Since I am a caster at heart, June is one of my favorite times of the year. It is not uncommon to move three to six muskies in a day, and put hooks into two or three. In fact, during the 2003 season, we averaged two boated fish per day during my June musky trips. While this is not the average of the trollers, if you are like me, and just loose your shorts when a 40+ inch fish chases you up to the boat to say hello, this is the trip for you.

On Lake St. Clair, the muskies are shallow during this time of year, feeding on spawning bass and rock bass. I fish a lot of various weed beds in Anchor Bay, as well as several key breaks in the same area. Further down the West shore, we take muskies off certain rock piles. The fish are here for the same reason, to feed.

The advantage a caster has over a troller in these areas is bait position on the cover. It is often necessary to fish a weed bed very thoroughly from different angles to get a strike. Trolling these areas is not only difficult because it is shallow, but is impossible to work the intricacies of a weed bed or rock pile like a caster.

At this time of year, I subscribe to the Tony Rizzo theory of downsizing baits. We fish a lot of buck tails-The Rizzo Wiz, Mepps Musky Killer, Black Fury, #5 Aglia and small Buckertails. Topwaters are a good choice at this time of year too, should the conditions dictate, with a Globe being my favorite. Occasionally, twitch baits are good too.

The Detroit River is even more underutilized than Lake St. Clair given its strong musky population. It is very common to fish an entire day for muskies here, and see only the occasional walleye fishermen at this time of year. June is a peak month on the Detroit River, with many muskies feeding on small walleye, smallmouth and perch. The key to catching muskies in the Detroit River is remembering that current positions everything. This means that muskies usually come off very specific spots. I fish a lot of islands, weed beds and current breaks from the Wyandotte area downriver to the mouth of Lake Erie.

Buck tails, top waters and twitch baits are the baits of choice here as well. While downsizing is a good idea, we catch some nice fish on standard Buckertails and Mepps Magnum Musky Killers. Although various colors work well at different times, my best friend and fellow guide Jon Bondy turned me on to a copper blade for larger fish. He feels it looks more like a smallmouth bass, and I agree. I personally think that the lack of musky pressure on the Detroit River makes bait size less of an issue than on most musky lakes.

If you enjoy casting for muskies, you owe it to yourself to fish Lake St. Clair or the Detroit River in June. When Cary Beaver, touring bass pro from Wisconsin had a tough tournament at Buffalo, NY, he told me in a joking way that he might throw in the towel and become a bartender in the keys. I responded by saying that whenever I have a tough tournament, I consider moving to Northern Wisconsin and being a full time musky guide. I love these fish.