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Posts: 32955
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | How do you retrieve the large soft plastic lures? I'm talking the Suzy Suckers, Mag Dawgs, Lifelike Lures, etc.
What technique during the retrieve, do you allow the bait to sink a certain amount, etc?
Over open water? Suspendos VS fish that are related to structure? |
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Posts: 468
Location: Not where I wanna be! | i dont own any soft plastics for Muskies.....however, i was told that you should pretend you are fishing for bass.....whatever that means...
plastics are my go to favorite for bass tourneys, and they seem to do really well for us!! i would imagine the jumbo sized tubes and the similiar will work well for muskies, especially in the weeds.....
but that is only an opinion from bass fishing....
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Posts: 1996
Location: Pelican Lake/Three Lakes Chain | I used to be real erratic with them, and still am most of the time. Rip, rip, pause type retrieve. The last couple of years I have also been having good success fishing them just like a bucktail, straight retrieving them.
As a rule over open water I am more erratic, and when casting toward structure I use more straight retrieves.
It seems to depend on the fish on any given day. I try to mix it up with erratic retrieves and some straight. The hardest thing is trying to remember which retrieve I was using if I get bit. 
Edited by nwild 7/16/2007 10:13 AM
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Posts: 8863
| I throw them for about 10 casts and remember why I don't fish them more often!
The way I was taught to use them by those who know, is to fish them over deeper water, count them down, and then use long pulls, letting the bait drop in between, carefully controlled so as not to have slack line, always keeping contact with the bait. Every so often a fish will bite one, and I lose the fish in a failed attempt to get a decent hookset, because there's only maybe 5% of the time in a retrieve like that where you're in a position to actually set the hook well.
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| EA, didn't you fish w/ me and didn't I teach you anything..????
that is not how I throw dawgs most of the time...
cast out, rip, rip, rip, rip, rip, maybe a pause or 2...do "the roll" at the boat, at nite maybe slow down the rips to more of a pull...
can't work em wrong..even a straight retrieve brings em up.... |
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Posts: 313
Location: On your favorite spot | i like to use long pulls simply because it allows me to feel the hit, crank down and slam it home. i usually don't use anything to erratic. |
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Posts: 8863
| BN is correct -- there are other ways to work a dawg that are much more effective. I have not had the opportunity to try his method, though.
Other things I learned fishing with Brad:
1. put the net where you can reach it in case your boat partner is otherwise occupied
2. cell phones aren't waterproof
3. visors keep your hair dry even when you fall in the lake
4. all-star rods float (but not for long)
5. It is possible to control your laughter until you are driving home in the car |
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| and here I thought you weren't paying attention....
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Posts: 7113
Location: Northwest Chicago Burbs | http://muskie.outdoorsfirst.com/play_wmv.asp?clip=35
Straight retrieve, pull-pause (like BN indicated), ripping over weed tops, letting it sink and working the depths, they all seem to work for me. Dawgs vs. Suzys vs. Curley Sues....find the ones that fit the depths you're fishing and the moods of the fish. |
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Posts: 115
| I usually fish an Esox Cobra jig with a shortened Tiki Wave Anaconda. It's basically a big grub. I cast it out, count it down, and slowly reel it in. Much like a bucktail or spinnerbait. Works well for me.
The bulldawg video was really good. I'll have to try the jerks and pulls.
John |
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| I like the reel/pause...let it fall, reel/pause.....let it fall. The hits are much like jig hits are much like typical jig hits like when fishing walleye and bass. One good thump. I don't throw them very much, but if I find a good weedline or scattered clumps, I'll cast beyond my target and reel up to it and kill it and let it flutter down. It's the same way that I fish Creatures, and I would rather throw them because the results seem to be the same at a fraction of the cost. I haven't had much success tagetting suspendos with them, but that is because I like my other options in that situation. The only legal muskie that I've caught on a Bulldawg was fishing a milfoil edge. I was swimming it through gaps in the milfoil and then when I reached the edge, I killed it and the fish hit it on the fall.
Haven't tried the Suzy Suckers yet, but I'll fish them the same way.
Beav |
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Posts: 42
Location: Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin | All of mine have come with straight steady retrieves. Kind of partial to that & do it more because that is how I got my 1st bulldawg fish. Goi it out of the package, sharpened hooks & got a fish 5 cast in. Steady retrieve has definitely been the best for me after dark. My theory is to not pull it away from them after dark (ie erratic retrieve) & you increase your chances of hooking up. During cold front conditions I also do a slow figure eight as far down as the water clarity will allow & have gotten a couple of lazy followers in the boat that way. I do agree, THERE IS NO WRONG WAY TO FISH SOFT PLASTIC. A friend of mine who guides moves his rod around like he is conducting an orchestra during the retrieve. He has had a lot of fish on a big joe that way, before everyone & their brother started throwing soft plastic. I even joked around with him, "what is that glob of #$%* you are throwing"? All he would say is you just wait & see what happens... Now my box is about 1/2 soft plastics. Guess that is why he is a guide & I am not. |
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Posts: 1245
Location: Madtown, WI | An EXTREMELY good plastics worker I know catches PILES of fish on big joes....working them in and around the weeds with nothing more than reel action. The reel action gets it jumping in beautiful, fish reaction strike type action....His "pile of Death" in the back of his boat of dead joes is proof its an effective way to catch fish....
Yes....joes in the weeds....
Cory |
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Posts: 468
Location: Not where I wanna be! | do you have any pix of these "Joes"???
id like to see one!!
so i can go buy some!! |
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| http://www.liveactionlures.com/default.aspx |
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Posts: 427
Location: Wausau | Submerging weeds - short snaps and burn and drop into pocket if applicable
Breakline out - fast rips over first break and longer pauses along break decline
Breakline in - countdown to level of first break - rip, pause, repeat to boat - trying to keep lure at depth of first break off the shelf.
Rocks - if you know the depth or can see VW rocks, count down and bring lure towards object, once over head, lift rod tip and swoop from right to left a full pull and pause...causing the lure to roll under water and make contact with the rock...non-hook side up...feel the contact and rip.
Open Water - depends on where I see bait fish. If no bait fish present, change every 10 casts or so...count down, rips, looong pulls, snaps, lift up, drop to bottom and burn up, jig, etc.
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Posts: 42
Location: Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin | THA 4. If you have not followed the link, it is similiar to a Twin Fin. Personally I like the Twin Fin a little better, has a little more tail action. I also like the hook mounting better, two hooks below the bait. The Big Joe has the rear hook molded in the bait, similar to the original Bulldawg. |
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Posts: 1245
Location: Madtown, WI | Twin fins have't produced for most guys i know that thrown them . just personal prefference. |
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Posts: 42
Location: Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin | C.painter, I guess it boils down to how much confidence you have in a bait & how much you have thrown them too. I had good luck right off of the bat, 1st time I threw it a 44" in the boat on a deep figure 8. After that, of course, I threw it a lot. I know I have a bunch of proven good muskie baits that I don't throw much because I have not had success with them. May depend on the water too. Only had 1 along on that trip to Canada & it got TRASHED. Taking 3 Cisco colored onesalong this time. Seems to work well in the trout/cisco water that we fish. |
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Posts: 389
Location: Presque Isle Wisconsin | This is my favorite subject because I spend the majority of my fishing hours working soft plastics,usually over deeper structure,although I use them a lot over weeds wood etc also.
Soft plastics are more complicated than most people percieve: For instance;at times the fish will prefer a wild rip pause retreive.Normally this works good over open water in the upper section of the water column.Conversley working a plastic in deeper water on the bottom it seems they like the bait just crawed along at a steady retreive.In front of wood or deep weeds the sink rate is usually the key factor.Andy from Shack Attack lures recently developed an 11" Suzy sucker with a 1/2 oz. weight to allow the bait to flutter down nicely in these situations
Want to know how fussy muskies can get? On days when the big girls are neutral to negative they will show a maked preference for a very subtle tail action like that produced by the Huddleston swim baits. The wider wobble of a castaic swim bait might produce just a follow up.The Long curly tail plastics will be totally ignored.The action ,speed etc better match the fishes preference or your going to strike out.
To further complicate matters,muskies on different trophy lakes that I fish often will definately prefer their plastic in a different style and color than on the lakes next door.This will extend to the action of the lure no matter what mood they are in ,moon phase or any other factor.
Every day I fish with these lures I learn other subtlties and experiment with different combinations of weight,combos with hard bodies etc style. Most recently I worked with Shack Attack on the slower rate of fall Suzy Suckers and its a staight out winner -period!
Let me give you a couple of examples of combo hard/soft body innovations that Ive tried and had success with lately. Take the rear section off a regular size hawg wobbler and replace it with a medium size grub trailer.Just seeing it once in the water will speak for itself.The slow front end body roll combined with the tail acyion is incredible.Seven nice fish this year including four when used as a throw back lure.Now get really serious and take the magnum hawg wobbler and use the Kalin BIGN as the rear section and youhave to see it to beleive how good it is.
Im working with Roger Watters From H20 Tackle on a combo hard /soft crank bait that I think will be a superb bait for big fish.
Obviously I love these type of baits and have enjoyed great success with them. Ive only touched on some of the subtlties and ways these baits can and should be used.Never,ever think that these baits are just a simple toss out and retieve lure. None of the above information is what I think should or might work.Its what does work when employing them to catch muskies.
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| I like to typically work all of my soft plastics with a jerk and pause technique.
Personally I have had 90% of my strikes on the pause, the big girls can't resist it.
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Posts: 699
Location: Hugo, MN | Straight Retrieve 95% of the time. If fishing Deep or Vertical Structure with fewer weeds letting it sink and fishing a bit like a jig is very effective. That's how I like to do it however as mentioned by most everyone else there really is no wrong way to work the baits.
Edited by marine_1 7/18/2007 10:21 AM
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How Do YOU Work Soft Plastics?