08/21/2026
👑 WEEKLY FISHING REPORT — MUSKY SPECIAL (August 21, 2026) 👑
Brought to you by Guide's Choice Pro Shop — Eagle River, WI
The National Championship Musky Open (sponsored by the Eagle River Chamber of Commerce) starts TODAY and runs through Sunday! With water temperatures holding steady in the low-to-mid 70s thanks to cool August nights, late-summer musky patterns are in full swing across Vilas County.
For this week's intel, we dug into the archives of legendary guide Tony Rizzo to see how he targeted big late-summer fish:
Target Deep, Suspended Females: Rizzo favored targeting suspended muskies in deep water surrounding main-lake structure (like the open water around mid-lake humps rather than directly on top of them). Factor in wind and current, and think about where a big female will sit for a quick meal.
Don't Skip Deep Weeds: Rizzo emphasized not ignoring the deepest w**ds you can find—specifically the deep beds out of sight that you can only pick up on your depth finder.
Rizzo's Go-To Late-Summer Baits: Tony was a big fan of weighted Suicks and weighted Bobbie Baits in late summer, keeping bucktails in the mix all year long.
Trust the Process: Rizzo logged 3,409.5 hours of August musky fishing over 20 years, landing 205 legal fish. That’s an average of 16.6 hours per legal musky. When you're on the grind, remember even a legend put in a couple of full workdays for a legal fish!
🎣 SHOP LOCAL REPORT & TACTICS
Rubber has been our most productive bait all summer long. Red October Tubes, Boss Shad Hybrids, Medussas, and Pro Bull Dawgs all HOT. Deep diving cranks to contact those suspended muskies are worth a shot too.
🌙 EAGLE RIVER / VILAS COUNTY SOLUNAR TIMES
Fri, Aug 21 (Fair): Majors: 6:45am–8:45am, 7:11pm–9:11pm | Minors: 3:46pm–4:46pm
Sat, Aug 22 (Fair): Majors: 7:37am–9:37am, 8:02pm–10:02pm | Minors: 4:38pm–5:38pm, 11:34pm–12:34am
Sun, Aug 23 (Fair): Majors: 8:28am–10:28am, 8:53pm–10:53pm | Minors: 5:21pm–6:21pm, 12:28am–1:28am
Mon, Aug 24 (Good): Majors: 9:18am–11:18am, 9:43pm–11:43pm | Minors: 1:30am–2:30am, 5:55pm–6:55pm
Tue, Aug 25 (Good): Majors: 10:07am–12:07pm, 10:30pm–12:30am | Minors: 2:37am–3:37am, 6:22pm–7:22pm
Wed, Aug 26 (Excellent): Majors: 10:53am–12:53pm | Minors: 3:47am–4:47am, 6:45pm–7:45pm
Thu, Aug 27 (Excellent): Majors: 11:16pm–1:16am, 11:38am–1:38pm | Minors: 4:58am–5:58am, 7:04pm–8:04pm
👑 Good luck to all tournament anglers competing this weekend!
Stop by Guide's Choice Pro Shop to gear up with Red October Tubes, Suicks, Bobbie Baits, bucktails, and terminal tackle before heading out!
