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Location: Northwest Chicago Burbs | Was browsing a bass tackle forum today, not sure or remember why. Seemed to be a west coast website, because of all the talk about large swimbaits, and new rods for these large bass baits. They had a topwater bait with videos showing how it worked and the 15 pound bass it can catch. 9" wood bait shaped like a trout painted like a rainbow with bucktail tied to the rear hook. $69 bucks! Reminds me of shakers! Then there were forums and chats about all these new swimbait rods from almost every name brand! One brand well known by us guy's was selling for $299! For bass!
What? are these socal bass guys living on another planet? Don't they know what a musky is? And the tackle available. Why is this so hot now, are the bass out there just now becoming world record big?
I primarily fish musky 90% of the time and the other 10% for bass, pike, what ever, but I would love to show up out there in a 20 foot tuffy, with an 8' st. croix muskie tourney rod, shimano calcutta te 400 or luna, and having a 20 lb large mouth nail a magnum weagle, 13" suzy sucker, 10" glider, pounder, or double ten bucktail!!  Trolling spread with legend plows, perchbaits, 13" grandmas, believers! 
Edited by needa70lber 11/25/2007 12:02 AM
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Location: Northwest Chicago Burbs | What I dont get is....why is chasing a 20lb largemouth DUMB? Going out and trying to find the biggest of the big in a body of water...is dumb? Isnt that kind of what we do? |
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Location: Northwest Chicago Burbs | Slamr - 11/25/2007 12:03 AM
What I dont get is....why is chasing a 20lb largemouth DUMB? Going out and trying to find the biggest of the big in a body of water...is dumb? Isnt that kind of what we do?
No man, why don't they buy musky tackle! That's what's dumb. Why is this so hot when castaic baits have been around for so long? And I have caught big bass in the midwest for a long time on tackle completely geared for musky. Why buy a 9" topwater for $69 when a weagle or jackpot will do for tons less. And swimbait rods what for? When there are and were already tons of rods to cast these with. Us angler's have become too species specific I guess.
The forum was huge, too, but nothing about musky stuff when I tried searching with their engine.
This bass was tiny to what is possible out west, and down south in lakes with large forage.
Edited by needa70lber 11/25/2007 12:35 AM
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| On my first trip musky fishing I had a nice fish follow me in to the side of the boat where I froze up and watched it swim away. On the second pass through the hole right after I raised that musky I hooked into a nice 4lb small mouth on a jointed pikie minnow. |
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Location: Land of the Musky | About 1/3 of my big Super Shads I sell in the USA get shipped out West. I also noticed a lot of my 5oz SuperDs are going West and a lot into California and other BIG bass states. I personally have caught some huge bass on lake aconia and lake Minnetonka on 7" and 9" Suicks as well as various big swimbaits and big bucktails. Actually I catch more bass on muskie lures than pike in the metro area. |
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| The St. Croix Legend Tournament Mega Swim Bait Rod in the Bass series is one of the best muskie rods around. I've had mine(2) extended to 9' and can throw nearly anything with it. It's the closest I've found to the action of the old Sage 579 muskie blanks, which, in my opinion, are the best ever built. Steve
Edited by Steve Jonesi 11/25/2007 8:19 AM
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Location: Iowa Great Lakes | I have a friend in Cali, he's a lure maker for bass and stripers on the East Coast. I have been tyring for 2 years to get him to make muskie sized baits he just can't belive that fish will eat a bait like a Mag Dawg or Pounder. Guess they are in their own little world. |
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Location: Oregon | Bass in Cali grow to enormous sizes as a result of good genetics and abundant food. The reason so many anglers use trout swimbaits is because the bass in their area feed primarily on hatchery raised trout. If the bass are focused on trout, why not use a bait that looks just like one? The reason the swimbaits are so expensive is because they require considerably more time to construct. A swimbait with 3 joints and four seperate sections requires a whole bunch more work than a single pour of plastic needed to construct a dawg. These guys are using lots of other baits also but for some reason the swimbaits generate alot of the discussion, probably because they are big and expensive.
So far as why they fish for bass, well that is a geographical thing. Guys in Cali don't have musky so they focus on what they do have, bass! And everybody thinks that their fish are the best......midwest guys love musky and walleye, Cali, Texas, Arizona, etc., love bass, and northwest coast guys salmon. For me personally, I love all of them, if they bite and pull I will fish for them!!
RM
Edited by RiverMan 11/25/2007 11:24 AM
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| Steve Jonesi - 11/25/2007 8:18 AM
... old Sage 579 muskie blanks, which, in my opinion, are the best ever built. Steve
I cried(literally and figuratively) when I broke mine two years ago. It was given to me by a departed friend, and was also far and away my most favourite rod.
As far as the rest of it, think of the dividing line between the smallmouth anglers buying baits, and the guys that fish for largemouth. (not only baits, but rods/reels...) It is all pretty gear dependant, and gear is a lot of times species specific. Castaic baits have done an awesome job through the years of targeting the largemouth market, and thats really what it comes down to, marketing. |
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| I have several of the St Croix Legend Tournament Bass rods that I use for musky fishing. I like the lighter weight for long casting days. The Swim Bait and Mega Swim Bait rods are two of my favorites along with the Big Gulp flipping stick.
John |
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Location: Northwest Chicago Burbs | tacklebooty - 11/25/2007 7:56 AM
About 1/3 of my big Super Shads I sell in the USA get shipped out West. I also noticed a lot of my 5oz SuperDs are going West and a lot into California and other BIG bass states. I personally have caught some huge bass on lake aconia and lake Minnetonka on 7" and 9" Suicks as well as various big swimbaits and big bucktails. Actually I catch more bass on muskie lures than pike in the metro area.
Never new there were copies out there, better colors than rapala, make one with a diving lip and I may be interested. |
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Location: Ontario, California | Some Musky baits will work for Largemouth in California... that is a fact. A Weagle, XX at night, some gliders in dirtier water, etc... will work but for the most part... a lot of our lakes are gin clear and tiny. Bass are much more of a sight feeder in my opinion than Muskies are so realism and swimming action is key. A rainbow trout doesn't go throught the water with belly rolls or an erratic action. They swim very slowly (for the most part with a slight tail wag) and when they decide to take off... the motion is about the same but quicker. I could see more Musky baits working in dirty water but as I mentioned before most are deep and clear (up to 35 foot visability).
I have been a trophy bass hunter that exclusively throws Swimbaits since the mid-90's. The baits have come a long way since then. The realism is what most people are going for these days as there are so many options. Most of the bait manufacturers are garage guys so they don't have the capability to mass produce baits. That's where the price tag comes into play. I have some handmade baits that retail for as high as $300.
As far as rods go.... if you plan on doing it right, Musky rods (for the most part) are wrong as far as action goes. The clubby broomsticks common to Musky fishing will constantly rip hooks out of a bass' mouth. A true swimbait rod for Bass is not what a Musky fisherman would consider a swimbait rod.
Are we from another planet... sure you can say that but my 20 pound Largemouth will kick your 50 inch Muskies Arse  |
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Location: Davenport, IA | California_Muskie - 11/26/2007 6:23 PM
Are we from another planet... sure you can say that but my 20 pound Largemouth will kick your 50 inch Muskies Arse :)
Whats the bass going to do the muskie...gum it to death? Seriously though, take a close look at some of those bass bait. They may catch some muskies here that have never seen baits like that. I fish bass as much as muskies, and run across some pretty cool looking baits...very realistic. |
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Location: Northwest Chicago Burbs | Schuler - 11/26/2007 8:39 PM
California_Muskie - 11/26/2007 6:23 PM
Are we from another planet... sure you can say that but my 20 pound Largemouth will kick your 50 inch Muskies Arse :)
Whats the bass going to do the muskie...gum it to death? Seriously though, take a close look at some of those bass bait. They may catch some muskies here that have never seen baits like that. I fish bass as much as muskies, and run across some pretty cool looking baits...very realistic.
Thinking about it too Zach, may try some big bass baits, not the spring musky baits. Yeah I held the swimbait rod from St. Croix but it's to soft for what I primarily throw, especially grinders kinda like Pearson. Old 7000 or calcutta with power handle, depends on how thick the weeds. I don't think a 7' Muskie Inc. Fig Rig is a broomstick($159), can cast 1/2 once spinnerbaits all day long with a quantum salt cabo30 or older shimano curado 200. 5600 would work too. |
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Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Swim bait rods are 'bass' specialized, as are the baits. Hardly any dumber than specialized Muskie sticks. Some swimbait rods, like the Okumas, are very reasonably priced, IMHO. Some are very expensive. Sound familiar?
And, sorry, but a smallmouth OR Largemoth will rule the aquarium and shove a muskie around like a bad tempered bully. I had to get rid of my Bass in the aquarium because the abused my Pike and Muskie. Beat the crap out of 'em, just slamming into them all the time.
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Location: Northwest Chicago Burbs | Worrall ever cast your weagle on castaic? |
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Location: oswego, il | Steve, do you think age has something to do with that? For instance, I had a bass and a bluegill, both about 8" in a tank and the bluegill ruled the tank. I figured it was because the bass was not mature and the bluegill was. Green sunfish are the worst, they will kill everything including each other. |
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Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | If you are asking if I am a Bass fisherman, the answer is definitely yes. I've fished 'em from the Midwest to Texas, Arkansas and Florida, but have not yet fished California. I got started fishing Muskies a very long time ago on a trip to Bone Lake multi-specie fishing and still probably have more hours in chasing big Largemouth than Muskies. Why do you ask? And, by the way, the first name is Steve.
Zig-Zag baits like the Weagle originated as imitations (much larger, but still...) of a Zara Spook, well known as a top producing Bass lure. Only makes sense that if the Bass are really big and susceptible to topwater, the Weagle would catch them. Some folks have paid over $50 for a Weagle, too...
ToddM, no, the Bass I had were much smaller than the Pike and Muskie they abused regularly. The Smallmouth was just plain mean, and killed a crappie and a gill. |
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| Steve, I'd have to agree. Smallies are just naturally aggressive. They are mean little buggers when it comes to feed training, and aggression. They will push largemouth twice their size off food, in my experience. |
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| Smallies are twice the fighters largemouth are too.......wish they got as big!!
RM |
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| Teach those mean Smallies a lesson...throw a few Cichlids into the tank. I believe Peacock Bass are some of the biggest Cichlids. Ever see what a 10 lb Peacock can do to tackle? They fight more like saltwater fish than fresh. |
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