Michigan's Great Lakes muskies are most common in the southeast corner of Lake St. Clair and the Detroit River, which feature world-class fisheries for the large, toothy predators. Lake St. Clair has a fairly large fleet of charter boats that target muskellunge by trolling, and a growing contingent of small boat anglers casts or jigs for them as well. Because the St. Clair system in fed by cold, Great Lakes water, muskie season does not open until the first Saturday of June and runs through Dec. 15. Elsewhere, the seasons mimic walleye seasons.

Often called "the fish of a thousand casts," muskies are hard to come by; they are slow to mature and take many years to reach the minimum legal size of 42 inches. Legal-size muskies are rarely caught by anglers who are not fishing expressly for them; because of their large size and sharp teeth, they often break lines. Usually found with shallow weedy lakes and rivers with log jams and fallen timber, muskies retreat into deeper water during the heat of the summer. They can be caught by casting or trolling with very large plugs, spoons and spinners -- usually behind a wire leader -- that are retrieved or trolled at a fast rate or by bait fishermen using large suckers. Though primarily fish eaters, muskies will take waterfowl or rodents when available.

Inland lakes are populated by northern muskies, many maintained by stocking programs. They can be taken by hook and line or spearing in a number of inland lakes. Lake Hudson in Lenawee County and Thornapple Lake in Barry County are the state's brood stock lakes and are closed to spearing. Muskies are found in a fair number of lakes statewide with notable fisheries for them in Lake Skegamog, the quiet back waters of the St. Marys River and in the Tahquamenon River in the Upper Peninsula.

Muskellunge are sometime pursued with spears through the ice.

Click here for better fishing waters for muskellunge.