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Posts: 8719
| We've all got them. Some have tremendous success with them. I won't argue whether or not they work. They clearly do and have since dirt. Just not for me. I've pulled, twitched, jerked, tapped, and everything else I can think of. Weighted, unweighted, different sizes, changed hooks, added split rings, and bent the tail 8 ways to Sunday. After all these years, I am still left watching the stupid thing in the water and wondering: "Is THAT what they're supposed to do??"
So here's the question: (there is apparently no wrong answer except "whatever EA is doing with them.")
What the ever loving hell do you do with a Suick??
Edited by esoxaddict 2/19/2021 7:29 PM
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Posts: 538
Location: northern indiana | It's a stick in the water! Muskies eat whatever they want and whenever they want. I've used them but don't own any. I've seen many fish caught on them but I have yet to hook up on one. Probably why I don't own any. Maybe someday?? |
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Posts: 32798
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | http://upload.outdoorsfirst.com/watch.asp?id=5398 |
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Posts: 1186
| First fish in my boat, on a Suick, came when I took a buddy out on his first time musky fishing. He could use a baitcaster, but would get 3 or 4 backlashes in a half day of fishing. Well he pulled a Suick out my tackle box and snapped it on. First cast, he gets a nasty backlash. It was a bright, calm, sunny day. Mid-afternoon. I put the anchor out, handed him the pick, and started into a sandwich. Bait was floating about 30 yards from the boat, just sitting there on glassy water. He struggled with the birds nest for about 7 or 8 minutes, and asked for help. I start picking away at it, and just as I am pulling the last of the over run out, and am getting ready to engage the reel to reel in all of the loose line, big splash, lure gone. I start cranking the slack in as fast as I can, and the fish is still there. Hand him the rod and let him bring it in. Nice low 40s fish. That stupid bait was just sitting there floating, no movement, for at least 10 minutes. I think if it had been a stick, it would have been hit. I've caught a few fish on them, but don't use them much, mostly because I have no idea what I might have done when I have caught fish on them. |
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Posts: 1971
| Good success in Canada in clean cabbage, Bobbie baits too... fish them both quite a bit on bluebird post front days..i almost never throw them in the states?..probably should. |
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Posts: 32798
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | http://upload.outdoorsfirst.com/watch.asp?id=6307
Mike Suick. |
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Posts: 34
| Play with the tail |
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Posts: 2279
Location: Chisholm, MN | I agree. I can never make them work right and never have any action on them. I’m certain it’s user error because they’re obviously fish catchers. |
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Posts: 20180
Location: oswego, il | It's the burst of speed with a pause. Works well to trigger strikes. Many baits do it if you can get them to do something on the pause that's erratic the better. I have more confidence in other jerkbaits but there is no denying the suick's success.
Edited by ToddM 2/19/2021 9:01 PM
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Posts: 759
Location: Ames, Iowa | It is the bait I use on Leech that results in the most follows, and follows from the biggest fish. Same story on another nearby lake. BTW, I don't throw Suicks as much as other baits. They can be gently pulled, twitched, reeled without action, trolled, or floated over cabbage or snapped thru it. I bend the tail pretty good. I think the 9" weighted get down about 4-5 feet max. Can't remember ever unhooking a muskie from one though. |
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Posts: 1208
Location: E. Tenn | I had several languishing in the box since the early '80s.. I'd take one out every now and then, fish it halfheartedly for a bit, and put it away. Several years ago, I watched the video Mr. Worrall posted, got one to play nice, took it up north, and got a 41" on the first cast second pull. I've done well with them since, caught some nice pike, and even largemouth.
Edited by miket55 2/19/2021 9:40 PM
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| My first "legal" musky was on a Suick back in the late '70s. I caught a number of fish on them, but don't use them much anymore. Back in the day, fished a couple times with a friend's brother in law on the Three Lakes Chain and he could make them sing and dance. He caught on lot of fish on Suicks, including some very big fish. Guys that are good with them can toss into cabbage, bump the cabbage, let it float backwards, move them around, and catch fish. I never really mastered the art of fishing them in weeds. Where I did have some luck was in water with rock, boulders in shallower water. Bump them on rocks, let it float back up, repeat. |
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Posts: 3779
| Fantastic bait. Before I was on M1 I was on the Rollie and Helen's web/chat site. I asked your question and Rollie very generously wrote out a 2 page response. 20 years later I LOVE that bait and here are the highlights....
- of the choices in front of you buy the one with the highest eye
- of the choices in front of you buy the one with the hook eyes in the straightest line
- T the hooks
- place a split ring in the nose and use a sorta light leader, never straight wire ( I use a 80# 9" fluoro)
- pull the suick with a straight down stroke, the nose of the bait will swing side to side as it descends, but will never shoot off to one side or the other
- release almost all tension, but not everything, use the reel and keep the rod pointed at the lure
- if you have tuned the rear blade correctly the lure will flatten out on a sort tight line and wobble side to side on the rise (I call it the "death wobble")
- its the death wobble that makes a suick a star, only a few do it
There you go. All suicks are different, some are natural "death wobblers" and some just suck no matter what. I'm lucky to have two terrific suicks, a floater in natural perch and a weighted in orange with black spots. I have about 20 more but I collected them for a while just for fun.
ok then
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Posts: 2236
Location: SE, WI. | If it rained all day,, and you need to make a campfire, it makes really good Kindling  Caught several fish on Suicks. Great for bending over stick ups in cabbage. Fished Painstaking Slow! Fish can’t deal with their roof being compromised. Also, Suicks are very effective trolled, and Jerked covering water. JD |
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Posts: 3779
| Oh yea, once tuned, great to troll. Sweep slowly forward, drop back on a tight line. A weighted will get down to 12 or 15', unweighted maybe 6'.
This is just my experience in how I use them. I seem to recall a Worrall poolside video where Steve had an unweighted model shooting off a couple feet to one side and then the other. Pretty cool. |
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Posts: 1209
| I have doubled on them when nothing else was getting looked at, multiple people in multiple boats too. |
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Posts: 1202
Location: Walker, MN | I really like working them around cover, with hard pulls. Thick weed edges and big boulders. It will pop into their strike zone and get a reaction response. Some of the hardest strikes I've ever encountered. |
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Posts: 189
| Surprised at all the negative comments. In my opinion it is one of the few 'old time' baits that has survived the test of time. It's no longer a go to bait for me but it does catch fish. I had a two musky day with a walleye pattern one 3 years ago while lake hopping Rusk / Sawyer counties. In my boat the Suick has pretty much taken a back seat to Navins, which lets face it is basically a suick clone (among others) with better profile and color options, arguably improved action and being pre-drilled for weights more versatile. Best color for northern WI in my opinion is Black Perch |
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Posts: 154
Location: MN | I put larger hooks on them and T them. This has improved my hooking percentage. Happens to be my favorite lure. I remember fishing with a friend 20 years ago, I got about ten strikes on Suicks, he had none. I had a devil of a time hooking them on the lure until I started putting larger hooks on them. T ing the original hooks will barely get the points beyond the belly of the bait.
Edited by Born 2/20/2021 9:52 AM
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Posts: 1261
Location: Stevens Point, Wi. | Love em. Have dozens. They work in all seasons and conditions. |
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Posts: 315
| Gotta love them! The only lure I’ve hooked two muskies on at the same time. A small one had it first and a bigger one tried to take it away from the little one. Ended up boating the bigger one that was 41. Also had a great morning one fall with a 47 & a 49 with a Suick I bought in the clearance bin at Gander. Watch the videos. Many ways to work them. The rip & rise is deadly but you have to give them time to pause and float up. Halfway thru the pause give it a little twitch. If there is a following fish that is when they crush them. Watch the way Steve W works then with the reel. You can get a nice WTD action with them as Steve demonstrates. Also on a couple of mine I’ve replaced the hooks with a pair of 6/0 Neversnag hooks and you can work that thru the real thick weeds very easily. I think many guys tend to fish them too fast. For me the key has been giving them an ample prolonged pause. It’s a great bait to throw when you need a break from fishing bigger or faster lures. They’ve caught big fish for decades and will continue for many more. |
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Posts: 1759
Location: new richmond, wi. & isle, mn | Suicks are my all time favorite jerk bait. Very versatile jerk bait. As posted, many have tinkered with them to their liking. Myself, I just give the tail a slight bend. The eye needs to be tuned just like a crank bait. My best suicks are trashed and actually better with age. I'll actually marinate my suicks in the baitwell presoaking them. A water logged weighted suick has more of a hang that has worked for me. |
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Posts: 107
| They are an absolute "go-to" when things are difficult, and sometimes when they are not. Additionally, give the Frankensuick a look. They have great action and an adjustable weight system that makes them really versatile. |
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Posts: 309
Location: Selkirk, Manitoba | A must have bait in Canada I would say. Wicked when worked in and around cabbage and tight to shore on rock spots. If you don't get muskies you will get a lot of pike up here of all sizes on them. If the fish aren't showing on faster stuff (blades) they often do on these. |
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Posts: 535
| I think they work well. I think its more of a triggered bite than anything else. At least the way i run them anyway. I use a long rod at least a 8'6", i do long sweeps with it fairly quickly and then reel in the slack. The bait dives and rocks back and forth when i do it. Ill hit bottom quick if im in 4' of water. Im sure im getting down 5-6' i bet with how i bend the tail. I dont twitch them, just long sweeps. |
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Posts: 36
Location: Kansas City MO | If I had to choose one bait to throw for the rest of my life, the Suick would certainly be in the conversation. |
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Location: Athens, Ohio | I no longer own one. Never saw the fascination in them.
My favorite dive and rise bait is the Sledge, and I have 28 of them. m |
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Posts: 154
Location: MN | Mikie you don't own one Suick but you have 28 Sledge's ? Realy |
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Location: Athens, Ohio | To each his own sickness, I guess. m
[img]https://i.postimg.cc/ydZjzBrz/DSCN0654.jpg[/img]
Edited by mikie 2/21/2021 4:49 PM
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Posts: 860
Location: NE Ohio | come on really? alls i can tell ya is they eat them in ohio. i bend the tail a bit, fish it pretty quick, and it rolls over and does tricks that the fish love most of the time. watch j. hanson's vid with TRO and you'll see the magic happen! i have way too many of them just like all of the others........
Edited by pklingen 2/21/2021 6:17 PM
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Posts: 32798
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | I have a box full, and use them a lot. I can make that bait walk the dog fast or slow, snap up and down at will, and nose down right, then nose down left. I have a couple of boxes of other lures, and none of them are as versatile.
Good baits and just as important to me, really good people. Anyone who can't catch muskies on a Suick is not trying very hard, which is fine... there are baits I 'can't' catch fish on too. |
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Posts: 154
Location: MN | Nice collection of sledges Sorry Mikie |
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Posts: 937
| Suick's my favorite bait to throw- period. Hardest hits I've ever had have been on them
I never leave the dock without at least 25 of them in the boat.
Have caught muskys on them every month from May-Dec. there is never a wrong time to use one.
Here is a couple videos I did with TRO on them first one is a short video just showing how I use them, second Video is longer version with fish being caught on them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBncAIOpMcE&t=128s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opqOoaRlKao&t=142s
Jeff Hanson
madisonmuskyguide.com |
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Location: Athens, Ohio | Born - 2/21/2021 8:32 PM
Nice collection of sledges Sorry Mikie
Thanks, but...
"fishing muskies means never having to say you're sorry!"
The good ones are in the boat already. m |
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Posts: 1136
Location: NorthCentral WI | 9" HI Suick is one of my highest confidence baits. I wasn't a huge fan of them until years ago when I watched my league partner triple in an hour, including a 45" and 42" on back to back casts. Since then they have become a go-to bait and I even have one rod dedicated to Suicks that always has a 9" HI ready to go. Plus, I am happy to support a super nice, down to earth family like the Suicks!
Edited by MartinTD 2/22/2021 12:20 PM
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Posts: 103
Location: ITALY | i love suick! unfortunately for me I can only use it for short periods and that is in the post reproduction when the big pikes are still in the bank ... with the advance of the season they go deep and therefore I prefer other baits ... but if there is weed, rocks and pikes in shallow water is deadly ... I use it with long pulls and pauses to get it back up ... in my opinion the easiest to use is the 9 "weighted and the 12" ... I would like to try the Frankensuick .. . what are the differences to the 12 "apart from the length? |
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| Jeff Hanson - 2/22/2021 10:09 AM
Suick's my favorite bait to throw- period. Hardest hits I've ever had have been on them
I never leave the dock without at least 25 of them in the boat.
Have caught muskys on them every month from May-Dec. there is never a wrong time to use one.
Here is a couple videos I did with TRO on them first one is a short video just showing how I use them, second Video is longer version with fish being caught on them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBncAIOpMcE&t=128s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opqOoaRlKao&t=142s
Jeff Hanson
madisonmuskyguide.com
Thanks for videos Jeff, they are well done. I liked the set up with a solid ring on the leader, going to a split ring on the Suick. Going to try that, bet it gives a little better action. |
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Posts: 76
| A confidence bait for me particularly on wind blown rocks/points. My biggest WI fish came on a Suick. They do need a retune at times and it can take a bit to get it back to where it was. Love the history of the lure. |
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Posts: 239
Location: Elroy, Wisconsin |
Back in the 70s and 80s first 30 muskies in my boat were on Suicks. Some work, some don't.
Mudpuppy
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Posts: 8719
| Thanks for the replies everyone, and for the videos. Kind of confirms what I was afraid of, actually. That IS what they're supposed to do. |
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Posts: 32798
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Get back in my boat this year. I'll help you with your Suick Thriller issues. |
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Posts: 3136
| Mike must be a Republican,,,most of mine run to the right |
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Posts: 2752
Location: Mauston, Wisconsin | I gave mine away on a Muskie fishing/camping trip with Ranger @ Iron Mountain iron mine pits. It just didn't fit my style of fishing. LOL! "Al, I've never seen anyone work a lure like that!" - Todd Forcier.
Have fun!
Al |
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Posts: 1276
Location: Hayward, Wisconsin | Simple answer...CATCH MUSKIES! |
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Posts: 17
| I sell them on eBay after trying to like them for the hundredth time lol. I always go back to the Smity jerkbaits. They cast better and my muscle memory is just more in tune with them. Only problem with the Smity's is that big fish seem to shake them easily (no problem landing smaller fish). |
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Posts: 39
| For a long, long time 90% of my fish came from a black Suick, sucker Eddie bait, black bucktail w/silver blades and a black Cisco Kid topper pretty much in that order. Since then I have spent MUCHO $ and done about the same. I became a muskies worst enemy in ' 46 so I guess that explains that. |
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Posts: 36
| I own a few but my go to dive and rise is a Sledge Must be a southern thing Mikie Ive never caught a fish on a Suick but I have caught a ton on Sledges. I'm definitley not arguing that Suicks don't catch fish but Sledges are my confidence bait when it comes to dive and rise |
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Posts: 331
Location: Stevens Point, Wisconsin | Love my weighted Suicks around tobacco cabbage during a cold front, or when covering underwater rock spines and reef edges. Great bait! |
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So here's a question...