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| What presentation or pattern do you prefer to do and why? |
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| Jason,
Tough question because I have several favorite patterns, but I would have to say that my favorite is hard twitching bulldawgs. It is something that I have been doing a lot of the last couple of years, and have had tremendous success. When I say hard twitching, I mean really jerking the heck out of the dawg making it very erratic! It is hard on the back and arms, but it really works.
A great example is when I went and fished Cass Lake this summer with Ted Roos, and I put a dawg on. He said that muskies on Cass usually just follow dawgs, and when he saw how I worked the bait he about crapped his pants. He really thought it looked awesome, and about five casts later I nailed a 50.5" fish!!
It really triggers fish that aren't very aggressive, and I feel super confident throwing it behind other fisherman. If I see a boat on the spot I want to fish, or just leaving the spot, it doesn't bother me as much anymore because I will just hard twitch some dawgs, and I guarantee that they weren't doing that!!
Chad Cain
[email protected] |
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| There are so many patterns and techniques I like, it's hard to pick just one. I guess my favorite is topwaters on small streams. There's nothing quite like an evening on a local trout stream and having a 30-pounder materialize from the bottom and inhale a creeper. It's like something out of science fiction [:sun:] Very cool! |
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| Chad, what size do you prefer while "hard twitching" your dawgs? |
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| Jason, one presentation that has been working very well for me is crankbaits.
For some reason in the area where I live the fish don't seem to see a lot of crankbaits. I'm not talking minnowbaits, I'm talking Depth Raiders and baby Depth Raiders.
With a little, O.K. maybe a LOT, of practice you can fish these lures in and around any type of structure and they always seem to trigger fish. It takes some patience and practice but after a while you will be working these lures through cover like they don't have hooks. That is the key, get the crankbaits into the cover. God bless. |
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| Muskie Treats,
I use the medium size bulldawg for hard twitching. I am just not quite man enough I guess to twitch the magnum, I think I would keel over and die!![:p]
Chad Cain
[email protected] |
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| Thats a good question, I generally like to spice it up with techniques, but do have a couple favorites. These being either topwater (jackpot,topraider) or jerk baits(reef hawg,suick).These two have always been confidence techniques for myself and thats half the battle when fishing.Have also started to use the bulldawgs a little more extensively but due to the northern pike population on LOTW the baits tend not to last very long .
D'arcy Finlan
Darcy's Guide Service
www.darcyfish.com/Musky.html |
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| Over the years I would have to say twitching, I can usually get a muskie to hit when I get a follow twitching. This year I tried more sucker fishing spring and fall, I had great luck in hooking percentage and fish caught per time out. This might be due to my own flourocarbon rigs or just good placement and boat control.[:bigsmile:] |
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| That's kina tough Jason, I mean different times of year, weather conditons, and having an idea of what the fish have been eating in the past week usually dictates what I throw or recommend that clients throw.
I guess if I could have my choice....
Topwater - Ya gotta love the exposive strikes or when they just suck it in...slurrp[:p]
Second would be Glider's - I just like the different things you can do with the ones that are well made. Fun baits to work.
Third would be Cranks - Very versitile tool that can be worked a variety of ways and if done properly can teach you something about the bottom structure or weedline.
And who doesn't love the hard hits on "tails" and the serenity of creature fishing...or the click,click,click of the sucker reel..
I guess my least favorite thing is trolling...
I think if your going to do well at this crazy game you gotta be versitile and willing to adapt to changing conditions...
Curly, |
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| I love it when a fish slurps up a Topwater bait. I also get goose bumps when the fish are on a good bucktail bite. I would have to say though, that what I am best at is that jig thing. I just love makin' one bite that way. Lots and lots of multiple fish days on a jig. May seem boring to some, but I get a lot of fish on that jig. |
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| I am going to be different here and say spinnerbaiting.
I love my spinnerbaits just plainly because they catch fish plain and simple. They can be cast or trolled at many different speeds as well as been the best when it comes to been weedless. They also are better hookers as well as been easyer to release fish.
Now that I think about it they also are easyer to use for my rookie clients. Just tell them to cast it out and reel it in and hit them hard when they get a pull, plain and simple. [:sun:] |
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| Mine would be slow jerking the same HR, Suick or Jake basically all day. Must be done while smoking.....and smoking....and smoking.....only stopping to drink coffee.
Slamr |
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| Jason,
The last couple of years I have been working hard NOT preferring a pattern or technique. I found myself lulled into the same thing and getting into a rut. I have forced myself to fish with all baits and come up with good techniques and triggering tactics with each in order to broaden my horizons as a muskie fisherman. That is the best piece of advice I could give anyone - especially beginners. Force yourself to get good at a lot of different types of baits and techniques. Be as versatile as possible and be prepared to change in an instant.
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| Jason- Probably 80% of my Muskie fishing is deep water fishing.Spring and early summer might find my lures in a shallower range over open water;however once water temps and other conditions are right Ill be fishing at a minimum of 18'.
I use sinking cranks,sinking gliders, soft plastics and my own lure the Depth Charge.
Late fall I use live bait at the 30' to 35' depths |
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| 7 Islands:
Can you describe the Depth Charge
and how you use it?
By any chance do you have a pic. of it? |
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| Rick- the Depth Charge is a non- commercial Bait I make for myself and clients to use.Non -commercial because its a specialty bait that wouldnt fit the methods used by the general Muskie fishing public.
I needed a bait that would get down to depths of 20' to 35' fast,have a large profile,have a proven trigger on the drop,and probably most importantly, have a deadly triger while retreiving the bait across the bottom.
The bait has a large hard plastic body 61/2" long with a sampo snap swivel screwed and glued into the rear end of the "fuselage".Normally a regular size willowleaf blade is attached to the swivel.The willowleaf blade is the key here as it has flash and vibration during the drop and As I wind the bait across the bottom. BUT !!The key is that when the bait is given a sharp short pull the blade or "wing" loses its lift and drag effect and the body or "fuselage" is literally sling-shotted erratically up and off to one side with a wild rolling action that is the best "bust out" trigger Ive ever seen.After that move is complete the bait will go nose down again and flutter right back in the skis face if she hasnt hit in on the bust out.I incorporate two or three of these moves in a normal retrieve.By changing the blade type - for instance to a Magnum Colorado I can slow the drop,change the pitch etc for dropping the lure on a weedline or in front of timber on a deep shoreline.Using that same combo I can create a large profile and action over weedtops that has,in my opinion, a much better look than a bucktail or spinnerbait.
The complete lure is 11"s long with the willowleaf. The bust out move can only be done with the willowleaf style blade.
The lure is indestructable and casts like a bullet which is important in deep water situations. Ill try to use the digital and get a picture up for you as soon as I can.
Additionally the lure is an absolute killer when row trolled in the open water colunm. I designed the lure for deep water fishing but the adaptability of the lure for many options is obvious. The average Muskie person would pass it right by on the shelf without a second glance(perfect),but when you understand what it takes to create a perfect dying fish move in front of a big ski in deep water then it all makes sense.At least to me and thats all thats important. |
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| This sounds like a very interesting lure and presentation. I bet there are lots of guys who really want to see the picture and learn more about your presentations for deep water.
I certainly do.
Thanks |
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| Casting over and over and over again with a bunch of different lures.
Spring---Lipless Rattle Baits and Spring Pup Dogs
Early summer----Topwaters
Early Fall----Spinnerbaits
Fall and winter----Slow moving glides and jerks.
Tony Grant
www.kymuskie.com
www.muskiesupnorth.com
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| I guess this is where I confess that I prefer trolling to casting to start with. (Although I still cast, and have caught more than my share of fish casting over the years.)
Specialties? Well, I guess that I'm one of the few guys who considers spoons to not only be effective, but uses them fairly consistently. (I only have about 120 of them, and even designed a new model designed for muskies for Gibbs last season, that hopefully may be in test mode or production this coming season.) I think one would characterize my trolling style as unorthodox. I use long rods. I run anything and everything: jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, plastics... even saltwater stuff. I've even been known to troll surface baits. If I like the action, I'll try it. I'll run ultra-short (leader-length), or 75 feet back. I'll run 3 mph or 10 mph. I'll use planer boards or downriggers if I think they'll work. Who knows, outriggers could be next! In short, I am not afraid to try absolutely anything. The more stubborn the fish get, the more innovative I get. (I think the truth is that I am just a little more ornery than a muskie is.)
Steve Wickens |
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Pro's....What is your "Specialty" for muskies