbaits are 7 1/2- to 8-foot rods with medium/heavy action. The longer rods give you some extra leverage when casting and are comfortable to fish with, some consider pole clue rods.

As I have practiced, preached and shown clients for decades, learning the proper release a muskie is just as important or more important than catching muskies. There are few fish that are more important to release safely and quickly back into the fishier as muskies.

Learning the proper handling and releasing your musky is a responsibility. If you want to have muskies to catch in the future, we all need to know and understand the proper way to safely release your trophy. While I can spend time here to explain, the best way to learn is to watch somebody who knows what they are doing. Or, as the young folks do, YouTube it. There a plenty of great how-to videos on the Internet and it’s important to study them before you head out this season.