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Posts: 425
| I usually just get the ones that are avalible in the store that sell the suckers. But I want to get the best quick strike rigs out there, best hook ups for this fall.
What are your guys favorite brand of quick strike rigs.
Thanks!
Jake |
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| Stealth Tackle and Mike Hulbert's "Hulcano Harness"
http://www.stealthtackle.net/fishing_products.shtml |
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Posts: 2323
Location: Stevens Point, WI | The Howie Rig is the best rig out there in my opinion, hands down.
Here is a clip of Slamr going through the Howie Rig.
http://muskie.outdoorsfirst.com/watch.asp?id=790 |
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Posts: 909
| Stealth and Hulbert! |
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| How do you rig the Hulbert, it is alot shorter than most. |
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Posts: 2037
Location: lansing, il | small aberdeen hook thru the lips and a treble on top or in the side. no pliers or screwdrivers needed.
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Posts: 283
| I like Pete Maina's lift-off rig. It takes just a little bit longer to rig. Buy a baiting needle; don't use the cheap one it comes with. |
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Posts: 2037
Location: lansing, il | I used a maina rig before i made em. they are very good rigs. the herbie rigs are also very nice. nothing wrong with any of them. the best thing to do is do some research and use what your most comfortable with. |
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Posts: 69
Location: janesville | my dad makes his own and its called the raider rig. its got a adjustable clip that you stick through the suckers cartilage and a safety pin soldered to a treble. and you dont have to worry about the treble ripping out either. they are also relatively cheap at only 5 dollars for 1
Edited by musky jr 8/29/2009 12:22 AM
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Posts: 285
Location: Price County WI | A sucker board really comes in handy when using a lift off rig, cuts rigging time way down because the suckers is strapped into place. |
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Location: Contrarian Island | i make my own..3 feet of fluoro, to 90 lb "bleeding red" 7 strand, (adds a little eye candy for the muskies) 2 trebles, I use 4/0, small red walleye hook in a # 8 to attach above the suckers mouth...sort of a pain to make but they are very effective...no sucker rig will ever hook up 100% of the time but in the last few years we have been doing very well getting hooks into em....
Edited by BNelson 8/29/2009 12:33 PM
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Location: Illinois | I used to hate sucker fishing, and then I became introduced to the Musky Psycho rig! My hook-ups were better than ever, and the suckers look and swim perfectly at whichever depth you want em.
This is has become my bread and butter in the Fall thanks to Keith at Musky Psycho. His rigs aren't cheap, and that's because he uses nothing but top quality components and construction that leaves no "air" between your rig, the musky and my hookset. The rig comes with two treble hook attachments, which allows you to use one if your suckers are small, and two for MEATY suckers- that second hook can mean the difference between getting slimed or not many times!
(keithmukypsycho022-2.jpg)
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Posts: 283
| How much do the Musky psycho rigs cost? And can u get them anywhere besides ordering from Keith? |
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Posts: 283
| I normally use quick strikes with two hooks but for those of you who use the hulcano harness and rigs with one hook. Do you guys often get fish that will just hit the sucker tail end and you won't get hooks in the fish? I was looking into these types of harnesses and wanted to see your opinion. |
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Location: Contrarian Island | I've never understood the idea behind taking one of the hooks and bending it sideways..if you have only one treble like some rigs...you are taking away 1 of the 3 hooks to hook a fish with? on 2 hooks it would be 2 out of 6...I do not bend any of the trebles sideways like some of the rigs above and have zero problems hooking suckers up easily and I don't lose one of the hooks that potentially could be a fish in the net or not... i'm sure the rigs above work fine, but it still doesn't make much sense to me on a 1 treble rig...
Edited by BNelson 8/30/2009 10:35 AM
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Location: Illinois | 20.00, just sold by Keith personally at this time. He likes to get to know the people who buy his rigs. He wants to wish you well and say thanks. It is not about money, it's about connecting with peers and building each rig as if it was for his own use. Although it isn't revolutionary by any means, it is a culmination of years of try every rig out there, seeing what he liked and didn't, and taking a stab at the perfect sucker rig. He bends the hook down to better shape the contour of the sucker, thus eliminating bulky hardwared look of the many FrankenSucker type rigs. Another important benefit is the lack of friction pulling loose from the sucker, more quickly getting hooks into the jaw of a hungry beast. But if some feel better having six hooks works best, good for them, it's tough to prove how their wrong percentage wise. Personal experience tells us we want the fish to be unaware of hooks and hardware. If you want to get flashy add your own tail gunner. ps Brad great article in MH last month!
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| To me there are two components to a sucker rig that make it work:
1. Does it allow the sucker to swim freely, looking as natural as possible, and keep it lively?
2. Is it easy to rig when it's 20 degrees outside and I can't feel my fingers?
I've seen way too many muskies just sit down there staring down a sucker and not eating it to believe that having a ton of hardware, two trebles, stuff through the nose, etc doesn't effect the way they swim enough to make the muskies leary of eating them sometimes.
Hookups? I'd rather miss more fish than lose time rigging and deal with having to rig new suckers every few hours. |
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Posts: 2037
Location: lansing, il | Tackle companies like myself, like to know what the average guy likes, wants, and needs. we try to cater to them for obvious reasons, while at the same time making it as high quality and productive as possible.
the cool thing is that with sucker harnesses there are a ton of options out there to suit everyones needs. I dont think any one is better than another, it just depends on what works best for the person using it. I am partial to mine however I am sure there are people who dont like it and wont use it. I dont have a problem with that.
Brewcrew, as far as the single hook goes, we usally feel the fish flip the sucker and then set the hooks straight over the top of the fish. its not really designed to trail way behind the boat. it is most affective when you are able to position yourself over the top of the fish and once you feel the "Tap Tap" (the sucker being flipped) you put the screws to em. this is not a long waiting period by any means, it happens in a matter of seconds, usally no more than 30. We are not letting the musky swallow the bait by any means. I would say 90% of the muskies we have boated have been right in the upper jaw or lip. The other nice thing about one treble is that your not likely to wind up with that second treble that is usally swinging around wind up in your hand or in the gills of the fish.
Edited by muskihntr 8/30/2009 10:32 PM
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| I will be the first one to say that there is no better rig on the market than Bigtooth rig. They absolutely work awesome and you don't have to let the fish try and swallow the sucker, when the bobber moves you set the hook and its game over. I have tried many other rigs and there is not a single other rig that performs close. I also use the Bigtooth rigs in the winter for giant pike and can tell you the same, absolutly nothing better. Some of the rigs have lasted for over 75 fish which is just remarkable. I use to make all my own rigs thinking they were the best, but now those days are over its nothing but a bigtooth for me. Try one and I guarentee that you will not be disapointed. www.bigtoothtackle.com
Mike Crawford |
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Posts: 283
| Do you have any pics of the Bigtooth rig? Their website kinda sux and shows nothing. |
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| Sorry about the Website issues, I talked to one of the owners and they got it up and running so feel free to take another look at www.Bigtoothtackle.com!
Mike Crawford |
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| regardless of how you make or use them ... (2) "likes" from me
1. gamkatsu hooks
2. tie-able coated 7-strand
love sticky sharp hooks for quickness and ease of scratching off scales and tacking into a sucker
and, love the coated 7-strand to keep from sticking myself with exposed wire in the cold. |
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Posts: 1
| To all my musky fishing friends: My name is Keith Cortopassi. I recently started MUSKY PSYCHO TACKLE along with my sister Heather. Our main focus has been to develop the best livebait rig available. Its by no means anything new, we just took the best parts of several livebait rigs and created what I feel to be the ultimate livebait system. I was introduced to livebait fishing about 15 years ago at Andy Meyers Lodge. I perssonally consider Steve Herbeck to be a true master and by far the most innovative contributor to the livebait game. After returning from Eagle lake I started tinkering with my own rigs. 15 years later, We got it perfected. I really wanted to create a rig that turned weary, skeptical followers into Psycho eating machines. Weve seen some crazy action on these rigs too. Lots of BIG fish. I live for this stuff just like 99% of you guys. I would love to hear from anyone interrested in taking their livebait fishing to a whole new level. We're brand new to this, so for now the only way to get the rigs is to call 1708 259-9809. We sure could use the support. Thanks to anyone who took the time to read this and if you have ANY questions at all about MUSKY PSYCHO TACKLE and our products please dont hesitate to give me a call or drop me a line. |
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| I know this is a muskie website but still thought this was worthwhile. I'd recommended Bigtooth tackle too for durability and quality but...
Have found a glaring problem tip up fishing with the Bigtooth Rigs. If you spread the two treble hooks out towards opposite sides you have a large distance between hooks (the rigs I have are over a foot gap.) Many times if I only got one hook in a pikes mouth, especially the big ones, the hook that was un-attached sometimes wound up in the pikes back or belly about a foot away from the mouth. These two hooks, if spread out like I mentioned, made it impossible to pull a the pike up a tip up hole. Its tough to explain but it occurred quite frequently on some of the big fish when they rolled or did head shakes. This may not matter for open water fishing, but it made tip-upping very problematic.
I believe they are a very well built product and I did speak to one of the owners this winter about it so I hope it will be handled before this years ice season.
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| Hey Jeremy, I know exactly what your talking to when you say that one hook has a tendency to get caught in the back. I have tried a bunch of things to prevent this from happening and discovered that if you take and move your hooks closer together the problem is fixed. I caught over 200+ pike over 38 inches this last winter and only had it happen maybe twice. I know that alot of people who are using them are encountering the same problem simply because they feel they have to spread the hooks so far apart. I did talk to the owners this spring and addressed them on this issue and how to fix it, so hopefully next years rigs will have a diagram showing that you don't need to have the hooks spread so far apart. I hope this helps you for future use, it does work trust me.
Mike Crawford |
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Posts: 194
| Musky Innovations has a rig out there. Scott Kieper ties them up himself. He uses some sort of a knot below the crimps for a no fail system. The crimp holds only the tag end of the wire and the knot takes the punishment. Works good from what I've seen. I know Scott catches a pile of fish using them. |
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| Another nod for Kieper's Rig. You will not find a stronger rig. Any Fluoro is bad!! Should be illegal!!!!!!!!!!!!! And if anyone argues, I'm sure you are behind the sales of them or have a friend in the business. It should be called Fragile Fluorocarbon. |
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Location: Contrarian Island | isn't the weakest link always the weakest link? so you use 80 lb "superbraid" that can easily get cut/wrapped up in a muskys gill rakers when it barrel rolls but you frown upon the use of say 180 lb Fluoro and call it "fragile".
unless you are using 7 strand line from your reel to the hooks on your sucker rig I think the point you made above is filled with lots of holes....
Edited by BNelson 9/3/2009 2:13 PM
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Posts: 676
Location: Wisconsin | These are what I use....Probably some of the sharpest hooks I have ever seen. Quick release from the sucker. Floats don't bother the fish either....
http://www.foxint.com/catalogues-products.php?lang=e&product=301&ca...
http://www.foxint.com/catalogues-products.php?lang=e&product=834&ca...
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| Another thing, if you think I tie my bait directly to my braided line, then again you need a reality check. Plus I use 130 lb braid tied to my 300# leader. |
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Location: Contrarian Island | 130 lb line is easily cut with a filet knife, is it not?? My rigs don't have fluoro on the part of the rig with the hooks most likely to be in the suckers mouth, 7 strand steel for that.
Use what you have confidence in. Results prove all of the above rigs work.
Edited by BNelson 9/10/2009 2:13 PM
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| Musky Dick makes a very nice quick release live sucker rig. |
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| One thing I like about the Muskia Mania Lift Off rig is the style of the hooks. One tine on each hook points down instead of forward---which is the one you stick into the Sucker. That way it pulls out easier on a hookset than the trebles where all three tines are foreward pointing. |
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| If you are looking for an easy to use rig with a high hook-up percentage check out the quick-strike rigs made by Brad Nelson. I have had excellent luck with them this year. They have two hooks, not alot of waiting for the fish to move the sucker around either. The barbs are not bent so all 6 points on the two trebles can penetrate the mouth.
My clients and I have caught alot of nice fish on them this year. Maybe Brad will posts some of my pics...... |
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| Best thing to do is to experiment around a little and see which ones you like best for your applications. some rigs may work better with smaller bait and others better with larger bait. One thing to keep in mind is to check the rules and regulations where you are fishing and make sure you follow them. Some guys who have very good sucess sucker fishing tend to let it get to their heads at times and ignore staying within the laws. With all the different live bait regulations of late it is best to know the rules ahead of time for the area or state you will be fishing in. |
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| I also recommend Brad Nelson's quick-strike rigs. They are very well built and the best I have ever seen. Great hooking percentage and have a small blade that adds attractant to the sucker. Good guy to deal with as well.
Edited by Baby Mallard 10/27/2009 11:29 AM
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Location: Contrarian Island | glad the rigs are working for you Kevin and Derek..anyone that wants to see some MN fatties Kevin has been getting of late should go check his site out...and then book a day or 2 with him as he knows how to put paying clients on BIG fish..
http://kevincochranguide.com/bemidji_minnesota_cass_lake_fishing_re...
Edited by BNelson 10/27/2009 12:37 PM
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| I've been using some of Brad's new sucker rigs this fall.
So far we are 5/5 on muskies, and 4/4 on pike. That's correct, so far we are shooting a 100% hookup rate with no whiffs. I've tried them all, and usually get a 50% rate. There's something about the design of these rigs that just works better.
I've made my own in the past, but it's much more convenient to just buy a handful from someone who has more practice.
We'll be doing some more testing this weekend.
Thanks Brad!
-Kylar-
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| where can i buy them in toronto or around? having a hell of a time finding any |
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