False days to help maximize your time on the water. By Bart Rosen & Bob Mehsikomer

False Thanks to recent advancements in technology, we have been tracking many different factors that may affect muskies’ feeding activity levels. In the process, we have learned that weather as well as lunar and solar events will generally affect all fish, especially muskies. However, we have also learned that each species has certain unique behavior patterns and dietary needs. Understanding these needs and feeding tendencies will put you far ahead of your fel-low anglers. From daily feeding requirements to weekly and monthly occurrences that have impact, this article will help you to identify the importance of each variable and help you maxi-mize your time on the water. Solar Influence First we are going to identify events that hap-pen on a daily basis. Sunlight is a factor we all have to deal with, even if you only fish at night. The sun is the largest body in our solar system, and some experts would say it exerts one of the strongest influences on day- to- day musky fishing. The primary solar periods that are most effective are generally thought to be dawn and dusk. Each of these periods is determined based on the exact time of sunrise and sunset for a specific location and date. Both dawn and dusk offer a time of change during the day, every day. During these periods, light and its penetration powers are most affected allowing muskies to use this as an opportunity to better ambush their prey. Typically, sundown tends to be the favorite among anglers and predators. Early season water temps are gener-ally cooler in the morning and consequently need the warming of the sun to achieve their maxi-mum daily temperature range by day’s end, thus promoting the muskies’ feeding activity. This same concept applies to the fall periods when the water temps are generally thought to be below the natural comfort range of the muskie. However, fishing dawn or pre- dawn can be very productive during the middle of the summer Bart and his fater Don with Don’s 51 incher as a result of fishing the right periods The largest influences occur overhead and directly