Back Lash Musky Fishing Podcast
Sep 9, 2026 · 1 hr 4 min · 11 segments
In this episode Chris Willen, a longtime musky guide from Northern Wisconsin, joins the Backlash Podcast to talk guiding life, boats, and fall musky strategies. They cover topwater hits on the Chopper…
Chris WillenGuestJeffHostSo low, low water is the, is the, the ticket we're talking about right now up there in the North woods.
Like what, what does it take for it to get back to normal pool? I mean, how much are we down? Like, I know you just said you just got some rain and you said it's probably not even going to move the needle.
You know, like what is it going to take to move the needle?
I think this year we're just going to be kind of settled into that a little bit lower than normal water levels.
just adjust accordingly, you know, instead of your weighted suick, maybe your regular suick instead of your regular dog, you're running shallow dogs, blades, you know, a lot of the, we were talking about Lee's baits with the choppers earlier.
His boiler makers are, um, like top five baits in the river of all time you know i mean it just that's a bait that you can keep over cover and it just it it acts differently in current you know we've got obviously less current this year but when that bait hits current it kicks it'll kick to the side and push down because of that wood body in there if people aren't aren't familiar with it He makes it from a size 8.
We have the smaller.
It's like the single 8, I believe.
And then we have the mid 6.9s, I think.
Okay.
The single eight is hands down my favorite one for river fishing and small bodies of water.
Something to think about when river fishing, and this is something that Larry Dahlberg taught me, and this may be a little bit of a secret, but let's share it with the people.
So especially when you're talking about low water, which is right now, Think about, and these rivers in northern Wisconsin, a lot of them are very rocky, right? Even the sand ones, this will be applicable, but especially the rocky ones.
Everything that you're going to do because there's not a lot of water and there's so much for all that sound to bounce off of with that rock, right? So if you're running, let's say a double 10, which is an extremely loud bait underwater, that's maybe too much.
So low, low water is the, is the, the ticket we're talking about right now up there in the North woods.
Like what, what does it take for it to get back to normal pool? I mean, how much are we down? Like, I know you just said you just got some rain and you said it's probably not even going to move the needle.
You know, like what is it going to take to move the needle?
I think this year we're just going to be kind of settled into that a little bit lower than normal water levels.
just adjust accordingly, you know, instead of your weighted suick, maybe your regular suick instead of your regular dog, you're running shallow dogs, blades, you know, a lot of the, we were talking about Lee's baits with the choppers earlier.
His boiler makers are, um, like top five baits in the river of all time you know i mean it just that's a bait that you can keep over cover and it just it it acts differently in current you know we've got obviously less current this year but when that bait hits current it kicks it'll kick to the side and push down because of that wood body in there if people aren't aren't familiar with it He makes it from a size 8.
We have the smaller.
It's like the single 8, I believe.
And then we have the mid 6.9s, I think.
Okay.
The single eight is hands down my favorite one for river fishing and small bodies of water.
Something to think about when river fishing, and this is something that Larry Dahlberg taught me, and this may be a little bit of a secret, but let's share it with the people.
So especially when you're talking about low water, which is right now, Think about, and these rivers in northern Wisconsin, a lot of them are very rocky, right? Even the sand ones, this will be applicable, but especially the rocky ones.
Everything that you're going to do because there's not a lot of water and there's so much for all that sound to bounce off of with that rock, right? So if you're running, let's say a double 10, which is an extremely loud bait underwater, that's maybe too much.
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