Red Childress displays a nice musky caught and released on the Allegheny River.

Spring offers a wide variety of angling opportunities as finned creatures such as muskellunge awaken from comparative dormancy the cold water months dictated.

As spring evolves, musky's metabolism will be on the rise, meaning they will need to eat on a regular basis. Since muskies are well known for having windows of higher activity during which they are more catchable, longer and more frequent windows play in the angler's favor.

Veteran guide Red Childress fishes on a section of the Allegheny River not only rich in musky habitat – plenty of islands, incoming feeder streams, deeper channel areas – but a part of which is also a tailwater fishery. Being downriver of Kinzua Dam with its multi-level discharge, water temperatures tend to be cooler during the summer month.

This influence is significantly countered about 10 miles downriver of the outflow, where major tributaries begin to enter the river, warming it. As such, he experiences many water conditions over the course of the year, early summer included.

“Even in early summer, in river sections with cooler water, I expect to find muskies in areas with warming water,” noted Childress. “Often incoming creeks and spots with newly developing weedbeds will have the 'right stuff.

“Musky spawning sites are typically nearby, with the fish still holding in the same general area. Baitfish will pile up as well here. Dark bottomed areas that absorb the sonar energy of the sun will also attract food fish and muskies.”

As summer progresses, and water temperatures in general begin to rise, Childress expands his musky search to include a wider variety of habitat types, particularly ones that feature reduced current. This could be shallow water in the two to three-foot range, or deeper main river channel spots in the eight to 12-foot zone.

“It's important to pay close attention to baitfish location as well as being on the lookout for muskies cruising around,” Childress said.

As in lakes and reservoirs, baitfish will often school up in balls that will be evident on a sonar unit. And when river conditions are clearer, it's common to observe schools of minnows and shiners cruising close to the surface. Likewise, muskies are known to cruise just under the surface.

Though these 'porpoising' muskies are typically in a negative mood, such activity does betray the general location of a fish meriting a return visit.

Regarding lure choices, Childress does not buy into the philosophy of going with smaller baits in the early season. He still throws baits in the six to nine-inch range unless fishing the aftermath of a severe cold front, in which case he will downsize. He feels retrieve speed is a bigger factor for triggering muskies on a day to day basis.

“The nice thing about fishing with more than one person in the boat is the ability to vary retrieve speeds, as well as lure types and sizes in an effort to crack the code for the day,” he said. “The only time my boat will have similar baits on multiple rods is if we have established a decent pattern.”

Among Childress's common lure choices are bucktails and glide baits, particularly in shallower water. In deeper zones like backwater eddies and main channel areas, he'll opt for rubber baits like Medussas or larger lipped crankbaits.

Experienced river anglers soon come to realize that river conditions – namely flow and clarity – have a great influence on fish activity and location. All things being equal, Childress prefers chasing muskies under stable river conditions, or slight increase. However, rivers rarely dish out the ideal conditions one would prefer. High water is common and seems to be becoming the new norm in recent summers.

Childress does not shy away from higher flows during the summer, particularly if the water is not downright muddy. He expects to find some muskies in current-breaking areas close to the bank. However, not all of them.

“Some muskies will stay in the main channel and hug bottom around large current breaks – boulders, rip rap, humps, tucked tight to island tips,” he noted.

Vertically fished baits like vibrating blade baits, and rubber baits like the Bondy Bait and Shadzilla V are good options for getting down to muskies holding tight to current breaks in deeper water.

Unlike many lakes and reservoirs, where muskies see a steady diet of lures on a nearly daily basis, river muskies tend to be less pressured and more cooperative biters. A good reason to give them a try this summer.

Jeff Knapp is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle