Water temperatures in Wisconsin’s northwoods are in the low to mid 70s, and will come up a little with the warm weather forecast for the July 4th weekend. You’ll find muskies everywhere — in shallow weeds, on rockpiles, and suspended over deep water.

The past week saw unstable weather with periods of rain and clouds, as well as some heat. Every day produced some sort of a mini-front situation, with short windows of musky activity followed by periods of no action. The good news is if you stick with it, you’ll find active muskies sometime during the day.

Muskies that visited my boat in the past week were caught on a Whale Tail, Triple D and Baby DepthRaider crankbaits, Slammer minnowbaits, Mepps Double Musky Flashabous and Musky Marabous, and even a Bobbie Bait.

The best musky for the week was caught on a Baby DepthRaider fished with a plain-Jane, steady retrieve, right at dark in post-frontal conditions. Never overlook downsizing your lures and the last-light bite following the passage of a cold front.

— Steve Heiting, steveheiting.com