Soft Plastic Musky Lures
Hawkeye
Posted 9/12/2009 11:10 AM (#399360)
Subject: Soft Plastic Musky Lures


There are some soft plastic lures out there that have caught some nice fish---BullDawgs, Kickin' Minnows and so on. But I've always been reluctant to spend the bucks for one, cautious that the Muskies will have it torn up after only a few times. Several of my hard plastics have some nasty teeth marks on them.

Do you guys that use the soft plastics find that they do get torn up pretty quick, or do they last you for a while?

esoxfly
Posted 9/12/2009 11:23 AM (#399362 - in reply to #399360)
Subject: Re: Soft Plastic Musky Lures





Posts: 1663


Location: Kodiak, AK
It all depends. I've got a shallow Dawg that was torn up pretty bad after one 40" fish. I need to repair it before it goes back in the water. Another plastic I have has gone through four big fish now with only some teeth marks to show for it. They're getting better with their plastics. The new Pro Dawgs are of a tougher mixture, and the Medussas are a good, hard plastic too, though I just got some of those last weekend and haven't got a fish on one yet. Guide Dog Tackle makes some soft plastics as well that I like. They've got a couple different plastics, one is alot tougher, like the Medussas, and another is softer like in the Pro Dawgs.

But yeah, soft plastics are great for fish, but they do have the drawback of not being a Suick or Believer as far as longevity. But they are far better than they used to be and getting better if you ask me. Competition drives innovation as they say.
jasonvkop
Posted 9/12/2009 11:59 AM (#399366 - in reply to #399360)
Subject: Re: Soft Plastic Musky Lures





Posts: 612


Location: Michigan
Like esoxfly said, it depends. Some baits are done after one fish while others have multiple fish and are still usable. The one thing I do know about these baits is they are definitely worth it!! THEY CATCH FISH PERIOD. Lots of good baits out there too - SuperDs, dawgs, medussas, etc. Look into Tackle Industries' baits as they will save you some money and will put lots of fish in your boat.
Medford Fisher
Posted 9/12/2009 3:30 PM (#399383 - in reply to #399360)
Subject: Re: Soft Plastic Musky Lures




Posts: 1057


Location: Medford, WI
Hawkeye, I just posted a little bit about this in a post about soft-plastic color choices. My fishing partner and I use soft-plastics probably 70-80 percent of the time we're fishing. We've had success with MI Bulldawgs and they will continue to catch fish; however, we were going through so many due to several reasons (lead-head ripping out the front of the bait, hook hangers/wire ripping through the bottom and tails getting shredded). This year, we switched over mainly to Shack Attack Curly Sues and have had tremendous success with them and haven't had to replace a single one of them yet. I've got one with 10+fish on it that I still throw confidently. Definitely something to look into if you're thinking of purchasing soft plastics. As Jason mentioned, whatever you decide, soft plastics are worth it....period!
Any questions, feel free to PM me.
-Jake Bucki
esoxfly
Posted 9/13/2009 11:37 AM (#399456 - in reply to #399360)
Subject: Re: Soft Plastic Musky Lures





Posts: 1663


Location: Kodiak, AK
I forgot about Shack Attacks! Great baits and USA-made.
Tackle Industries
Posted 9/13/2009 12:30 PM (#399458 - in reply to #399456)
Subject: Re: Soft Plastic Musky Lures





Posts: 4053


Location: Land of the Musky
Since I make and have about 50000000 swimbaits in my garage now I don't buy many but when I need a color I don't make I buy Shack Attack swimbaits. Nothing will ever beat my favorite lures (Suick) but Shack Attack swimbaits will always be a close second.
JMO
James
Targa01
Posted 9/13/2009 12:53 PM (#399466 - in reply to #399360)
Subject: Re: Soft Plastic Musky Lures





Posts: 742


Location: Grand Rapids MN
As mentioned it can vary as to how long it takes for them to get tore up but one thing that seems to help is on smaller fish don't lift/hold them at the surface while fighting the fish as they will tend to thrash more and tear up baits faster. Hopefully that made sense.......