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Posts: 32922
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | What makes a lure 'hot', and what makes a lure's popularity last through the decades? No question the mentioned lures catch muskies. What keeps any lure in your regular rotation?
What will be the hot bait for 2020? |
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Posts: 8823
| I call them "old hats"... What keeps them in rotation is 33.33% comfort, 33.33% confidence, 33.33% Hype.. If there's a fish there, and it's going to eat something I know It will eat this lure... |
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Posts: 253
Location: On the water | I have a Jackpot and Hell Hound. Both are easy to work and have caught many musky for me. I still have both in my rotation of 10 casting baits. Good Luck, Tom |
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Posts: 20248
Location: oswego, il | Some of it is follow the leader. Get some worshipped guides or celebs to catch some big fish market them right and people will pay any amount. I remember a glider with a reputation for follows was not made for a short time and the price of a used one was 3x new. A hot bait is one that has been marketed well. It doesn't necessarily make them the best and by no means bad, there are some great baits out there that get little notoriety. |
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Posts: 32922
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | I still love my Weagle, and so do the muskies. I remember holding the fort waiting for delivery at a long ago show....could have sold 3 times as many when they showed up. |
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Posts: 2370
Location: Chisholm, MN | I’ve never caught a fish on a glider or a weagle. I’ve thrown them plenty too. Not sure what my deal is. |
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Posts: 670
Location: mercer wi | My hot baits last couple years have been mepps, suick, pacemaker, and a dawg. Just saying |
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| Kirby Budrow - 12/29/2019 2:34 PM
I’ve never caught a fish on a glider or a weagle. I’ve thrown them plenty too. Not sure what my deal is.
I don't throw gliders very often, but I actually have pretty good success in terms of fish caught to hours thrown. But, it seems like some days I just can't get the right rhythm going and I quit after a short time. I have a Phantom soft tail that works well, despite my poor presentation. That tail seems to do the trick. In the early fall when muskies are up shallow, the Weagle can be a lot of fun. Don't always hook them but it sure moves fish. I think it is the only lure I throw where I have had multiple fish come completely out of the water trying to eat it. Two that I remember missed it by a good foot and made me wonder how often they miss live prey. |
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Location: Sawyer County, WI | I've gotten my share of the "hot" lures over the years, but I usually gravitate back to the old reliables.
The best producers have been a group of old wood pacemakers I picked up about 15 years ago. There's 'something' about them, and they seem to get more action than other lures, including other pacemakers. |
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Posts: 8823
| My two best pacemakers are
1: The front half of the smaller version with the tail from the bigger version (wood) that Ty Sennet made for me a dozen or so years back
and
2: a small pacemaker from ?? that was one of the first of the plastic models.
What seems true for any and all lures IMO is that they never hit their stride until a few fish bust them all up.
Bent wire, crooked blades, chunks of wood missing, shrink wrapped, one eye, hooks ground down, lips beat to hell, cracks in the wood...
The shiny, pretty, perfect paint, out-of-the-box stuff? Useless... 'Ya gotta throw 'em. 'Ya gotta throw 'em until they're half wrecked, and that's when the magic starts happening.
A lure is in it's prime when everyone else in the boat laughs at it. |
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Posts: 20248
Location: oswego, il | Anybody remember the TR Twitcher? They burned a little hot around '02 and the bottom dropped out of their popularity. Still just as good now as it was then. |
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Posts: 1220
| A woman once told me (with some measure of judgemental disdain,) a woman needs a reason to have sex, a man just needs a place. I think a musky and a bait have a similar sort of non-complicated relationship. When they feel like eating, any old bait will do. Women (and lure makers) sort of don’t like hearing that. |
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Posts: 1516
| What about the Odessy Pig? |
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Posts: 718
| To the original question on the HH and Weagle. For me both worked but they were not game changers and did not replace my top lures in their categories...so they faded away. For me getting new lures into a (regular) starting place in the rotation falls in to one of two categories 1. A variation of an existing lure... in which case it has to prove it's better than the "standard" to stick around. 2. A new category of lure ...it simply needs to produce and have a time and situations where it shines better than the current tools we have.
Wildcard for a new bait: it works and is just plain fun to catch them on.
Simple |
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Posts: 724
Location: Southern W.Va. | I love throwing jerkbaits and have not found a place they won't work. Love a couple of old reef hogs that I've had for about 20 years . Love to throw sledges , hellhounds, treats, phantoms, Bobbiebaits, , mantas, and undertakers are among my favorites and have one tied on at all times., Don't leave home without them |
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Location: Athens, Ohio | Good to see you back, Mauser. You are a true Jerkbait addict.
I recall when Cowgirls first came out and everybody had to have one. Magic Makers were the same way, I hear. m |
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Posts: 7077
Location: Northwest Chicago Burbs | Thinking of hot baits from the last 15 years ago:
1. Weagle - beat out my jackpots and vipers I was using at the time. Now a staple to the point of probably needing to look at other options.
2. Bulldawgs - now a staple, but I will throw medussas and swimbaits (poseidons and shadzillas)
3. TR Twitcher - never got into it, not sure anyone throws them much anymore.
4. HR Craze - I bought in, had around 30, now down to a dozen, could probably sell half and still be ok for how much I use them. I still catch a few every year on the small hugheys and seem to see a few on big shakers from time to time.
5. Double 10 Craze - now a staple for everyone and I have wayyyy too many to the point of I'm not sure I own any single bladed tails.
6. Bent bladed spinnerbaits - I've caught too many big muskies on these to stop!!!!
7. Pigs - never
8. Whatever that glider was that became the sea cow - used them, loved them, lost 3 aggressive follows when the bait got in the leader....never again!!
9. Triple weighted dive and rise super expensive baits - I'm too cheap, just stuck weights in my suicks and bobbies and do just fine being cheap like I am.
10. Triple Ds - didnt get crazy into the craze, but a regular sized triple D that hangs and doesn't rise is a top 10 anywhere bait now. |
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Location: Contrarian Island | I've noticed single bladed bucktails being promoted as somehow the "hot, new bait" on facebook.. I suppose all the dudes that have gotten into the sport in the last 10 yrs never really threw singles because when they got into it doubles were the craze... now those same guys are being marketed singles as somehow the hot new bait.. kinda funny. |
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Posts: 108
| I think most guys are always looking for a better mousetrap...but the reality is most of the time any mousetrap will do just fine.
I like to try new baits...its fun to experiment with something new...but if it doesn't seem to provide any advantage over my old standby it gets benched. Weagles fit the mold to me for a better zig zag than most since they ride lower and seem to hook up better than a lot of other zig zags.
I never really got into hellhounds...I can't seem to find where they work better than other gliders I like. I guess the best point to make is to fish with what you have the most confidence in...that should provide you the best results.
Brett Waldera |
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Posts: 1938
Location: Black Creek, WI | I agree with Brett and the better mousetrap. Its difficult to introduce something new these days. Part of a hot bait could be the power of novelty.... Something the fish having seen before which eventually wears off once the lure becomes popular thanks to Marketing. In my opinion, attributes for a better mousetrap often include durability, consistency (repeatability from lure to lure), and hooking percentage. Need to add those qualities to an "old standby" for it to stay a starter. |
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Posts: 667
Location: Roscoe IL | I'll always have a Suick & a Bobby handy. That seems to be my go to bait outside of the Ace Tandem. When it's slow I'm a bait changer and did get my first on the rubber toad in a walleye pattern, of course confidence goes up when you get an interested fish. I'm sure that toad will get more time now..
Early morning and prime time, topwater is a go to for me. Not always but mostly anyway. Most lure fish would be a Suick for me, and the Frankensuick sure did well in Canada for us. We do try to give everything a fair chance, but it's a confidence and feel for the bait deal. Nothing beats a sucker during the cold water period,, for me anyway.
Sometimes nothing feels right when muskie fishing so we will target bass or walleye when that happens. Or just downsize. |
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Location: Neapolitan Chain Of Lakes | I believe what makes a lure hot for me aside from hype and marketing is if I or I saw with my own eyes in person a fish caught on a bait. That triggers me to go buy one or more immediately A) In every color, size, and weight if I caught the fish or B) Buy one in the color, size, and weight that I saw someone else catch one on and then if it works for me refer back to A.
Ah, but what makes the bait's popularity endure thru the decades? That's simple..if it keeps producing!
What keeps a lure in my rotation is as simple as above but I do believe that there are horses for courses and even the same course changes a bit year to year. So you have to try new or different lures every trip to update the rotation. I mean that's half the fun when the action is slow right? (Or try them when the bite is on depending on your view..I would rather have a proven bait on during prime). Weagles and hellhounds work awesome for me but only on certain lakes at certain times and of course that sometimes changes yearly.
But the hot bait for 2020 hopefully is one of the many I concoct over the winter because nothing is more gratifying than surprising and catching a big angry musky on a bait you made yourself! Not to mention you're typically the only one throwing that bait. Now that's hot.
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Posts: 1536
Location: Brighton CO. | Hughes River , Ama Bama, and Manta! Never had a Hughes, have 3 or 4 Bama's and have 4 Manta's that the baby Northern
would take a swipe every blue moon.
I'm a Eddie,reef Hawg and Phantom guy. |
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Posts: 4080
Location: Elko - Lake Vermilion | I have a Weagle that is just messed up ! It's been repainted 3 times and has seen at least 16 hooks !
How about Perka's ? I have 2 out of 6 that always finds fish . |
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Posts: 343
| Never was into weagles, the first Hellhound I bought loved the action but couldn't raise a fish. Not big on throwing any jerks but the second Hellhound I bought is a real fish slayer for river muskies in the cold water. Still my go to lure in cold water river fishing. |
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Posts: 581
| Good topic for discussion.
I still have and throw the first Hell Hound that I bought back when they were the new "hot" bait. Much of its paint is gone since it's covered in teeth marks from nose to tail. I don't throw gliders nearly as much as I used to, but that Hell Hound still remains in my rotation.
Seems that the new baits that get traction and become "hot" are often a function of marketing and promotion, and perhaps it can be as simple as putting the right bait in the hands of a few influential, top guides (who in turn catch a lot of big fish on them and let everyone know about it).
Like many of us, I own hundreds of baits and buy more and more every year. I guess I'm like Brett in that I just think it's fun to try out new lures. But still, there are really only a handful that I use with regularity. E.g., put me on LOTW for a week and I could probably be just fine with bringing only 5-6 baits. Bottom line, I'm not a big believer in such thing as a "magic bait". At certain times on certain waters, maybe.
So, these days, for any new bait to enter and stay in my rotation, it would need to be both innovative (i.e., a different type of "tool" from my old stand-bys) and (obviously) productive. Jlong pretty much nailed the criteria for what I would also consider "productive". |
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Posts: 63
| I've caught big pike (+43") on Spro hard swimbaits and never kept it a secret. A buddy of mine used them at Cliff Lake last year and he raised like 20+ 'skis in 3 days on them. They creek when they get used a bit and the same happens - the squeaking makes 'em better.So, I always have one in my boat. Never seen them marketed for Muskies so I imagine that's why we don't hear more about them. But, I'll never leave without a black Suick or a bucktail either. |
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Posts: 1313
Location: E. Tenn | Matt DeVos - 1/1/2020 1:04 PM
Good topic for discussion.
I still have and throw the first Hell Hound that I bought back when they were the new "hot" bait. Much of its paint is gone since it's covered in teeth marks from nose to tail. I don't throw gliders nearly as much as I used to, but that Hell Hound still remains in my rotation.
That statement makes me wonder if some unique sound, vibe, or action is lost when "new" lure goes from being manufactured in someone's basement to mass production. |
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Posts: 1023
| I think a Weagle is a must have bait. Love them and catch fish for me. It has proven itself to be a staple and not just a hyped bait fad.
The must have overpriced bait fad kills me. I make my own line of soft baits and I would never just fish my own stuff. There is no magic bait but some baits just plain run and fish better than others. My collection consists of proven blades, topwaters, swimbaits, jerkbaits and jigs. I have paid 75 bucks for well made custom baits from friends of mine but the 2-300 dollar baits aren’t my thing. I am too practical/cheap and I have been around long enough to know it’s mostly BS/hype. |
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Posts: 93
| For walk-the-dog topwaters, the 8" Weagle was a good evolution from the Jackpot and Doc. But it was really the 10" Weagle that made the better next step: easier to work and moves more water. Funny how the better lure never got the same attention because the hype effect had passed. Just saying that the amount of attention a lure gets and it's productivity don't necessarily go together.
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Posts: 1516
| How about the baby weagle? |
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Posts: 1460
Location: Kronenwetter, WI | Agree with many who said unless it is a better version of something, I don’t get too excited. Example, I used to throw jackpots, but heard about this thing called a Weagle so tried it. I liked how it threw so much more water. I felt it sent out it’s signal a greater distance as a result. Personally I had instant success and continue to use it as a tool every time I need to work a located active fish. Boated 3 in 20 minutes one night when the gills were hammering bugs on the surface. Regular and XL size are always in my line up.
Now, I also love large dive and risers, when I couldn’t get wooden Foolers any more, I found this cool bait on Facebook called a barfighter. $35 bucks, what the hell. Loved it because it pushed a lot of water (yes that is a theme for me). When I needed a new one two years later, I was told it was over a year out on the waiting list so I said put me down. Got contacted a year later saying I was up to bat and how many did I want and what size? How much, sir, I replied. Ouch! I was shocked by the price so I merely congratulated the maker on his success in creating a high-demand product and left it at that. By the way, foolers are made of wood again and one showed up in my stocking this year! |
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Posts: 8823
| Pepper - 1/2/2020 2:24 PM
How about the baby weagle?
I've never had much luck on the little one. I do like the squirrely baby Wabull, though. I'd catch a lot more muskies on it if I could get the pike to leave them alone. |
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Posts: 667
Location: Roscoe IL | It's funny in the sense that I say I mostly use certain lures when fishing, yet i'm making a list of lures I'm interested in for the approaching shows that are different... What's wrong with me?
All those bright shinny colors and well crafted lures, displayed in a manner that I can't resist. |
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Posts: 93
| Squirrely tail Hell Hound in walleye, #1 for me.
If there is a bait that can be fished at more different depths, and that travels farther side to side, I would like to know about it. |
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Posts: 4080
Location: Elko - Lake Vermilion | Windy City - 1/2/2020 4:36 PM
Squirrely tail Hell Hound in walleye, #1 for me.
If there is a bait that can be fished at more different depths, and that travels farther side to side, I would like to know about it.
Big Perka. |
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Posts: 674
Location: Duluth | I love my Musky Buster Super AP, unreal action. Still waiting for it to get bit by something bigger than 30 inches though. Same with Manta's they get a ton of action but most often from smaller fish. |
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Posts: 171
| North of 8: I saw a sizeable fish miss a flopping perch TWICE on top. So imagine the batting avg on live swimming prey is pretty low.
Brett: And wear "the hat"......all lures work better with that....... |
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| Cowboyhannah - 1/2/2020 2:25 PM
Agree with many who said unless it is a better version of something, I don’t get too excited. Example, I used to throw jackpots, but heard about this thing called a Weagle so tried it. I liked how it threw so much more water. I felt it sent out it’s signal a greater distance as a result. Personally I had instant success and continue to use it as a tool every time I need to work a located active fish. Boated 3 in 20 minutes one night when the gills were hammering bugs on the surface. Regular and XL size are always in my line up.
Now, I also love large dive and risers, when I couldn’t get wooden Foolers any more, I found this cool bait on Facebook called a barfighter. $35 bucks, what the hell. Loved it because it pushed a lot of water (yes that is a theme for me). When I needed a new one two years later, I was told it was over a year out on the waiting list so I said put me down. Got contacted a year later saying I was up to bat and how many did I want and what size? How much, sir, I replied. Ouch! I was shocked by the price so I merely congratulated the maker on his success in creating a high-demand product and left it at that. By the way, foolers are made of wood again and one showed up in my stocking this year!
good news,one of my first fish on a jerkbait was on a wooden fooler.just for fun how much he ask for the barfighter ? |
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Posts: 238
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota | I agree with most of you that the vast majority of overpriced baits won’t work any better than the regularly priced counterparts that they are based on, but I’ll go out on a limb and say I think the auto clear version of the lee lures leviathan is worth it. I have never seen a dive and rise that has an action like it. It dives just like a weighted suick but when you pull it it has a shimmy almost like an original floating rap. The auto clear version is half the price of his regular ones. Now I have only caught pike on it so I’m probably just trying to convince myself that it was worth the money by saying this, but I think that unique action and solid build is worth it. It’s also nice that if something breaks on it he’ll fix it for you. I haven’t used it but I’ve been really tempted to try his flaptail also, I think how the hooks are set up in it it would have a pretty high hookup percentage |
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Posts: 1767
Location: Lake Country, Wisconsin | Hellhound is as average as average gets for a bait.
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Posts: 8823
| Lures are what you make of them. I think a lot of guys take a particular lure, throw it for a bit on a down day, see/catch nothing, and on the wall it stays. Other guys never take the time to figure out what that lure can do and how to work it effectively. If these threads teach us anything, it's the fact that one angler's "meh..." is probably another man's golden ticket.
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Posts: 941
Location: Freedom, WI | Hellhound was never a basement bait, always mass produced. If a lure is correctly converted to mass production they work, sometimes better. |
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Location: Contrarian Island | sorry to relate musky fishing to golf again, but, lures to me are like a golfers clubs.. a novice could have the best clubs in the world and still suck... a pro could use the cheapest clubs in the world and shoot under par... lures are just that... a fish doesn't care when you cast out and throw a hellhound versus a sq phantom...if it's gonna hit a glider it's gonna hit a glider.. guys get way too caught up in lures somehow putting a lot more fish in the boat... a good angler knows it's more about the timing of the cast and location than the lure.
Edited by BNelson 1/6/2020 2:44 PM
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Posts: 1023
| I agree BNelson. There is no magic lure and too much emphasis is placed on “the lure”
However, some lures which appear similar are just better than others - slight difference in action, sits a little lower on surface, wanders, lasts longer... |
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| BNelson - 1/6/2020 2:43 PM
sorry to relate musky fishing to golf again, but, lures to me are like a golfers clubs.. a novice could have the best clubs in the world and still suck... a pro could use the cheapest clubs in the world and shoot under par... lures are just that... a fish doesn't care when you cast out and throw a hellhound versus a sq phantom...if it's gonna hit a glider it's gonna hit a glider.. guys get way too caught up in lures somehow putting a lot more fish in the boat... a good angler knows it's more about the timing of the cast and location than the lure.
Pro golfers adjust irons by one or two degrees of angle because of the importance of equipment to them. Yes, they could use cheap clubs right off the shelf and beat any amateur but they are very fussy about their equipment. Arnold Palmer had thousands of putters in a garage and tinkered with them his entire life. |
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Location: Contrarian Island | yah sure, but you are missing the point... angler skill level has a lot more to do with someones success on the water than the lures they throw... |
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Posts: 674
Location: Duluth | Agree with BNelson, much like golf, it usually comes down to user error. But you buy quality gear to ensure that you are indeed the weakest link, nothing worse than losing a fish due to equipment malfunction. |
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| BNelson - 1/6/2020 5:47 PM
yah sure, but you are missing the point... angler skill level has a lot more to do with someones success on the water than the lures they throw...
Nope, not missing the point at all. Pro golfers do everything they can to make sure they have exactly the right tool. Yes, there may be only a slight difference in performance between variations of a certain type of lure but if one has slightly better action, why not use it? |
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Posts: 793
Location: Ames, Iowa | I don't think it's the tool at all. Don't forget the Fish and Presentation part of the FLP formula. If a muskie in in that cabbage bed because I didn't spook it, and it's ready to eat or chase prey, then does it matter that I throw a 6 inch Slammer vs. a Pig vs. a spoon vs. a weighted 10 inch Suick? |
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| djwilliams - 1/6/2020 10:03 PM
I don't think it's the tool at all. Don't forget the Fish and Presentation part of the FLP formula. If a muskie in in that cabbage bed because I didn't spook it, and it's ready to eat or chase prey, then does it matter that I throw a 6 inch Slammer vs. a Pig vs. a spoon vs. a weighted 10 inch Suick?
Not arguing that lure choice is the most important part. But watch the pro bass fishermen some time. They change lures, change colors until they find one that works. They make their living fishing and if it all depended on presentation or fishing at the right time and place, they would not spend the effort with lures. Same with expert fly fishermen. They "match the hatch". |
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Posts: 2058
| While I don’t think comparing trout and bass to Muskie fishing makes much sense.. any fishing..just get time depth speed action and location right and the lure you throw doesn’t make any difference-ha! Muskies are catchable every day in any condition (sure some days aren’t safe on the water) . Weagles have been really good to me over the years easily over 100 in the net on those baits... you’d have to pay me well to waste my time throwing hellhounds, guess I don’t remember that craze? Maybe right after Bob’s Pig craze?  |
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Location: Contrarian Island | North of 8, that's the thing, you are saying there might only be a 'slight' improvement in performance...a guy can go mentally crazy thinking about ways to catch more muskies, by and large, all the guys I've known over the years that overthink it don't do very well.. while I do agree, use the best tool for the job, the bottom line is an avg fisherman, with every hyped and "best" lure out there is still going to have avg results... as I noted in another thread, I do have a few lures that do seem to have something special in attracting big fish, other than that, I could go to Lake of the woods for a week with 10 lures in my boat and catch just as many fish as I would with 500 in the boat, heck maybe more.... it's just fun to have lures 
Edited by BNelson 1/7/2020 10:03 AM
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| BNelson - 1/7/2020 10:02 AM
North of 8, that's the thing, you are saying there might only be a 'slight' improvement in performance...a guy can go mentally crazy thinking about ways to catch more muskies, by and large, all the guys I've known over the years that overthink it don't do very well.. while I do agree, use the best tool for the job, the bottom line is an avg fisherman, with every hyped and "best" lure out there is still going to have avg results... as I noted in another thread, I do have a few lures that do seem to have something special in attracting big fish, other than that, I could go to Lake of the woods for a week with 10 lures in my boat and catch just as many fish as I would with 500 in the boat, heck maybe more.... it's just fun to have lures
Not really disagreeing, just pointing out your pro golfer analogy might not have been the best comparison, since they are incredibly equipment focused.
The thing I find interesting is that from one body of water to another, lure performance can be quite different. Talked to two different guides who have spent many years on the waters in Vilas and Oneida county and both said they and their clients had very limited success with double tens on local water. Yet in Canada and big lakes like Vermillion, they worked well. When I got back into Musky fishing about 15 years ago after several decades of not fishing for them, I did some research on lures and among the handful I bought right away was a Top Raider. I have thrown it a lot, with very limited success. But, I was at a musky show the first spring the Fat B*****d was out and bought one. I was kind of put off by how loud it was but on the dark, heavily stained water on the chain where I live, it is probably my most productive lure in terms of fish caught per hour used. Both are top water prop baits, both are lures others have a lot of success with, but only one works well for me. |
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Location: Contrarian Island | Most good anglers are VERY equipment focused. Rods. Reels. Line. Leaders. Hooks. But not to the point of being ocd about lures. Maybe the golf ball is more the lure. Not the club.
Edited by BNelson 1/7/2020 12:43 PM
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Posts: 93
| I could go to Lake of the woods for a week with 10 lures in my boat and catch just as many fish as I would with 500 in the boat, heck maybe more.... it's just fun to have lures ;)
Okay...so you're saying that this coming summer, you can pick the major types you want, but you'll let me pick the particular 10 versions for you to use?
You're thinking Apostle...but nope! You're getting a Woodie.
The internet has enabled us to crowdsource figuring out what those better mousetraps are, and in large part it boils down to: 1) bigger, 2) faster, and 3) noisier. And I don't think you can separate rod and reel advancements from lure design in being able to present a bigger/faster/louder bait effectively.
There absolutely ARE some better mousetraps, and some others that just plain don't catch very many mice. The Weagle will improve catch rates for most people over the Jackpot. It might not move someone from 3 fish a year to 30, but it can move them from 3 up to 4 per year because they triggered an extra strike and the lure was way better at keeping it hooked. That'd be a 33% improvement! And when you're catching a relatively low number of fish per year, every one matters that much more. That means using the best possible tool is MORE important for low volume fishermen. Of course, being "hot" isn't a sign that a lure is better at catching fish, just that it's better at catching people.
Edited by undersized 1/7/2020 12:56 PM
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Posts: 8823
| No8, I think that's a lake-specific thing. We have a stained lake like that. Tail props are a riot, but they only connect about one out of 3 times. The only lures that they don't miss are big WTD lures, worked slowly with a lot of pauses, and the Nimmer Swimmer Wolly Pog. Slower, bigger, and louder is my guess.
It's just the opposite on a nearby (clear) lake. The slower stuff just gets a lot of lookers. Small tail props + speed gets the job done there.
Some lures just suck. What makes a lure "great" is 1. Throwing it in the right place, 2. Throwing it at the right time, working it in a way that makes the fish decide to eat eat it. |
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Location: Contrarian Island | weird. I know some guys who do pretty well on double 10s in Vilas, must be a lake specific thing lol.
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Posts: 4269
Location: Ashland WI | North of 8 - 1/7/2020 11:56 AM
BNelson - 1/7/2020 10:02 AM
North of 8, that's the thing, you are saying there might only be a 'slight' improvement in performance...a guy can go mentally crazy thinking about ways to catch more muskies, by and large, all the guys I've known over the years that overthink it don't do very well.. while I do agree, use the best tool for the job, the bottom line is an avg fisherman, with every hyped and "best" lure out there is still going to have avg results... as I noted in another thread, I do have a few lures that do seem to have something special in attracting big fish, other than that, I could go to Lake of the woods for a week with 10 lures in my boat and catch just as many fish as I would with 500 in the boat, heck maybe more.... it's just fun to have lures
Not really disagreeing, just pointing out your pro golfer analogy might not have been the best comparison, since they are incredibly equipment focused.
The thing I find interesting is that from one body of water to another, lure performance can be quite different. Talked to two different guides who have spent many years on the waters in Vilas and Oneida county and both said they and their clients had very limited success with double tens on local water. Yet in Canada and big lakes like Vermillion, they worked well. When I got back into Musky fishing about 15 years ago after several decades of not fishing for them, I did some research on lures and among the handful I bought right away was a Top Raider. I have thrown it a lot, with very limited success. But, I was at a musky show the first spring the Fat B*****d was out and bought one. I was kind of put off by how loud it was but on the dark, heavily stained water on the chain where I live, it is probably my most productive lure in terms of fish caught per hour used. Both are top water prop baits, both are lures others have a lot of success with, but only one works well for me.
He wasn't debating that pro golfers (or pro fishermen) don't care about the specifics. He was saying a pro golfer could still shoot par with average clubs off the rack (this is true), whereas an average golfer just won't no matter what clubs (lures) you give him. |
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Posts: 8823
| BNelson - 1/7/2020 1:22 PM
weird. I know some guys who do pretty well on double 10s in Vilas, must be a lake specific thing lol.
We all know some guys. I know a guy who catches nearly all of his fish on Burts. I know another guy in Vilas who caught 73 fish on one glider. That was probably 10 years ago, so who knows what he's up to now. But then Gliders suck, right? |
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Posts: 32922
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Gliders do not suck. Throw them only when you re not moving fish on other presentations, and that conclusion may be possible. Underated glider? The Suick Wabull. |
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Location: Contrarian Island | I've had 10 fish days all on gliders, they still suck! jk. some do. |
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Posts: 32922
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | BNelson - 1/8/2020 8:49 AM
I've had 10 fish days all on gliders, they still suck! jk. some do.
I hate any soft plastic lure weighing over 10 ounces. Sure they catch fish, just not by me. |
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| sworrall - 1/8/2020 8:52 AM
BNelson - 1/8/2020 8:49 AM
I've had 10 fish days all on gliders, they still suck! jk. some do.
I hate any soft plastic lure weighing over 10 ounces. Sure they catch fish, just not by me.
I made up my mind a couple years ago to get serious about throwing mag dawgs. Bought some, bought a rod built for heavy lures, even spent extra time in the weight room doing exercises designed to help throw the big lures. They look great in the water but I just have not had a lot of success relative to the time and effort I put into throwing them. Not giving up, but not expecting great results either. |
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Posts: 674
Location: Duluth | Glider suck just like jerkbaits suck for smallmouth |
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Posts: 267
| My favorite glider for years was the Reef Hawg. But you'd have to buy a half dozen to get one that ran perfect. But man, at one time it probably accounted for 50% of the fish I caught. Now I hardly throw a glider. Probably need to throw them more again. |
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Posts: 463
| Gliders are good for moving fish when nothing else will. The dumb fish sure do miss them a lot, and they are hard to figure eight really well. Probably my 4th option, if bucktails, topwaters and dive and rise baits aren't moving them. |
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Posts: 498
Location: Northern Illinois | Crankbaits, either twitching or banging cover, are second to bucktails for me for casting success. Jerks and rubber after that. I should throw topwater more. |
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Posts: 1149
Location: Minnesota. | I'm old fashioned...as well as just plain "old"! I have trouble getting past pitching single bladed 9's and tossing stupid dang Suicks... Yeah, those dumb ol' single blades and that dumb ol' piece of wood...
I really need to try my Weagles, I have a few in diff. sizes and heaven's knows how I love topwaters. Got a few varieties of the good ones from Flaps to Cisco Kid-type and they're wonderful.
Then there's those first two I mentioned that just keep on producing...
But I'm old! An' I do okay....(but I'm not immune to the hype) .... 3 boxes full of 9' Suicks!!! I don't have enough time left!!!
Best to ya'all in 2020. Gonna be a good year!
Edited by Jeremy 1/9/2020 9:44 PM
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Posts: 20248
Location: oswego, il | I throw gliders alot. I trigger strikes with them and outfish people throwing bucktails and rubber in the boat. Exception would be lotw, they seem to like bucktails there. |
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Posts: 267
| Really? Don't you remember Bob Mehsikomer catching tons of LOTW muskies on Reef Hawgs and then his "Pig". Lots of 50s. If bucktails weren't showing fish on LOTW, a Reef Hawg would bring them out. Especially my buddy's orange one,...., until he lost it. |
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Posts: 793
Location: Ames, Iowa | Bob M's go to bait seemed to be the Jackpot. I love working em, and they look awesome like something has to eat it. The closest I came to a muskie on a Jackpot was the local 55 incher that knocked the bait two feet in the air and came clear of the water itself. Never saw it again after that. It probably got netted or died of old age. |
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Posts: 267
| Yeah, the Reef Hawg days for Bob M was before the Jackpot days. |
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Remember the Weagle and Hell Hound craze?