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Posts: 7084
Location: Northwest Chicago Burbs | Some love'em, some despise'em....but for those of you who do well on them....what do you do to get the green meanies to eat?
I personally only use a suick that will give me at least some wobble or side to side on the retrieve....which I do by mixing in long or slow twitches (more than just pulls) with pauses which I try to mix up on each cast til I (am lucky enough to) see some action.
Slamr |
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Posts: 492
Location: Lindenhurst, Illinois | In addition to Slamr's question, do you weight your suick's or not? |
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Posts: 2691
Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin | The one thing I know about them is to use the bait at the correct time of year. When the bluegills are in spawning, its time to start to use the Suick. I just started to use them last year more than ever before. I use them with 1 to 2 foot pulls, depending on how deep you want to work them. I am no expert on them and I am just learning the tricks. I do know they caught 11 fish for me last year, I will be using them again when the gills are in. I like the weighted one personally because they have a slower rise. When people are catching and releasing panfish in a area, thats where the muskies are looking for a easy meal. Injured bait fish = SUICK. |
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Posts: 3909
| I've only recently developed confidence in this bait, but boy I really love'em. Some observations on the one suick that does the best for me....
I use 2-3' "pulls" on the rod. I start with the rod tip pointing at the bait and I pull the rod tip down until it hits the top of the water. The lure will wobble from side to side as it dives at about a 120* angle. The bait "death wobbles" as it floats back to the surface. Just before it breaks the surface I pull again. Every third or fourth pull, I let it break the surface and it gives a little splash as I pull it under again. This has proven to be the nest action to move fish. At least for me.
A couple points to consider - my suicks work best with a 10" leader made of 90# sevenstrand. Solid wire dampens the action, floro gets tangled in the hooks. I've replace the original hooks with #3 VMCs and small Bucher rings. The weighted models are "deader" than unweighted, in other words, it's hard to get that death wobble from unweighted and REALLY hard to get the death wobble from weighted. I've still caught fish on the weighted, but fewer than on unweighted.
I've caught a couple fish trolling suicks, if you can believe that, after seeing Doug Stange do it on InFisherman. Gott keep pulling on that sucker, then let it stall and rise a bit as you keep slight tension on the line, then pull again, over and over. With proper tuning, a weighted suick can get down 10-15' deep.
Suicks are excellent in the fall!!! A big, slow moving target for those hungry pigs.
Again, I only just started learning how to work them correctly. After like 5 years of trying. I have about 8 Suicks and only 1 works great for me.
Oh, every Suick requires it's own special tuning, every one is different. Keep screwing around with it until you get it right or decide it's just a lost cause. Don't be afraid to tweak the angle on just the tail lobes, sometimes that really helps with some Suicks.
Fishing Fool has some great tips, hope he responds to this. |
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Posts: 24
Location: Minnesota | There is no right way. However you catch fish on them is the right way. Personally I use 2' pulls and get my suicks to wabble at the end of each pull. It works for me. |
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Posts: 323
| I have had good luck with Suicks by making the long pull and then pause, waiting for the bait to rise, as it rises, give a couple small twitches. The fish usually hit on the pause. I think too many people including myself when I first started using them worked them too fast. Throwing in the small twitches on the rise has been deadly for me and they usually crush the bait hard. Also it is a great bait to use in heavy weeds. Keep it close to the top and when it reaches a weed pocket, slam it down and rip hard. it is surprisingly weedless and very effective at getting at those weed fish. I love the Suicks!!!!!! Just my two cents worth!!!!! |
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Posts: 516
Location: Kildeer, IL | I don't do anything special with them. I like to use the un-weighted Suicks in the spring, and the weighted ones the rest of the year. The Suicks that produce for me don't have any wobble or side to side action. Straight up and straight down. It looks like a damn stick \__/\__/\__/ (that's the action). I don't know why they work, but they do. When the bait first hits the water, I wait for about five seconds, and then I crank it in for about 6 or 7 feet. Then I give it 1 - 3' foot pulls all of the way to the boat. The initial cranking gets it a little deeper. Figure 8s have been worthless for me. I've tried jerking it, and straight figure 8s. Nothing works. Has anyone been successful with the figure 8? |
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Posts: 3156
| If you guys ever get a chance to hear Dave Dorazio speak-do it,,,hes got some really neat tricks with suicks |
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Posts: 78
Location: Montgomery,Illinois | I use them mainly in the spring and i have caught 8 out of my 11 muskies in the last year on them. I just use them with 1-2 ft pull all the way in and for some reason it works. |
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Posts: 196
| I too like the suick as it accounted for at least 10 fish last year. I only caught fish on one- a weighted version and I used 7 strand too. It doesn't have a death wobble. I throw it in the weeds or the deep weedline and work it slow with long pauses occasionally breaking the surface. It is a good hooker too and I often have to cut hooks. |
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Posts: 1430
Location: Eastern Ontario | I like the unweighted version but in late fall. I make a simple retrieve of long pulls with a pause to let it raise then another long pull. I don't care for anything else then the bait diving on the pull and backing up on the pause. It works on big fish that I know for sure. |
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Posts: 620
Location: Seymour, WI | I have a question about the "Death Wobble". I had an old suick that had the wobble. You could see the the light reflecting off it's tail in the water and it was like a beacon to the fish. I lost that lure when a fish cut my leader and swam away with it in its mouth. The new suicks that I use still have a good backwards rise to them, but I can't seem to get one that will wobble like the old one.
What are some tricks I can try to get the lure to do the "Death Wobble"?
Grass |
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Posts: 3909
| Grass - the best tip I can offer is to use needle nose pliers to slightly bend one or both the lobes on the tail. |
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Posts: 3909
| Whoops, also, try using different lengths and types of leaders. I was suprised at how various leaders made such a difference with suicks, but they do. I use 80# PowerPro tied to a small Bucher ring that is attached to a 100# Sampo swivel that is tied to 10" of 90# sevenstrand that is tied to a 100# Berkely cross lock that is attached to another small Bucher ring that is attached to the suick. |
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Posts: 2361
| My take is that alot of fisherman way overthink this bait. I have seen several retrieves work for me, and several other retrieves work for others that I have subsequently used and caught fish on. I have at times gone on suick hot streaks with one retrieve or another, and one color seems to be working better than others at times also. I have tried tuning tricks that others suggested and have caught fish on tuned suicks also. I am pretty sure there are a lot of good ways to fish a suick, but none work very well if you don't have confidence in the bait, and I believe that is more important than the suick, or the retrieve you choose. My own retrieves tend to be pull and nearly float with the floating 10" and then a tail bobbling retrieve with changes in speed for the same. My favorite 9" suick is the weighted one, and I tend to use that in a more violent type of manner, and currently have one tuned that walks the dog in a very wide pattern underwater. I have not fished it very much yet, but suspect it works too. When I started fishing suicks I wanted them to run very straight with no wobble at all, and I had a very specific retrieve I used, and my confidence dropped real bad if I couldn't get one to track straight in, but as time has passed I feel it's much more important for me to understand the situation I am fishing, than to worry about how each suick runs. I bought a half dozen a couple years ago and they ALL seem to work ok.
Some of you may not be using your suicks at the right times or in the right places to get bit a lot. I look for colored water, or cooler water temps, or low light conditions, as indicators that the suick might be pretty efficient in an area. I almost never use it in clear shallow waters with a lot of light penetration. I will use it in clearer water when the temps start to drop though, but I still shy away from bright conditions... but there was one time several years ago, fishing the bog out in front of deerfoot that I had this great big... |
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Posts: 196
| After reading firstsixfeet's post I realized that the best days I have had with a suick are overcast. I also fish a lot of stained water. |
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Posts: 285
| Hi Slamr,
The key to catching fish with a Suick is, you gotta believe.
Anybody need a fishing partner next week?
Later,
Papa
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Posts: 32926
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | I really like popping a Suick through the thick cabbage by nosing it down, working it along, and popping it hard in the open areas. I tune some of my Suicks to 'wobble', and to dart to one side only, and others to walk, nose down. I don't ever fish a Suick slow, as I feel that is what gliders are for. I make 'em MOVE, and have lots of success. If a muskie T Bones a Suick, she is MINE. The bait hooks well, and does catch fish. Almost forgot, when I did the muskie bait recordings a few years ago, the Suick was BY FAR the loudest bait of all the jerk baits, hands down. |
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Posts: 938
Location: NeverNever Lake | I believe that one of the keys to this bait is the noise it makes when the hooks slap the belly. I'm a real fan of the slack line jerks to really get their attention, yet other times it's a more subtile presentation that gets the fish. The longer I pursue these fish the more I believe in the "if it moves,it's food" theory. |
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Posts: 2361
| One more thing about suicks. I have quit letting mine hit the surface on the rise. I think I read someone else's post on this and concurred after thinking about it, but not sure. The fish per strike definitely goes down when they hit it on the surface. Even though the surface splash seems to move fish, I think the position of the bait makes it harder for fish to grab.
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| Hi.Answered this question on another board recently and since Doug J must still be lake trouting I'll weigh in again.(ha,he'll weigh in though cause he's even wearing a new Suick hat now that the "Harasser'one rotted away.:-))
My conclusion after using them and seeing them used by many others for over 30 years is simple.There really is no 'right'way to use them.Some merely swim them.(straight reel or troll-fast or slow).Some pop them,some twitch them,some use small jerks or pulls,others longer ones and some,my wife for instance,use long sweeps of 4-6 feet and many-myself included- use a combo of many or all of the above at times.
Some bend the tails down slightly others severely.Some bend one side only or one more than the other.Some want it to run straight(in the weeds for sure),others want it erratic side to side or to wobble or to...and so on.
Some weight them,others abhor weighted ones.Some add tail spinners(my wife did this even back in the 70's),some add plastis tails.Some down/upsize hooks or remove the middle or rear hooks.Some use them in clear,some dirty water.Mornings,evenings,low light,bright light,deep,shallow,spring,summer,fall or winter.
All the above works.Consistently.Year after year.Amazing-and I've never got a free one nor even a hat from Suick so have no reason or motive whatsoever for saying this except I've seen it and its fact.
My wife uses them (and Bobbies) year around and I do also but I use them less in the spring and fall-the only periods I think gliders even come close to matching them success wise per hour spent.
I have different retrieves for different times/conditions.Ditto on weighted/unweighted and wobble vs straight action but that would take a book and just be 'my'feelings.My feeling is to simply recognize this type of lure works,try them or a similar acting bait and see what works for you.Only fools would ignore the track record in my opinion.
Dick
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Posts: 906
Location: Warroad, Mn | As Dick points out, there is no "wrong" way to work a Suick. I once caught a 43" fish while taking out a backlash. The Suick was just sitting there bobbing in the waves and I was picking and cussing. All of a sudden there was a big splash and the suick dissapeared. I started to reel and loe and behold here's a nice muskie. Even had to cut the hooks to let the fish go. Can't tell you the number of fish I've caught with a suick, I think it's my number one all time producer for a single lure. Also like my Suick cap, it's a non-mesh model and it keeps the mosquitoes from biting me on the top of my bald head, no small consideration in the NW Angle. Confidence in the lure and keeping it wet are the keys to success with almost all lures. Doug Johnson
Edited by dougj 5/10/2003 4:07 PM
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Posts: 1769
Location: Algonquin, ILL | Hi Doug, I can still see that Monster eat the Suick and Leader only to spit it back at me with the leader cut in half before I even felt the beast, I never really gave Suicks much a try before I fished With Doug up on the Angle and as Doug says there really is no way to fish it wrong as long as it's in the water
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Posts: 906
Location: Warroad, Mn | John: That was one of the more interesting, and perhaps also heartbreaking things I've seen. Big fish (50"+) grabs John's Suick near the boat and the leader brakes (seemingly without much resistance). We stand there in awe then in about 5-10 seconds the Suick comes floating to the surface about 15 feet from the boat. As the Suick come to the top, here comes the fish right behind it and sits there looking at the lure with what looks to be a big question on it's mind. It finely decides that the suick isn't what it wanted for lunch that day and paddled off, never to be seen again. That's what muskie fishing is all about! Doug Johnson |
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Posts: 50
Location: Far Northwest Chicago Suburb | The key is to use a short stiff rod like a 6' st. croix premier with at least 65+ pound spectra line (tuff line XP, powerpro). Use a single wire leader 12", and work the suick more agggressivly then a jackpot with big downward swoops of the rod. Your wrist holding the rod must act like a ball bearing with the rear butt section moving up and down, too. Longer strokes are better then short little snaps. Don't twitch a suick but jerk it!
Use a heavy bell sinker and add it to the front split ring for added weight, add it to an already wieghted suick and achieve ultimate depth around the rock bars or edges. Not too much weight or the suick will not be very bouyant. |
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Posts: 802
| am i missing something here? i don't use long pulls or short pulls of the rod with suicks (i like bobbies better actually)- instead i use the reel to move the bait whenever possible except for short snaps and twitches. the reason... i can keep my rod in perfect hook-set position, instead of trying to recover rod position at the bottom of a rod pump as i'm picking up slack line. sucks to get a hit, but not be ready to bury the steel- anyone else do this or am i just nuts?
steve |
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Posts: 906
Location: Warroad, Mn | It just goes to show you that there is no right or wrong way to work a Suick, lots of different ideas, and I'm sure that everyone has had success with their method. I use an 8' rod, and continuously reel the lure and use the rod to speed up and slow down the lure with a few double pumps and twitches amd whatever else thrown in for good measure. I never have any slack line and keep my rod cocked for a hook set. One of the things I've found is that the way I do it is not very tiring, so I can keep on doing it longer. Doug Johnson |
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Posts: 1938
Location: Black Creek, WI | I believe the "right" way to work a Suick is any way that makes YOU happy. If you have confidence in it, it will get eaten sooner or later. Just look at all the previous testimonials. Long pulls, short pulls, steady retrieves, erratic retrieves... you name it... it works.
I have caught many fish on Suicks (and Bobbies) over the years. In fact, if I total up the number of fish taken on these lures in my log.... it is still #1 despite the lack of use in the past 10 years. Believe it or not, I no longer carry a Suick or Bobbie in my tacklebox. Is it because they don't catch fish? Nope. Its cause they bore me and actually are more difficult to retrieve in a manner that makes ME happy without wearing me out. Maybe I'm just lazier as I age... but I can't cast a suick from sunrise to sunset anymore.... even with the discovery of Ibuprofen.
Trust me... I studied the In-Fishermen video clips of Doug Johnson working a Suick (no, I'm not a stalker) in hopes of learning a "trick". Then, when I had the opportunity to fish with Dick Pearson... I closely observed how he worked them (I even MADE him throw a Burt once to see what he can make it do). Gotta say, even Dick Pearson can make the Suick look like a DEAD STICK.... yet it didn't take him long to catch a fish with it!!! Moral of the story.... just because you don't like the way the lure looks, doesn't mean the fish won't like too.
Also, I think when DougJ once said... "if it moves, it's food".... he very well could have been thinking of the Suick.
jlong |
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Posts: 3909
| I went back and took a look at some how-to-Suick info I collected a year or two ago. I noticed that most of the tips I offered are just about exactly those that Rollie (of R&H) gave to me. So, if you follow my advise, and it works for you, Rollie gets the credit. |
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Posts: 2361
| Jason, in Doug J's case there is a "secret retrieve" involved. I have been watchin him outa the corner of my eye for two springs now trying to catch him at it. I have not quite got it yet but I do have the first 3 hand motions memorized...
On the upscale though, I have figured out how he keeps his hat on out in the wind and the slipstream of a fast boat. I noticed once when he took it off his head is slightly anvil shaped on top...;-) |
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Posts: 285
| Hi Gang,
I thought it would be appropriate to add this experience from last fall on Lake X with Mr Treat Daddy.
I had left home in a hurry to get out on a weekday, and Shawn had along several of his favorite heavily-weighted Suicks. He drills additional holes in the bottom of an already weighted 9" model, and melts lead into the holes. I borrowed the heaviest of these, maybe it had an ounce of extra lead added.
These lures then run in my favorite zone, around 6-8 ft deep.
On that particular afternoon I had 4 follows in 5 casts, around 5PM. Within 10 minutes of that series, Treats nailed a 44-inch musky, and I was a floundering but successful net-man. He wasn't using a Suick, but that 25 pounder was sure nice. I think that one was caught on a Jerko (purple, his favorite lure, that day...)
I guess I still need to work on figure-8 or similar maneuvers with Suicks because I get lots of follows and can't tempt them near the boat. All the muskies I have caught on Suicks were hard strikes out from the boat, and usually it's the front hooks that are embedded (stuck from the side).
Anyone had success near the boat or in a figure 8 with Suicks?
Later,
Papa Joe
Turning 38 years young tomorrow, and I will be fishing! |
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Posts: 1189
Location: Bagley,MN 56621 | JoMusky A.K.A. Jo"Suick" could really give someone some popinters on how to throw one.
I fished a lot with Jo last year and he caught more on that bait than any other, I started to call him that.
Rumor is too that he popped his biggest today...50+ on one.
Way to go Jo, look forward to the pics!!! |
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Posts: 124
Location: Rice Lake,WI | In the water! |
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What is the "right" way to work a Suick?