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Posts: 241
| OK - I sat in the seminars in Chicago and just go my issue of Musky Hunter.
What about this "big bait revolution"?
I still like my smaller baits - Mepp's, Buchertails, etc. and regular sized "dawgs.
Anybody in the "small bait minority" with me?
'draft |
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Posts: 32882
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Yes. |
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Location: sneaking out to get on the water ;-) | Each deffinetly have their places a couple of my smallest fish came on giant baits and vice versa |
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Posts: 538
Location: northern indiana | I let the fish tell me what they are wanting, whether it be smaller in the spring and in most cases the bigger the better in the fall. |
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Posts: 908
Location: South-Central PA | I throw 5.5"-6" crankbaits almost exclusively. When I uses bucktails, it's either double 8's or a single 12. This time of year in PA, the best producing bait for me is a 6" paddle tail bass swimbait.
Going big for me is 8" lures although I will throw some 10" and 12" crankbaits occasionally.
jeremy |
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Posts: 415
| I am on both sides. For some lakes and times of the year I still believe in small baits, and same goes for large baits. I do feel in general MOST musky anglers would benefit from staying smaller than what has become the norm. Pounders and double 13's are awesome on some bodies of water at some times, but they are not for every situation. |
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Posts: 2024
| I don't know about success with smaller baits with musky, but when I first bought musky lures last year I threw in a Baby Girl, so I could get a a free T-Shirt. I was on a lake here in Arkansas testing the new lures I had bought and was fishing with the babygirl and caught a 4 lb largemouth. I just added some more bucktails and got showgirls, double showgirls and again added another babygirl. I can use them with LM and stripers here in Arkansas. A guy who guides on some small IL lakes told me to downsize when I was fishing there last fall, because of the forage in the lake. |
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Posts: 682
Location: Sycamore, IL | Yes, I fish "smaller" baits most of the time. However, that is because the lakes that I fish most are shad based and I am a believer in not going much larger than the primary forage base. If I go to a lake with a larger forage base I usually up size my lure. Also, I like all of the bonus fish I catch while using "smaller" lures. Another thing to consider would be the avg. size fish in the lake you are targeting.
On a side note...I go on a trip with my Dad a couple times a year. He used to be into muskie fishing but has taken to the jig and minnow for bass and walleye. For the past 2 trips he has caught muskies on his little jig and minnow set-up. He catches a lot more fish than I do and still gets to take a picture with a muskie! I guess sometimes they just want a snack and not a meal... |
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Posts: 2024
| Proof it works... I assume people were catching musky for years prior to the big bait craze.
http://muskie.outdoorsfirst.com/board/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=78...
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| You probably just catch larger fish on larger baits, regardless of the forage. Muskie are predators. Even in trout fishing, you can drift the smallest midges possible and do great, put on a streamer and your average size goes way up. BR |
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Posts: 553
Location: 15 miles east of Lake Kinkaid | "Does wi & mn have bigger forage than say cave run?"
Yes, 2-4x bigger by length, probably 5-10x bigger by mass.
With that being said muskies from shad-based reservoirs readily eat 10-14" crankbaits as well as pounders certain times of the years.
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Posts: 944
| There is a time for both, last year I did way better with smaller lures than with big ones especially if the fish were not very active.
I always start out the day having people throw both sizes and let the fish tell me what they want
When they were active they would hit anything regardless of size for me
Durring coldfronts I always use small baits.
I still use large baits most of the time, to weed out pike or smaller muskys
with that being said the 2 longest fish I've had my hands on were both on MX6's
Alot depends on what forage your fish are eating and what time of year it is.
Jeff Hanson
madisonmuskyguide.com |
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Posts: 2024
| Since we are discussing smaller baits, I have a question that nobody answered on another thread. I was able to get some 7" Rapalas F-18's and a 5 inch kicking minnow on sale. I can use them here in AR for bass, as well as try them in MN this summer.
I was wondering about the hooks though. Should I switch the hooks for some 2/0 musky hooks? I will be putting on new split rings of course, but the hooks out of the package look too flimsy to handle a musky or large pike. I will also have to add a little weight. I know it will affect the action, but for $4 I couldn't pass on them. |
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Posts: 833
| There is a lot of "Match the Hatch" going on here. Not saying that is wrong, but I believe that Profile in of itself can also be a trigger. To give a case, I caught my last fish of the year, a sub 40", on a Parrot Pounder. About an hour prior the same fish lazily followed a 16" sucker minnow. This fish obviously wanted a big meal. This was on lake Minnetonka where the primary forage is panfish. Not many 20" bluegills around and none of them have a giant chartreuse tail.
Of course, I also had action this fall on natural colors and smaller baits. (My back loves those days) For me it isn't a question of a case for one bait vs. the other. My view is that I should be proficient in the use of both small and large baits and then try to figure out what the fish want on a particular day. The last part is where I think the real challenge lies, especially if you fish solo. |
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Posts: 1360
Location: Lake "y" cause lake"x" got over fished | Brad P - 1/23/2013 10:37 AM
There is a lot of "Match the Hatch" going on here. Not saying that is wrong, but I believe that Profile in of itself can also be a trigger. To give a case, I caught my last fish of the year, a sub 40", on a Parrot Pounder. About an hour prior the same fish lazily followed a 16" sucker minnow. This fish obviously wanted a big meal. This was on lake Minnetonka where the primary forage is panfish. Not many 20" bluegills around and none of them have a giant chartreuse tail.
Of course, I also had action this fall on natural colors and smaller baits. (My back loves those days) For me it isn't a question of a case for one bait vs. the other. My view is that I should be proficient in the use of both small and large baits and then try to figure out what the fish want on a particular day. The last part is where I think the real challenge lies, especially if you fish solo.
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What he said^^^
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Posts: 415
| Brad P - 1/23/2013 10:37 AM
My view is that I should be proficient in the use of both small and large baits and then try to figure out what the fish want on a particular day
Agreed. I feel a lot of guys miss out by being to strict on one side or the other. They both have their place and time and that doesn't mean strictly seasonal either. Sometimes large baits in spring produce better and sometimes small baits in fall produce best. You need to be prepared for both circumstances. |
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