Find The Right Structure In Deep, Clear Water

With breathtaking scenery, vast amounts of water, and complex and diverse structure, clear water Canadian Shield lakes offer some of the most sought-after musky fishing in the world. A bucket-list destination for the passionate and determined angler, there’s something truly special about being in the sanctuary of the great Canadian Shield lakes.

- Jessie Baker

What truly has people talking about these deep clear water lakes is not the scenery but the girthy, cisco-feeding muskies! But fishing for them brings more challenges than most. Although the potential is there to catch the fish of a lifetime, it’s not going to be easy.

Three ways to increase your success on the water are locating the right structure, understanding how to fish it to its potential, and ultimately choosing the best time to fish these daunting clear waters.

Having success on clear waters such as my home water of Pipestone Lake in Ontario begins with locating the right structure. The general consensus for the location of clear water muskies is to look for them deep, but the fact is the majority of them spend most of their time shallow, but feed deeper.

I think it’s important to note there are two types of trout water muskies — the typical musky and the atypical musky. The typical musky (usually younger and smaller, but not always), is the more predictable candidate and can be targeted in shallow habitats for the majority of the season. These muskies continuously relate to the shallow structures on the lake that consist of bays, rock reefs (10 to 15 feet), and fallen timber. I say “more predictable” because on Pipestone I’ve watched these fish relate back to their same home structures year after year.