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Posts: 433
Location: Cedarburg, Wisconsin | Was just thinking about this, rather confusing if you ask me. When there is a post about muskies eating all the walleyes the sources are always sited where studies show that walleyes make up just a small percentage of musky forage, what was it, something around 6%?
So we have established that muskies rarely eat walleyes in their natural surroundings, right? So then, why do we buy walleye colored musky lures? |
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Posts: 2384
Location: On the X that marks the mucky spot | Because most of them look like a yellow perch. |
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| Actually the number is less than 2% (1.8%) of the muskies diet was walleye.
That being said what are you trying to imitate when working a lure, you are trying to make it look like a dying or struggling fish to trigger the fish. Walleye or not if its struggling it is food. The walleye patterns and colors just help being its stuff they see everyday.
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Posts: 2687
Location: Hayward, WI | I think walleye is good because it has some contrast - brown against white. Walleye colored baits that have some yellow with a brown back and fairly prominent bars on them seem like a really good color to me. Good contrast, looks a like a perch, etc.
A rubber bait that is brown/white belly probably is fairy close to representing a lot of different fish. Suckers, bullheads, walleyes, smallmouth, rock bass, etc.
I think walleye is fairly natural and that's why a lot of guys like it, and the fish seem to like it in a lot of conditions.
Then again, what does cremesicle or firetiger or anything chartreuse or hot orange or pink resemble? I don't think it's always so much about matching the hatch as it is how well can the fish see it. MOST IMPORTANT is where the bait is put and how it's being worked.
curleytail |
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Posts: 1270
| BEcause they look cool! |
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Posts: 457
| Why walleye? For the same reason we buy and use nuclear clownpuke with a red stripe and purple polka dots. 
I'm still not convinced that color is the end all of muskie fishing. I think that other factors have greater influence. |
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Posts: 155
| Gold Rules ! Just ask me I.ll tell ya! |
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Posts: 717
Location: Grand Rapids, MI | As I've heard before, some colors catch fisherman more than fish. Myself, I like natural colors, and the walleye color really catches my eye. I have more browns and blacks in my boxes than I do chartreuse and orange. |
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Posts: 123
| I have quite a few lures in "Walleye" pattern. I only wish the lure manufacturers would call it something else. Many of us are doing a lot to convince walleye fishermen that muskies will not consume all of "their" walleye if they were stocked in "their" lake. Now imagine those people going to one of the muskie shows and seeing at every booth "walleye" colored lures. I don't think it helps our cause much, but maybe it doesn't hurt it that much either. Who knows. Personally, I'd rather the baits were called Perch than Walleye. |
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Posts: 134
| I would have to agree with curlytail on this one. I swear by a rubber bait that is the "walleye" patern/color scheme. The color of the bait i am referring to is more of a bronze with copper/gold sparkle to it and of course the white belly and spot on the tail. The presentation of most lures, especially swim baits and rubber, is that of a struggling or impared fish. Muskies are born predators, easy meals are for consumption in their world. I would agree that the "walleye" pattern is one of the more versatile patterns on the water (especially in a variety of water/light conditions). Not many color patterns can align with as many natural fish of prey as "walleye" (perch, smally, sucker, walleye, rock bass, etc.) |
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Posts: 222
Location: c.wis | walleye is one of my most productive colors- also ive had many muskie and pike go after walleyes ive had on my line- once I had a 8" sucker on a quickstrike and a eye took the bait- the walleye hit on the nose hook for the sucker and then a muskie hit the walleye/sucker both were still on the rig, when the ski hit the walleye and sucker broke loose and I landed the muskie-43"- so they do go after them but as others have said they are pred. so any fish that looks like food............... they are going to go after the easy meal- |
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Posts: 221
Location: ohio | Couldnt tell ya, But they work and thats good enough for me |
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Posts: 1030
Location: APPLETON, WI | *nod* Walleye-colored baits are always productive for me... well, usually, productive.  |
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Posts: 159
Location: Stevens Point, WI | Hey, i fish a place chock full of walleye and musky. I don't use my livewell anymore in favor of a stringer for walleyes- every year i've had a bunch of 'skis grab walleyes on the stringer, they're crazy! It happens consistently. Not coincidentally, walleye colored bulldawgs are awesome! I wonder what percentage of the muskies' diet here is made up of walleyes- we don't have any soft-rayed forage other than carp and mud-puppies, but tons of walleyes. |
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Posts: 264
| thats like saying why do we use lures that are orange/yellow or chartruse/black/orange etc. alot of the colors we use dont actually exist as a natural forage, but they still catch fish. so the color of the bait doesnt have to be of a high percentage of a muskies diet. if that makes any sense |
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Posts: 3147
| honestly here in MN we should make the plan to not fish Walleye color lures
here we are on the front of anti muskie movement and Ive been to the public input meetings and heard the rantings of MR Sportsman for responsible muskie management,,we show proof they dont eat walleyes has part of their regular diet,,then we turn around and buy throw walleye color lures,,walleye I think is one of the top two colors bulldawgs sells,,,This is good ammo for the antis here in Minn to use against us,,we know the true details but its things like this that can sway the average sportsman against us |
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Posts: 32886
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Tell the anti's we are throwing those lures to make SURE we condition the muskies not to eat ANY walleyes.
Might work... |
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Posts: 285
Location: NE Wisconsin | Baits are made to catch fish. They are "painted" to catch fishermen. And it works!! |
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Posts: 676
Location: Wisconsin | Maybe Walleyes shouldn't be so tasty...... |
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Posts: 1030
Location: APPLETON, WI | Muskiemetal - 7/8/2009 12:00 PM
Maybe Walleyes shouldn't be so tasty......
agreed. |
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Posts: 897
| why not just call them something other than "walleye pattern". how about "light sucker"? not really that much of a difference anyway. |
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Posts: 4053
Location: Land of the Musky | I think I have 6 or 7 "walleye" colors for my SuperDs/MegaDs. Why? They are my number one seller because they catch fish Funny though, the majority of the biggest fish my customers report to me are not on walleye colors but on the real wacky contrasting colors. Biggest pike so far was on a cisco color but pike don't count because they will eat anything! lol |
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Posts: 169
Location: Houlton, WI | its not that a musky sees a walleye colored lure and thinks of it of a walleye all the time. its just a good fish-catching color. Besides i think ciscos better |
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Posts: 1030
Location: APPLETON, WI | I think as mentioned previously, the "Walleye" color is marketed as such towards the guys who buy them... not necessarily due to the fact that the bait so closely resembles an actual Walleye. Whatever the case, it's a color that fish seem to be attracted to... |
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Posts: 126
| I use them because they look like a carp. |
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Posts: 1316
Location: Lebanon,Mo | Well if it helps,I caught my largest Walleye on a walleye colored bait. |
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Posts: 311
Location: Ontario | You can't go wrong with gold, black, brown or yellow in a bait. Throw in some bars/stripes and you've got a winner. A walleye-coloured bait looks like a smallie, carp, sucker, perch, rockbass. Many lakes have whitefish, herring and lakers in them that are very heavy on the gold-black-copper side too. If the bait runs right, let 'er rip. If you have a bait in a colour you love to use and it runs good, you're already standing on third base. |
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Posts: 170
| At least most musky baits don't have names like alot of the Lake Michigan stuff. I used to fish Lake Michigan a number of years ago with my Dad before he passed, and it was pretty basic stuff. Today it's baits like "Monkey Puke", "Dirty Tampon", "Bloody Nose"....jeeze, that's some nasty stuff! LOL... |
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Walleye colored lures