However, the Corps of Engineers had been lowering the lake level and had it back down to summer pool. When water is being released from the lake it wreaks havoc on what we consider "normal" fishing conditions. During this two week stretch we had only caught four Muskies and I was ready to give up. I told my wife, Gina, "It's over! It's over 'till fall!" She reminded me that it is always darkest before dawn and not to give up hope. She's always the more positive thinker.

I considered the next morning to be my last chance to score big. I'd been guiding a group from Chicago all week and we were getting pretty discouraged. I had been bragging up Cave Run Lake as the "Musky Capital of the South" all week and I wasn't about to eat my words. Cave Run Lake is a flooded forest reservoir with an enormous amount of standing timber with depths up to 50 feet, a spectacular sight to behold.

Just before daylight we headed across the lake and my clients asked for the day's game plan. I said it was going to be simple, with the day's forecast of clear skies and 90-degree temperatures and my water temperature gauge reading 88, we would crank deep runners. My first stop brought us to a long timbered point which I refer to as a "staircase."

I'm a firm believer in positioning my boat in 25 to 30 feet of water and casting into five feet near the bank. Then I turn and cast in the opposite direction into 50 feet of water. Throughout the years I have found this strategy to be extremely effective in northern natural lakes as well as the southern reservoirs.

On natural lakes I concentrate on deep weed breaks, long bars or humps, but at Cave Run Lake timber is bountiful and I believe that Muskies love wood.

I told my clients we were going to live or die by cranking. Now, over the past two weeks I had tried just about everything to no avail, and had decided this was the only way to go.

I reached into my tackle box and pulled out four DepthRaiders that Musky Hunter Editor Jim Saric had – given to me a while back, four of Pete Mama's new Ernie crankbaits, and four Undertakers made by the Grim Reaper Tackle Company. Now, the Grim Reaper had shown me some success in the past and I knew that they would get through the timber, or as I refer to it as "riding the timber," but as far as the Ernie and the DepthRaiders I hadn't used them much and was ready to put them to the test.

When cranking timber your lure needs to be buoyant and have a bigger lip to ride through the timber, and all three of these crankbalts fit the bill.

Rod choice is also critical. Some anglers prefer using a lighter, more active rod, but timber requires a heavy action rod to crank a big deep runner, especially the DepthRaider and the Ernie. I use the 6-foot-9 St. Crox Legend series rod or the seven footer, simply because of increased casting distance and the ability to figure-8 at boat-side.

For line, I use 30 pound Cortland Musky Mono. The conditions at Cave Run require a tough line to withstand abuse from the timber. It also seems to allow my baits to obtain more depth than if I were using dacron.

Fish finders with a side finder feature, such as my Bottom Line unit' give me a good view of the submerged timber. With the boat positioned on the outer edges of the timber, more often than not I'll spot a Muskie on the side finder's screen and casts in that general direction will usually result in follows and/or strikes.

As we started fishing the timber I held the boat at a depth of 20 to 25 feet. My clients were really struggling as they hadn't yet figured out how not to get their crankbaits hung up in the wood. One of the hardest tasks for this type of fishing is pinpoint casting - in other words, being able to hit your target It can mean the difference in getting snagged or having a strike.

After a couple of passes around the point' my client Chuck caught his first legal Muskie, a 33-incher on an Undertaker. Fifteen minutes later I caught a 39½ incher on an Ernie. We were definitely pumped up and worked this timbered point hard for the next hour and a half without success - it was as if the Muskies had disappeared.

Okay, I figured, it's time to change lures and give this spot another shot. Each of us put on a DepthRaider. I told Chuck, "These lures will ride the timber well and their loud raffles just might be the answer." Chuck chose a firetiger pattern, his buddy Tom chose the redhead, and I grabbed a jointed crappie pattern.

I decided to play the staircases a bit more and positioned my boat in 40 feet of water on the outer edge of the timber. Instantly, Chuck set the hook and yelled "Nice Muskie on!"

I turned in time to see the Muskie break water and throw the lure right in the middle of the timber. I told Tom, who was standing in the middle of the boat' to quickly cast in that same area. He did, but his retrieve was a bit fast and he forgot to figure-8 at the boat. As he pulled the lure out of the water we all spotted the Muskie jump out of the water alter Tom's lure.

I made a cast to demonstrate how to figure-8 deep with the crankbait and sure enough, there he was again - the 40½ incher ate my DepthRaider right at the boat! During the next hour we had five follows from Muskies we estimated to be in the 40 to 44 inch range.

At this point I was convinced that the pattern was to crank the timber early in the morning, and I was right This pattern resulted in an unbelievable week - during the next six days, I boated 13 Muskies, bringing the total number of catches to 17 in seven days! Fifteen of these measured 40 inches or longer and all but two of them fell prey to the DepthRaiders.

I found that there was really no difference in the preferred color and concentrated on a pattern by which one of us would cast a jointed lure at a fish that had followed a straight model. This usually coaxed the Muskie into striking.

When the water gets warm in your favorite reservoir or natural lake, crank the timber or any breakline. If the fish aren't shallow, the crankbait may trigger strikes under the toughest conditions.

An old Southern Muskie man once told me, "Crash, you're not a Muskie fisherman until you catch one on a figure-8, especially in a flooded forest."