I haven't fished a lot for muskies for years, but there was a time when that's all I fished for. Spent lots of days in the hot sun dragging hellbenders around Cave Run. Most of the ones I caught were suspended deep, maybe 20 feet down over 50ft of water. There were always a few up shallow though, especially morning and evening.

That was before all the weeds grew in Cave Run. From what I hear though, deep is still where it's at in summer, though it might be a deep weed edge instead of deep timber.

If you're gonna fish in the summer here's what I did in the summer to help with a good release.

- use heavier tackle and horse em to the boat. Don't wear them down any more than you have too.

- don't use a net. I used those long handled duckbill looking pliers and never took them out of the water if I could help it.

- take some time with them and don't release them until they can swim on their own.

- as a last resort and you have a big livewell, put them in the well for a bit with the aerator running