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Posts: 4
| I am looking at starting up musky fishing, but want to stay away from the larger lures such as bulldawgs and cowgirls. I am more of a small lure guy and Would prefer To use smaller bucktails, spinnerbaits, and top water. Would I be limited in the amount and size of fish that I catch if I limit myself to just smaller lures? |
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| Nope, you can catch plenty on smaller baits. It becomes more about speed, skill, and technical presentation. The big baits shrink the learning curve, but also can take a toll on the body. I like to use a mix of both. BR |
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Posts: 1084
Location: Aurora | Amount no, size arguably.
Your start up approach is a solid one.
With minimal start-up cost you'll be addicted in no time with far more knowledge than most that choose to leap in.
Big rods, big baits & storage issues will come once addiction sets in with divorce, physical therapy & destitution close behind.
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Posts: 866
Location: NE Ohio | just throw what you want and just have fun doing it. i catch fish of all sizes on smaller baits all season long. good luck and have fun! |
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Posts: 98
| Plenty of muskies were caught before this whole big-bait trend came about, so I don't see why you still can't catch them with smaller lures. As for bigger fish, I think your odds are better using larger lures, but that doesn't mean they can't be caught on smaller profiles. If you're just starting, maybe start with the lures you're talking about and buy one or two larger lures and ease into it. Never know, you might change your thinking down the road, gotta find what works for you. |
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Posts: 1297
Location: Hayward, Wisconsin | Also depends on where you are fishing and what is available fish size wise as well. |
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Posts: 140
Location: Northern Illinois | Also on heavy pressured waters, I think smaller baits can be a little more
effective as fish see mostly larger lures banging around. Good one SideJack,
made me chuckle!! |
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Posts: 785
| If it's a physical limitation then sure throw smaller stuff. You'll have the ability to catch plenty of fish but will likely be limiting your ability to contact as many trophy class fish. If it's not wanting to spend 25$ on a lure I'd get over that. Nobody NEEDS 50 cowgirls. One or two will get you by and in the right situations be the difference... not to mention I've been seeing a lot of new looking 'big' baits in the buy/sell/trade forum for reduced prices. |
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Posts: 216
| You here of Walleye fisherman getting a few monster skis every year on small stuff.I've seen some pigs willing to smack a 6" jake,caught one of my biggest. |
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Posts: 1425
Location: St. Lawrence River | You will catch the most muskies on whatever you fish the most. Don't overthink it. Get a few baits and get at 'em. |
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Posts: 157
Location: Lincoln, NE | Also there are ways around it. You can use just smaller lures but if you feel they're biting better on big stuff you can adapt without having to buy a XXXH rod, big reel and giant baits. My dad doesn't throw the pounders and monster medussas like we do but he throws regular bulldawgs which are small but offer the same great action. My sister isn't going to be throwing pounders either but there is a strong pounder bite where we fish so she got some tubes and jimmys. Same big profile with a fraction of the weight. Also on crankbaits if you don't want to spend $40 on a 13" crank you can buy a 10" crank for $20 and add a plastic tail on the back hook or replace the back hook with one that has bucktail hair on it and you have a much bigger profile at a fraction of the cost and easier castability/retrieve. |
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Posts: 1106
Location: Muskegon Michigan | Taylor, My wife won two Muskies inc Women's titles and has 5 Muskies over 50 inches. Her 55 inch fish came on a double 10 Spanky bait which was trolled. All of her other fish which total over 500 caught were taken on lures 7 inches or smaller. She simply cant throw large baits and catches most of her fish on twitch baits in the 4 to 7 inch range. She has never caught a fish on a rubber or soft plastic lure. When I'm throwing double 10 buck tails she is throwing 1 or 2 ounce spinner baits or double 8 blade buck tails. Her fish are not any smaller then mine. Even today both of us spend the majority of our time casting smaller baits like the Talonz Little Claw twitch, the crane 205,206 and 207 , 6 inch Big Games, Shumway Flashers and double 8 buck tails that I make and sell on Ebay. However as Larry Ramsell said It really does matter where you are fishing and When. But you cant go wrong starting out with 4 to 8 inch cranks and smaller buck tails like the Mepps Musky Killer and Shumway Flasher. Regular size Bull dawgs get bit all the time. Check out our line up at Fishall lures. I build a nice twitch bait that is not real hard to work and does not take a huge rod and reel combo to get it done. Look at some Crane baits and get some before Bill stops making them. Also look on Ebay for baits like the Jack Pot which are not real big either and still catch lots of big fish. Good luck and feel free to contact us as we dont just sell lures but also help newbies get started with tips and instruction on how to use WHAT YOU HAVE. Mike |
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Posts: 182
| I have two 50" fish a couple years ago on the smaller Rabid Squirrels. These are not big at all. Smaller stuff is a good way to start. When you get really addicted you can push the pain of throwing a pounder out of your mind in a November snow squall. Throw all hope out. |
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Posts: 1084
Location: Aurora | Corso Mike - 2/24/2014 12:35 PM
... When you get really addicted you can push the pain of throwing a pounder out of your mind in a November snow squall. Throw all hope out.
I strip line off the reel into a bucket and hurl pounders overhanded at the reef/weed bed then reel/rip um in. I get better distance with the 2 pounders fer some reason.
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Posts: 32
Location: Tower, Lake Vermilion | Most of the youngsters on the board would call that going "Old school" but believe it or not, people still catch lots of Muskies on smaller baits. I have caught numbers of fish over the 50" mark and I seldom throw the "New" monster sized baits. On lakes where everyody is throwing cowgirls and bulldawgs, tossing something different can be an advantage. Use what you have and if it is what you want to do you can always adjust your equipment to throw the "Big" stuff some time in the future.
"Ace"
Edited by aceguide 2/24/2014 4:19 PM
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Posts: 410
Location: Wakefield, MI | Mepps Musky Killer is probably my highest producing bait. 1/2 oz tandem spinnerbait has put plenty of muskies in the boat as well. Heck my dad had a high 40s to the boat with a beetle spin but couldn't get it in the net, have actually landed a few on beetle spins, 36" I think was the biggest. |
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Posts: 455
| I mainly troll so extra effort with big lures is minimal. I`m convinced it only seems like you get more big fish on big lures because you are eliminating a % of smaller fish. The only time I go magnum is when I need a big bait to get deeper. Because I would rather get the small ones too. Also I feel an aggressive fish will eat a small lure but a neutral fish may not eat a big lure. This sport is about getting aggressive fish to find your lure and big lures are easy to see so you can cover water fast. That advantage can fade quick though as you get tired. Like Mikes wife I managed to boat hundreds of fish without ever throwing a pounder or cowgirl. Caught a few trolling double tens that's about it. I wouldn`t even consider casting that stuff. Rizzo Wiz for me please. With a powerful reel you don`t even know your reeling anything in and you hook just about every fish. Plus no major effort to remove hooks. Also have got a few over 50" on five inch lures. |
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Posts: 182
| Sidejack - 2/24/2014 12:44 PM
Corso Mike - 2/24/2014 12:35 PM
... When you get really addicted you can push the pain of throwing a pounder out of your mind in a November snow squall. Throw all hope out.
I strip line off the reel into a bucket and hurl pounders overhanded at the reef/weed bed then reel/rip um in. I get better distance with the 2 pounders fer some reason.
velocity x mass
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Posts: 994
Location: Minnesota: where it's tough to be a sportsfan! | I never hit the water without a box of smaller baits. But if you are on a known Big Fish water....step it up a bit. It really isn't that the big fish won't hit the smaller baits they will, you are just going to the gun fight with a knife that's all. Smaller bait = smaller hooks and allot of times that doesn't add up to good hooking ability. |
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