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Posts: 2691
Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin | I was wondering how many people have had the chance to use the new Mepps mariboo's.
I can't say enough about them. Life like action and a bigger blade to call the fish. I use one for the first time at the Madison PMTT. I switched from a white hair pin spinner bait to the inline Mepps so I could work the weed line better. I caught my first muskie of the tournament within a half hour of casting the Mepps. The bad thing was is I had to cut hooks and had to retire the bait for the day. OUCH !!!
I just would like to say, if you are thinking about picking one up, its a no brainer. This bait triggers fish !!!
My hat is off to Mepps for giving us a new bait to go along with their other hot baits. Keep up the good work Mepps, keep them comming !!!
Edited by Mikes Extreme 9/17/2003 9:22 AM
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Posts: 1189
Location: Bagley,MN 56621 | What does the Mepps maribou got that a boo-tail aint got?
except maybe a better marketing force??
I have several bootails, like them a lot.
disadvantages/advantages to the Mepps?
just curious.
thx much
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Posts: 1996
Location: Pelican Lake/Three Lakes Chain | Mike,
I am with you 100%. That tail is so lively it is unbelievable, and its great to have the colorado blade available with the mix and match ability of the Mepps bucktails. (Here's a little secret just between you and me--try that Marabou tail behind a Mepps Magnum blade too).
It sounds like the marabou is already tournament proven. I also boated a tourney fish (44") on a marabou a week and a half ago. I tip my hat to the folks at Sheldon's. |
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Posts: 1996
Location: Pelican Lake/Three Lakes Chain | Greg,
The Mepps tail has more bulk to it, and a big old blade that really throbs. More tail = more pulsing on the retrieve. I'm not saying bootails are bad, but I do agree with Mike that the MEPPS marabous rock!! |
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Posts: 7087
Location: Northwest Chicago Burbs | Plug plug plug....check out JacksonLures.com: Mepps Muskie Maribous for $11.00.
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Posts: 2691
Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin | Norms above post explains it. Boo Tails have a home in my tackle box also. I have lots of Boo Tails and use them on Pewaukee because the fish seem to like the smaller stuff, I have over 15 Boo Tails in all sizes and colors. Both baits are great baits. The new Mepps just seem to thump better and look alive in the water. Just one more great bait to have in the arsonal. |
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Posts: 229
| Are the hooks integrated into the tail the same way other Mepps bucktails are,so if for some reason you need to cut the hooks you need to replace the whole tail, or are they separate so all you need to do is replace the hooks? Thanks.
Andy
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Posts: 578
Location: Sheboygan Falls, WI | As with the tandem bucktail, and like most other bucktails, the front treble is part of the bait. The rear treble is conected via a split ring for easy changing. Most hooks that end up needing to be cut are the back trailing hooks that are easy to change anyway. |
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Location: Woodstock, IL | The marabou is the first Mepp's I've bought that I actually think is poor quality. The dye on the marabou comes off on everything when it is wet. My hands and tackle box were covered in black. In addition, the paint on the blade started to chip off after the first day of use. It never hit anything nor did it have teeth on it. Rather surprising considering Mepp's normal quality. |
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Posts: 376
Location: Cudahy, Wisconsin | The tail bleeding will go away after a little bit. The blade thing happend to all of mine also. Oh well they catch fish:) |
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Posts: 2691
Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin | I never got to use mine long enough to see a problem with it. After netting the fish I was in such a hurry to free the fish from the bait that I cut the hooks and the mariboo. I later relized what I did to my lure. The fish was tangled up in the net so hooks had to be cut, I didn't want to have the fish wrapped up in the net for long.
I would think after your finish using the bait it could be hung up to dry, I would not pile it up with other baits. After a few times it should be ok. I am sure Mepps will have this problem addressed before long. Chuck is a stand up guy that visits this site often, he will pass on the info. |
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Posts: 578
Location: Sheboygan Falls, WI | Have we heard about the dye bleeding? Yes, but not complaints, just informed us that they bleed some. Did we have this situation at first? Not that we saw, but manufacturers like to change things in dyes. One person from a large musky dealer I spoke with said that the chartreuse bleed some, but he also had other manufacturers marabou bleed as well. Is it just the nature of the beast with marabou? Well, we are in the process of taming that beast to the best of our abilities.
Chipping blades? The edges of my painted ones have chipped off, but you have to look at these blades as opposed to our other painted blades we have. None of the other blades have as much cupping to them so the very edges are not hitting the solid brass body. Edges have some chips but the whole blade is not bare.
I know that Norm Wild has fished the painted blades as that is what he caught his fish on during the Lakeview tournament so you may want to ask him. I have a list of many other pro staff that have fished it as well that have said anything bad about it. It is always nice to hear the good things, but it is the small things that people may not particularly like that will generally make something better.
Overall problems/complaints with the bait? Nothing. We have had more e-mails and phone calls from people telling us how much they like the bait and how good of results they have had with it. Heck, tournament wins, high placings in tournaments, 50"+ fish all from none factory people. What more could one ask for from a bait that hit the market beginning to mid August. It has been called a "no brainer, home-run for Mepps". I have also been told that something this new and different has been a long time in the waiting by fishermen from Mepps. Well, here it is, now let's stick some pigs.
Good Fishing and be safe this fall,
Chuck |
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| I will say that the paint does chip some and that the tail does bleed a little, but I don't feel that those 2 issues affect the fish catching ability of the bait.
One more thing I want to add that no one else has. One of my biggest fish of the year came with a Marabou tail fished underneath a Mepps Magnum blade. I have also fish the Marabou tails in combination with a Muskie Killer blade and a Giant Killer blade. All combinations move fish.
One big advantage that Mepps has over most other bucktails out there is the versatility. God bless.
John Stellflue
Oneida Esox Guide Service
www.oneidaesox.com |
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Posts: 2691
Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin | John and Norm have a great point. You can interchange the tails with any of the Mepps baits. Think of all the combinations you could come up with.
Think of all the styles of blade types and colors that could be interchanged to come up with the bait you need at the time.
What other bucktail gives you this advantage?
If you got box baits, two of each kind of blade, type, and color. Now start to think of the combo's you can come up with once you start to switch the tops with the tails. Now you got a few boxes of options and only bought the one box.
I am not sponsored by Mepps, just like to give credit where credit is due. Keep up the good work Mepps !!! |
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Posts: 654
Location: MPLS, MN | I have a question about mepps bucktails in general. I only have one and the skinny wire kinked almost right after I started using it and the blade spins funny know. Always thought it was the skinny wire kinking to easily so I never bought a mepps again. It seems everyone loves them though and I was planning on giving them another try. Is what happened to mine typical, or did I just get a bad one?. Do the marabous have a stronger wire than the regular musky killers?? |
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Posts: 155
Location: Watertown MN | To All:
If you do not like your mepps marabous I will be happy to buy them of you, they sure seem to have interested in eating them. I have thrown Norm's and the blade issue happen on most bucks(minor chipping), and the bleeding is only minor(Ask norm about an Eagle tail). All I know is the blade is something different, and really packs a thump and makes them easy to buldge over thick weeds, wish we would have had one on LOW for the slop.
Troyz |
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Posts: 259
Location: Alexandria, MN | I have a bunch of Mepps lures and have not seen the kniked wire problem you mentioned. Maybe after taking on a 50"er, but not just in the act of fishing.
I would say go get a few new ones and try them out.
Steve |
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Posts: 714
Location: Rhinelander, WI | O.M., the small wire is the nature of the beast, I believe that one of the things that make the Mepps work as good as they do, and this is all the product line. Is that thin wire, I believe it helps with vibration. I have had some bend that couldn’t be straightened to the point where they worked fine again, but it has only been one or two. And it is usually a fish that does it. In my opinion it’s worth it. Kind of like using a Bulldog, eventually the bait is going to be destroyed by fish, but the action is well worth it. Bulldog has a far better chance of being rendered useless than a Mepps spinner does.
The thin wire and jointed body of the Musky Marabou combine to give the bait more wobble, which adds more life to the marabou, that’s my opinion why it is catching more fish right now, also it is different.
One more option that hasn’t yet been mentioned, is connect the marabou body to a top prop or top walker body and you have a killer surface bait. Oneida and I moved a bunch of fish on this combination including at least one 4+ footer.
Versatility Baby, it pays for every musky fishermen to have at least a couple of these bad boys in the box.
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Posts: 1906
Location: Oconto Falls, WI | I agree completely with John and Mike. Versitilty is one of the great advantages of the Mepps. I started switching baits around a bit this year, and it is paying off. Now that I got some Marabous the possibilties are endless! All I can say is marabou on a Giant Killer body, look out clear water pigs! Yes the Mepps have a thin wire shaft, but I haven't had one rendered useless yet. Just straighten the thing out and keep chucking. They don't bend unless a fish bends it. A fish mangling a Mepps is no different than a crankbait getting puntured by teeth, or the clear coat peeling on Jerks. The vibration the Mepps give out is great, and sometimes getting a fish or two on one spinner makes that spinner all of a sudden the lure to have. Maybe it's that slight bent shaft, or the lightly dented blade, but the fish seem to like it more than when it was fresh out of the package.
I can't comment on the marabous yet, but after the next few weeks I'll have a better understanding for them. I'm sure I will not be disapointed. If your not chucking a Mepps sometime during the year you are missing out. And this is coming from a crankbait maniac as some of you may know! |
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Posts: 620
Location: Seymour, WI | Are they available at Fleet or Gander yet?
Grass, |
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Posts: 1936
Location: Eau Claire, WI | Not sure about Gander but Terry at Mouldy's in Chippewa Falls has about a half dozen left in inventory. That will be reduced to 4 after my stop there tomorrow...:)
I'm sure he would ship them to you, you can access their website through my sponsors page on my site.
First Boo Tails and now Mepps Maribou....man I love "fuzzy" feather baits. |
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Posts: 578
Location: Sheboygan Falls, WI | Gander and Mills do not have them yet, and I mean YET. They will have them for next fishing season as they were available too late in the sales season for big chains. The new Wausau Gander might just have them though for their grand opening of the new store, not quite sure yet.
Check with the individual, privately owned, dealers right now. That will be your best chance at getting your hands on some. I stopped in Hayward on the way back from a meeting in northern Minnesota yesterday (Thursday) and Hayward Bait, Pastikas and Jenks all had a few left. Not many, which is very good as I know roughly how many they have ordered through distributors.
Chuck |
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Posts: 578
Location: Sheboygan Falls, WI | Some good questions regarding the Marabous and other Mepps bucktails above. First off, yes the wire may end up bending on you at some point and time, but look at it this way, take it off at the split ring and replace the top. Now try that with a shaft through spinner that just got bent in a 90 degree angle. Then you can do what nwild and Oneida Esox talk about in changing blades and tails. (THAT MUSKY MARABOU COLORADO WORKS VERY WELL WITH ONE OF OUR STANDARD TANDEM BUCKTAILS!!)
Yes, the standard Musky Killer and Tandem Musky Killer wire is of a smaller diameter than that of the Giant Killer series and the Magnum Musky Killers. You may be happy to know that that same heavier wire is also used on the Musky Marabou. We are also using the clevis that Mepps is also known for. I know of some guys that will cut one of our old baits apart just to use the clevis.
MRoberts makes some very good observations regarding vibration and movement of the baits. There are several very good fishermen out there that look at the small things that trigger fish and things that many people overlook or ignore.
Obfuscate Musky, if you get to the Minnesota Musky Show, stop by the booth and lets chat about the problem you had. You may be very happy with what you might just find out. It is amazing at what "who you know rather than what you know" can get you. Man, those shows are right around the corner. Just got my copy of my contract from George back that shows us all paid in full. Next best thing to actually musky fishing is being able to talk musky fishing with people in the know. First Chicago Musky, then Milwaukee Musky and finally Minnesota Musky. Boy, would I like to sneak over to Ohio and work that show.
Chuck |
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Posts: 544
Location: Alsip, Il | I got the white and the chartuse and black one. The chartuse and black one I am having as prevous posts it bleeding. The problem is it was the only bait I had action on the other day fishing Shelbyville Lake in Il. I ended up with some weird colored fingertips. I hope it doesn't stain boat carpets. Al |
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