September's Southern Musky
Outburst On Cave Run Lake
by Crash Mullins
Musky Hunter Field Editor
Cave Run Lake is the Musky Capital of the South. It is an 8,300-acre hilland reservoir, located at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in eastern Kentucky. It is in the middle of the Daniel Boone National Forest, and by now most readers have heard of this water.
You may have read about the "Niagara River Rampage" or the 1955 Musky feeding frenzy that hit Minnesota's Leech Lake. Musky fishermen wait, hope and sometimes even pray for this type of fast action. My records have shown for the last few years that fast and furious action for both numbers and big fish happens at Cave Run Lake in September. I call it a southern Musky outburst.
Don't believe me? Let me clue you into what happened last September. For the most part this outburst began for myself and my clients on September 11, 1996 and in 27 days we busted 59 Muskies! This included hawgs measuring 51, 50 and 49 inches as well as three 48s, three 47s, two 46s and seven 45s.
We all know that location is the key to all fishing, but this outbreak was a bit different. We zeroed in on the shallow flats that are adjacent to the deeper water found in the main basin of the lake, concentrating on depths of 2 to 10 feet. Be mindful that Cave Run is a flooded forest and this requires precise casting. There is a tremendous amount of standing timber and those who have fished Cave Run know this well, especially if your favorite lure spends most of its action wrapped around a tree limb.
I have noticed a pattern change over the past couple of years and it seems that this peak frenzy time is September. The Muskies appear to be drawn away from the timber into the main basin areas where the shallow flats are located. The last few years have seen some weed growth, a milfoil-type that is common in southern lakes. This particular weed is found usually at a depth of 8 feet and deeper, and seems to flourish in early fall.
Summer water temperatures hit the low 90s and by mid-September we experience high 70- to low 80-degree temperatures. These changes in temperatures mark what I call the beginning of our cool-down. Now, most seasoned northern fishermen, would tend to think that the water is still too hot. True, the temperature gauge still reads in the low 80s, but you need to focus on the fact that there has been a 12- to 15-degree drop! This pushes the baitfish, commonly shad, into the shallow flats and the weeds. Since the Muskies' food source has moved, they follow.
These locations are hard to find in this particular type of reservoir and you'll need to study your map. Fishing Hot Spots produces a fine waterproof map of this lake. After reviewing the map, cover lots of water running and gunning, hitting all the weed flats and the back of the hollows (coves) as we call them here. Most any place that has weeds will have Muskies, and the cooler the water temperatures the better.
Casting is my preferred fishing style, although trolling is not ruled out. If you choose to troll, use long-line shallow-running lures and pay close attention to speed and lure selections.
There are many lures across the country that will work well during this southern outburst. There were six in particular that came through for me in such a big way in 1996: Super Slayer's Slippery Sam & Slippery Sam, Jr., Grim Reaper's half-ounce long arm spinnerbait and 1 1/4-ounce long arm bucktail, Shumway Tackle's Hot Head Shad Body, and Pete Mania's 6-inch Jake in bright colors. Cave Run Lake is known for bigger Muskies eating smaller lures?they simply do a better job of imitating shad.
Remember that you are running and gunning these weedbeds, so watch out for three things: hard hits, fast follows and figure-8 strikes. Most hits are within the first 5 to 6 feet of the cast and the last 5 to 6 of the retrieve. I take a huge amount of pride in catching Muskies on figure-8s and can attribute this maneuver to 70 percent of my catches each year. It's important to keep your lure in the water next to the boat.
For those of you coping with tough turnover conditions in the north country, never overlook this southern part of Musky country. I grin from ear to ear as I recall guiding two clients from the Chicago area as we boated five Muskies measuring from 40½ to 45½ inches in less than two hours on one drift across a shallow flat loaded with weeds.
Don't let September slow you down? Head south for big Muskies.