The next thing that stood out was the power pole shallow water anchors. Brad said that these were a necessary addition to his 18’ John boat in order to be able to anchor the boat against the fast moving current of the river. We started out from the Brokaw public boat landing and took a 20 minute ride up the Wisconsin River. It was an adventure traveling at 27 MPH and looking over the side of the boat to see rocks and hard bottom just inches under the lightly stained water. Once we got to where we would begin our downriver trek, my reeducation of lure presentation began. Because the water is ‘skinny’ surface baits are among the regularly used lures. I am used to bringing surface lures through the water at a leisurely to moderate pace. When I began to fish as I usually do, Brad corrected my presentation. Brad mentioned that river Musky are used to having their prey move through the water quickly. He also mentioned that by casting forward of the current flow, you would have to move the lure at a fast rate to keep it in the ‘ambush zone’. As I followed Brad’s casting directions with my Globe, I gained a new perspective on surface bait retrieval. My globe became a completely “different” lure when retrieved at a faster pace. The lure took on the characteristic sound of a ‘tail slapping’ lure that you would get from a tallywacker or top raider. I then tried my Crawler. I have always advertised The Best American Crawler as a creeper type lure that you can crank without having it roll in the water. When I casted it into the fast moving current of the river, the lure lived up to my advertising and more.
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