I returned to Merwin Lake to find the tiger musky action is still red-hot. Fishing with Ariel resident Mike Nielsen (pictured above), we raised 10 fish, hooked 5, and boated 2. The water surface temp was 67 degrees, the weather cloudy with intermittent rain. All strikes occurred at mid-day during the intervals between showers. As the week progressed, it got colder and wetter, the water temp fell to 65 degrees, and the fish followed instead of hitting. On Wednesday, a 20-lb. tiger musky fish made its fight under the boat and finally got off by slamming its head against the side of the boat, which dislodged the hooks. On Thursday, I lost another 20-pounder that managed to wrap the line around a log and break off, boated a 33-incher, and lost another small fish that shook off after a brief but energetic fight. On Friday, we photographed and released a 38-incher, and had follows from three more fish. On Saturday, a big fish aggressively followed five different lures with his nose pressed right against the hooks, but I simply couldn't get this fish to hit. On this trip, I stayed at the Cresap Bay campground, reached by continuing past Speelyai Bay to Jack's Restaurant, turning right, and driving south for several miles. This year, the campground closes Sept. 19, and Pacific Power will lower the lake 30 feet beginning next week so workers can lengthen the Speelyai boat ramp, so the tiger musky fishing at Merwin is now over for this year. They probably will become catchable again by late May or early June, but according to what the caretaker tells me, forget about staying in the campground unless you make reservations by March. There are 56 campsites, including several drive-through sites (which are handy for fishermen with boat trailers), but no electricity for recharging batteries.

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