Week 4 of the Chautauqua musky season is in the books and fishing remains excellent. Surface temps have been fluctuating daily between 72-76 with all the rain, cool nights, scorching hot days, etc.

Water color is now excellent. The crystal clear water days with frustrating 25-plus follow days are over. The southern end of the lake has lost a good percentage of its weeds and water clarity is beginning to get its normal “algae pea soup” look.

The central and northern sections of the lake has just barely enough stain to make conditions ideal. Weed growth this year is incredible with a multitude of weed species thriving. The annoying “spaghetti grass” is thick and is reaching depths to 17-18 foot and has yet to die off. It should die off here in the next few days/weeks and will make fishing near the bottom a lot easier. The coontail, cabbage, and pondweed remain green and lush and are growing at their “normal” Chautauqua depths of 10-12 feet of water. All weeds seem to be holding good numbers and size of fish.

Rumor has it the trolling bite has been slow and concentration of baitfish schools are slim to none. I cannot confirm this report for I haven’t trolled hardly at all in the last two weeks. I do, however, believe the trolling bite should pick up here any day now with the water temps in the middle water columns starting to reach the low 70-degree range.

— Captain Brian Clark, bigpamusky.com