Even in bad weather conditions, Joe Bucher still has ways to catch muskies.

One late afternoon into the third fishless day of a recent trip, and after an incredibly violent storm, I could sense things were about to change. The wind finally started to back off, the sun began to peek out, and the air temperature rose considerably, but whether the fish would respond favorably was yet to be determined. Another potentially positive factor was the full moon’s influence. The peak of the full moon was only a day away, and the daily moonrise was less than two hours away.

As I commenced casting my clown-colored Buchertail along the multi-structured, mixed rock-and-weed flat, a small pike suddenly pounced on the lure. Then another…and another. Minnows started breaking the surface. I could sense something bigger was about to happen. A small window of opportunity was beginning to open. Who knows how long it would actually be available.

I placed a longer cast to cover the outermost projection of a point on a weedy flat, engaged the reel just a split second before the lure touched the water, and began a strong retrieve along with a rod lift to promote a surfacebulge on the bucktail spinner.

The rhythmic blade revolution on my lure was momentarily interrupted as it collided with a weed clump, and then—like a missile—a muskie exploded out of the middle of it, engulfing the entire lure, and launching upward into a tarpon-like tail walk. After an intense battle, I put the net under my first muskie in three hard days of fishing.

After a very brief photo session and release of the fish, I fired up the outboard and raced to the next fresh spot. Within minutes, I had a twin to the first muskie smash the same bait. Less than 15 minutes had passed by in the entire period from the strike of the first fish to the release of the second.

I worked as quickly and efficiently as was humanly possible to release this second muskie and head for another fresh spot. Unfortunately, the next spot, and the next…and the remainder of spots I hit the rest of the day were unproductive. This entire window of opportunity lasted a mere 15 minutes. That was it!

Believe it or not, another cold front passed through that evening, plummeting air temps even further downward—and water temps as well. I struggled once again the next day until late in the afternoon, near moonrise again, when a single cast over one specific spot produced one nicer muskie. And that, my friends, was the total catch for that entire trip. Three muskies that were active for a total length of time that was less than 20 minutes.

The point of all of this is simply that, more often than not, very short feeding windows are actually the norm—especially in the world of the muskie hunter. Feeding sprees that last for hours or even days are actually rare.

So, what does this all mean? We all hope for a great fishing trip, but the reality is that foul weather can lead to no follows, no strikes and sore shoulders. However, by keeping focused, working hard, presenting your lures efficiently, and staying on high-percentage spots, you are bound to get one or two key opportunities on any given trip. Admittedly, it is very hard to keep at it under these conditions. But the cool thing about muskie fishing is simply that you can go from zero to hero in a matter of seconds. It only takes one cast.

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