Ah spring!  Time to begin chasing the "great greens" once again.  But where to find them?  Well, muskies should normally be fairly easy at this time of the year.  A few variables come in to play, such as is it a normal spring, or is it early or late.  Assuming a fairly normal year, muskies will just have completed spawning.  They can be found in and around productive spawning areas.  In lakes, that will be shallow, weedy bays.  In flowage waters it can be any number of places.  River and creek mouths will almost always be a sure bet.  Also, bays rimmed with cattails are likey spawning areas and should be checked thoroughly.  If these areas, after being checked fully, fail to produce, then move to the points nearby, as the muskies may have already started their migration to their summer home ranges (the areas where they will spend the majority of the summer). 

In lakes, be sure to check out any new weed growth, and if growth is fairly well along, check out the deep edges as well as any pockets along the weed edge.  Don't overlook the "inside edge" of these weed beds also, as the shallower inside edges should have the warmest water, often an important factor in the spring.  In fact, if you are fishing a new lake without the help of a guide, I would suggest fishing shore line, where the water is the warmest and just cover as much water as possible.  If muskies are on the move, this tactic will eventually put you in touch with them.

In flowages, be sure to check out log jams and sunken stump fields.  The "wood" helps to warn the surrounding water and is a good place for baitfish to be on the grow.  Muskies won't be too far away!  Immediate post spawn muskies often "fast" for a short while, but by covering lots of water, you should be able to make contact with a few "biters," especially the males which will be feeding constantly.  This is a great time of the year to intercept a big mama musky before she abandons the shallows for her deep water sactuary.

Many musky anglers tend to downsize their lures in the spring, and it is often a good idea when pounding shallow water.  However, I have always had good success right at the start of the season with "normal" size lures when fishing the slightly deeper areas.  I have always liked the "commotion" that the larger lures make when splashing down, especially in the darker flowage waters.  I belive it helps get the attention of the fish from farther distances and seems to up my odds considerably!   However, if you are pounding "skinny" (shallow) water, a large lure might scare off a potential biter, hence the advantage of the smaller lures.

Live bait is a good option in the spring, provided it is used with a "quick-set" rig.  A lazy sucker swimming around will often get even a non-feeding musky to take interest.  Quick-set rigs accomplish two things.  First, they allow the nearly immediate setting of the hook after the musky grabs the sucker and swims off, and minimizes the "wait time", thereby eliminating the wasting of time waiting for the musky to swallow the sucker.  Windows of opportunity can often be of short duration in the spring, and time not spent waiting can equal more opportunities f a hooork-up.  The second thing quick-sets do is prevent the unnessary killing of released muskies that might have swallowed the old style single swallow hook kill rig.  Studies have proven that muskies gut hooked with the old style single hook rigs kill fish, even if the leader is cut and