LADIES FIRST

Comparing Midwest Muskies To Southern Fish

- Shazana Hardy

I was born and raised in Minnesota, the land of 10,000 natural lakes, but I have since moved to Kentucky. My new homestead is Cave Run Lake, a southern reservoir completed in 1973 and known as the Muskie Capital of the South. There is also a plethora of enchanting rivers systems. How different can it be fishing state to state? Specifically, Minnesota and Kentucky? Very different!

One of the biggest differences you’ll see right away is water color. In Minnesota, the water can be crystal-clear or iron-stained, depending on the part of the state you’re in, and often different colors in between. Cave Run and river waters vary. Cave Run can have some of the most clear water to a dirty, chocolate milk color due to run-off from the different creeks that feed the lake. The dirty water color also happens with a good mix of rain, which Kentucky gets a lot of, and wind.