THE EXPERT
Mike Hulbert, muskie guide
HOME BASE
Lake St. Clair, Roseville, Mich.
CONTACT
mikehulbert.com
GO-TO LURE
Joe Bucher 700 Series Bucktail
Running bucktails for muskies often involves huge, double No. 10 Colorado blades. But not at this time of year, says Mike “MJ” Hulbert, who’s known for boating trophy muskies. “In spring, I throw small, weighted bucktails at stupid warp speed to get reaction strikes from fish that aren’t yet fired up,” he says.
Regardless of where you are, muskies will spawn in the weeks after ice-out in back bays and shallow flats—and that’s where they’ll stay for a while, recuperating in a lethargic post-spawn phase. “I try to pick them off before they head back out to open water,” Hulbert says. “I focus on rocks, rip riprap,…
