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| Here is a question for those of you who believe in downsizing for spring. I was out on a Southwest PA lake yesterday (saw nothing; caught nothing); and I kept thinking of this: How far down should the downsizing go?
I have a complement of 6" Jakes, Grandmas, and Baby Depthraiders, and a couple 5.5" Wilys. But I was in a Gander Mountain store recently and eyed the No. 14 Rapala Husky Jerks. Would anyone ever go down that far (throwing the lures with, say, pike tackle)?
We are not interested in trophies; just catching fish. |
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Posts: 32922
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | I've caught a bunch of Muskies on Husky Jerks. |
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Posts: 968
Location: N.FIB | have you tried traps,last year one of my club members was trolling for walleye`s and got a 46incher on a small rapala.The traps I like are the oversized bill lewis and the hammershad traps,both come built for muskie.also the bill lewis traps work all year long
Edited by CASTING55 4/3/2010 10:09 AM
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Posts: 433
Location: Cedarburg, Wisconsin | When it was really tough conditions, we've gone down to a number 3 Mepps with bare treble already and had fish follow and hit, but I'd rather go the other way, larger, and then fish slower, painfully slower with 8" gliders. I figure if there is an easy target the fish will go after it but if there is a faster smaller lure unless they are really on, they will probably ignore it.
Whatever worked for me last fall when it was the same water temps is a good choice to start with I figure and then adjust from there. |
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Posts: 2691
Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin | Downsizing can work for muskies even with baits as small as the No 9 shad raps. I have caught lots of Spring muskies through the years with Shad raps, husky jerks, smithwicks, rapala 18's and the jointed rapala's. I catch more fish on Slammers now because they are built to handle the power of the muskie. The smaller baits listed above were used on bass or walleye tackle. Slammers work great on traditional muskie set ups. 5 and 6-inch Slammers Rock in Spring. Smokey's Muskie Shop will be having a sale soon on all Slammers. Buy 3 get 1 free I believe.
Small baits work but you must match the line, rod and reels to the lures. Very hard to use small lures with your standard muskie rods and reels. I have special rods set up for the small stuff. It's fun bass fishing for muskies when the bite is off due to a cold front or something.
Fire line, light power pro, mono, and copolomar line works great for small baits. A 7ft flipping stick is a great choice. Fast action tip with some back bone make a great rod. |
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Posts: 182
Location: musky waters of SE, WI | I picked up a Mojo Bass 7'9" swimbait rod rated for 1-4oz, just for this application. I liked the spilt grip the most, and for a $110 well see how it works this spring.
Edited by Ryan_Cotter 4/3/2010 11:28 AM
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Posts: 13
Location: NW Wisconsin | After catching musky on small raps and mepps while bass fishing and getting several follow ups, I have come to realize smaller size lures can be a trusted musky bait, especially in spring.
Edited by LakerWI 4/3/2010 11:43 AM
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Posts: 1030
Location: APPLETON, WI | Ryan_Cotter - 4/3/2010 11:27 AM I picked up a Mojo Bass 7'9" swimbait rod rated for 1-4oz, just for this application. I liked the spilt grip the most, and for a $110 well see how it works this spring. Where'd you get the rod...? |
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Posts: 182
Location: musky waters of SE, WI | When gander first got them at the store they were marked $109.99 so I bought one. But they were miss marked or something cause now they have them for $130. This is the Waukesha store I don't know about the others |
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Posts: 692
Location: Pelican Rapids, MN | I like some bass sized spinnerbaits with 1" grub trailer - rattle traps or rattle baits - Husky Jerks with a 1" grub tail on rear treble - Spring Dawgs. That's when nothing else works. Usually, it is Lil' Eagle Tails, 7" Grandmas, Baby Girls, etc. |
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Posts: 742
Location: Grand Rapids MN | Like Mike said the 5" & 6" Slammers are great little cranks. Run shallow with big rolling wobbling action for its size. But I have the older wood ones and the hardware is really light on them. I don't crank down my drag and us my 8' MH Fenwick rated for 3/4-3 oz lures for these baits. I also like the 5.5" X-raps, 6" Phantoms, Shallow Invaders, and of course a number of blades. I don't really down size just because its spring but prefer to slow down and make things a little more "herky-jerky". |
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Posts: 3242
Location: Racine, Wi | You can definitely get bit with the husky jerks early in the year. I've actually taken some pretty nice fish on those (although, I really don't use them as often as I used to any more). I throw them on a 7' MH Premier when I do throw them, and use 14# test Pline with 50# tyger leader on the front end.
The nice thing is that you'll pick up some nice bonus fish on them like nice smallies and largies early on. |
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Posts: 1106
Location: Muskegon Michigan | Mikes Extreme - 4/3/2010 12:09 PM
Downsizing can work for muskies even with baits as small as the No 9 shad raps. I have caught lots of Spring muskies through the years with Shad raps, husky jerks, smithwicks, rapala 18's and the jointed rapala's. I catch more fish on Slammers now because they are built to handle the power of the muskie. The smaller baits listed above were used on bass or walleye tackle. Slammers work great on traditional muskie set ups. 5 and 6-inch Slammers Rock in Spring. Smokey's Muskie Shop will be having a sale soon on all Slammers. Buy 3 get 1 free I believe.
Small baits work but you must match the line, rod and reels to the lures. Very hard to use small lures with your standard muskie rods and reels. I have special rods set up for the small stuff. It's fun bass fishing for muskies when the bite is off due to a cold front or something.
Fire line, light power pro, mono, and copolomar line works great for small baits. A 7ft flipping stick is a great choice. Fast action tip with some back bone make a great rod.
Well spoken, Indeed you need to match the rod reel and line weight to use smaller lures or you will just tear hooks free or straighten them out. My small lure casting rod is a joy to fish muskies with. Its a custom tied 8 foot St. Croix Basss mag flippin stick (telescoping) rod. The reel is low profile Phlueger Trion spooled with 40 pound power pro. My leaders are 45 pound 7 strand Mason. This rig has never failed me in 8 years of use. With it I can trow the mini Bagley shads, Crane 104,205 and any small rapalas. # 6 blade mepps get some time but mostly small cranks like Cranes. It has the perfect spine and power point for small lure hooks and plenty of power to hold even huge fish and not over play them. When down sizing tackle though you must be very aware of the condition of your leaders and lines. Any weak spots need to removed and leaders replace when ever they start to fray or get kinked up. Wire is cheap and as I make my own leaders I change up several times per day.
W e recently have fished twice on a small Indiana lake and learned a hard lesson on fishing too big. After talking to a local couple who boated 8 fish last wednesday all on 5 inch lures we submitted and put the big baits down . Finally put a fish in the boat with a 4 inch Rippin Shad trolling. 25 hours on that lake and not one large lure got any attention at all. Every fish contact we had were on lures under 6 inches. Even my 6.75 inch Little Claws which normally produce were too big for these fish. 5 inch crane baits, tuff shads, Talonz Rippin Shads, small SS. SHADS, and other little bass size baits got attention. Kingfisher |
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