Narrowing down the possibilities of where muskies are feeding increases the odds of hooking one a hundredfold.

"Look for a school of shad on the fish finder," said Pyle. "If the school looks like a Christmas tree on the fish finder, it's a school of shad that's feeling secure. When muskies are hitting the school and feeding on them, the shad will scatter, and the fish finder will make them look like a flat disc. As the muskies back off, the shad will regroup into a Christmas-tree formation again."

Over 30 tons of clay tile have been placed in five locations in the lake to create fish habitat, in addition to the lake's naturally rocky cover. More than 200 shoreline trees have been dropped into the water, along with hundreds of old Christmas trees. The bays provide weedy shoreline areas, and the shallow stumps are on the eastern end of the lake.

Piedmont Lake is in Belmont, Guernsey and Harrison counties and covers 2,273 acres. For more information, contact the ODOW's District Four office at (740) 589-9930, or the MWCD at (330) 343-6647.

SALT FORK LAKE
"Salt Fork Lake is a good place to catch a muskie, but the boat traffic is fairly heavy," Pyle advised. "Even though a lot of muskies go over the dam, there's a good knob to try, just inside of the bay by the state park cabins."

Salt Fork is a typical ridge-country impoundment with long, thin bays and a deep main basin. Due to the lack of submerged cover, muskies aren't particularly numerous in the lake, but they can reach some monstrous sizes. It's a big-fish lake rather than a numbers lake, and when a Salt Fork muskie is on the end of your line, it's liable to be a monster.

With 15 Huskie Muskies, Salt Fork fell to third place last fall behind Leesville and Clear Fork, but led the way in the state with two fish topping the 50-inch mark.

All told, 107 muskies were reported caught by last September.

If the water has warmed up, target the dam area and dropoffs outside of the lake's many coves and bays. A manmade reef on the north branch of the lake attracts prey species, which in turn brings in the muskies.