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| Flashabou: Spanky Baits (everything else is inferior)
Marabou: Mepps Musky Marabou
Hair: VooDoo Tails (good luck finding them) or Eagle Tails |
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Posts: 669
Location: Twin Cities, MN | Bucktails are like potato chips, you can't have just one....
Here is what I have pared my box down to in order of used most.
Gerry's Girls
Spanky's
Homemade tails
Eagle Tails
Llungens
Ghosttails
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Posts: 553
Location: 15 miles east of Lake Kinkaid | DCGs and Glittertails for flashabou 10s
Musky mania trouble and double trouble "customized" with the bucktail replaced with flashabou or silicone |
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Posts: 157
| Gerrys |
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Posts: 908
Location: South-Central PA | Gerry's Girls and some homemade single 12's a buddy makes for me. I love the singles because they have little drag and I can easily run them very shallow if needed.
jeremy |
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Posts: 1106
Location: Muskegon Michigan | Vince Weirick - 6/21/2012 2:19 AM
I have used Spanky Baits for quite some time and have not been unhappy with any of them. While attending the Michigan muskie show on the first day, there were approximately 50 paid entrants all day. The show started at 3pm and went until 9pm. I watched Dan, the owner, start making bucktails for customers as soon as the doors opened and never stopped for 4.5 hours straight! These things are built to last and the guys on St. Clair know it.
There is one component on a Spanky that makes them hold up to St. Clair trolling. You don't get it on a Cow girl or any other Buck Tail that I know of. Craig Miller had Dan on his boat a few years back and those guys solved the problem. Its a Washer made from some indestructable rubber/plastic. It keeps the Clevis from disintegrating while rubbing on the first Bead. Other buck tails with #10 blades are eaten alive at 4 mph on st clair. The blades fall off when the clevis is gone. Spankys are the best Trolling Buck tail made.
I like a lot of other ones for casting including some of my own creations. Shumway flashers in double 8 colorado have put a lot fish in our boats. I pretty much make all our casting bucks now. I buy a few Mepps and Shumways still. Mike |
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Location: Ontario, Canada | Johnny Dadson's spinner baits. Imho every model he makes is awesome quality. Made in Ontario, Canada. Also sold in the Great !!USA.
Check out his site:
http://www.dadsonbladebaits.com
Al |
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Posts: 255
| Mepps giant killer and have had good luck on mepps comet minnow |
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Location: 31 | Kingfisher - 6/24/2012 5:33 PM Vince Weirick - 6/21/2012 2:19 AM I have used Spanky Baits for quite some time and have not been unhappy with any of them. While attending the Michigan muskie show on the first day, there were approximately 50 paid entrants all day. The show started at 3pm and went until 9pm. I watched Dan, the owner, start making bucktails for customers as soon as the doors opened and never stopped for 4.5 hours straight! These things are built to last and the guys on St. Clair know it. There is one component on a Spanky that makes them hold up to St. Clair trolling. You don't get it on a Cow girl or any other Buck Tail that I know of. Craig Miller had Dan on his boat a few years back and those guys solved the problem. Its a Washer made from some indestructable rubber/plastic. It keeps the Clevis from disintegrating while rubbing on the first Bead. Other buck tails with #10 blades are eaten alive at 4 mph on st clair. The blades fall off when the clevis is gone. Spankys are the best Trolling Buck tail made. I like a lot of other ones for casting including some of my own creations. Shumway flashers in double 8 colorado have put a lot fish in our boats. I pretty much make all our casting bucks now. I buy a few Mepps and Shumways still. Mike I think the key ingredient with Spanky’s is the heavier blades, and not so much the clevis. I’ve spun the blades off plenty of bucktails and it's always been the thin piece of metal on the front of the blade that fatigues for me. I've never had a large clevis fail… yet.
The thin brass blades on the DCGs/supermodels spin off pretty quickly, not even in the same league for trolling... totally agree that those baits are built to last!
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Posts: 909
| Mepps Maribous get my vote! |
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| dreamcatchers the reverse tie adds size to the appearance |
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Posts: 547
Location: Oshkosh | Gerry's Girls!
Peter |
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Posts: 14
Location: Toronto | Spanky baits |
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Posts: 51
Location: MI | Allen - 6/24/2012 6:46 PM
Johnny Dadson's spinner baits. Imho every model he makes is awesome quality. Made in Ontario, Canada. Also sold in the Great !!USA.
Check out his site:
http://www.dadsonbladebaits.com
Al
This! |
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Posts: 1106
Location: Muskegon Michigan | Jerry Newman - 6/24/2012 9:46 PM
Kingfisher - 6/24/2012 5:33 PM Vince Weirick - 6/21/2012 2:19 AM I have used Spanky Baits for quite some time and have not been unhappy with any of them. While attending the Michigan muskie show on the first day, there were approximately 50 paid entrants all day. The show started at 3pm and went until 9pm. I watched Dan, the owner, start making bucktails for customers as soon as the doors opened and never stopped for 4.5 hours straight! These things are built to last and the guys on St. Clair know it. There is one component on a Spanky that makes them hold up to St. Clair trolling. You don't get it on a Cow girl or any other Buck Tail that I know of. Craig Miller had Dan on his boat a few years back and those guys solved the problem. Its a Washer made from some indestructable rubber/plastic. It keeps the Clevis from disintegrating while rubbing on the first Bead. Other buck tails with #10 blades are eaten alive at 4 mph on st clair. The blades fall off when the clevis is gone. Spankys are the best Trolling Buck tail made. I like a lot of other ones for casting including some of my own creations. Shumway flashers in double 8 colorado have put a lot fish in our boats. I pretty much make all our casting bucks now. I buy a few Mepps and Shumways still. Mike I think the key ingredient with Spanky’s is the heavier blades, and not so much the clevis. I’ve spun the blades off plenty of bucktails and it's always been the thin piece of metal on the front of the blade that fatigues for me. I've never had a large clevis fail… yet.
The thin brass blades on the DCGs/supermodels spin off pretty quickly, not even in the same league for trolling... totally agree that those baits are built to last!
Jerry its the little black washer that makes Spanky baits hold up not the clevis. The heavier blades have more pulse at 4 mph. You are right about that. But it is the neoprene washer that keeps the clevis from wearing out. If you take that washer out ? a Spanky will only last about three hours. Craig and Dan solved that problem right on The Heatwave trolling on St. Clair. My own bucktails use the same blades and we use a small neoprene washer as well. Without the washer it doesn't matter what clevis you use it will wear out in a few hours at 4mph. The heavier blades will wear out the clevis while lighter blades will wear out the blade first. Heavier blades have a deeper throb but the sheer pressure from them eats clevis ends for breakfast.
I used some plastic beads at first between the first clevis and the metal beads and watched them wear out. Its pretty incredible how fast the plastic gets eaten up. The neoprene washer just doesn't wear out . I agree that thin blades wear out before the clevis but if you look at the clevis after trolling thin blades you will also see wear on them.
I don't like casting Heavy blades. The lighter thinner blades are what I use on most of my casting Bucks. I get better lift with .025 blades then .040. This why I think more Fish are caught casting with Cow Girls as it takes more speed to make a Spanky really wake up. I think both are great buck tails just different applications for me. I dont cast my Spanky baits at all.
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| Gerry's Girls and Kids are becoming one of my favorite tails. Glittertails are fantastic baits and offer many options for a guy to change things up on the fly. They are the tails I am pitching most often.
Brett Waldera |
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Posts: 945
| Trolling- Spanky's
Casting- Spanky's If fishing deeper water- cowgirls shallow
Spring-Rabid Squirrels
Jeff Hanson
madisonmuskyguide.com |
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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | GP Thumper AC-10's-get smoked.
Newgtails-they're 9's, really.
Mepps Marabous-finally gave in. |
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Posts: 257
Location: Madison, WI | Flashabou: Double Cowgirl
Marabou: Shumway Giant Flasher
Hair: Ghosttails
"Jackpot" John Schroeder |
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Location: SE Wisconsin | - Leaders & Lures Perfect 9's and 10's
- Bucher 500 & 700
- Meps Tandem Tail Musky Killer
- Rizzo's |
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| double show girl |
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Location: 31 | Kingfisher - 6/26/2012 9:09 AM Jerry Newman - 6/24/2012 9:46 PM Kingfisher - 6/24/2012 5:33 PM Vince Weirick - 6/21/2012 2:19 AM I have used Spanky Baits for quite some time and have not been unhappy with any of them. While attending the Michigan muskie show on the first day, there were approximately 50 paid entrants all day. The show started at 3pm and went until 9pm. I watched Dan, the owner, start making bucktails for customers as soon as the doors opened and never stopped for 4.5 hours straight! These things are built to last and the guys on St. Clair know it. There is one component on a Spanky that makes them hold up to St. Clair trolling. You don't get it on a Cow girl or any other Buck Tail that I know of. Craig Miller had Dan on his boat a few years back and those guys solved the problem. Its a Washer made from some indestructable rubber/plastic. It keeps the Clevis from disintegrating while rubbing on the first Bead. Other buck tails with #10 blades are eaten alive at 4 mph on st clair. The blades fall off when the clevis is gone. Spankys are the best Trolling Buck tail made. I like a lot of other ones for casting including some of my own creations. Shumway flashers in double 8 colorado have put a lot fish in our boats. I pretty much make all our casting bucks now. I buy a few Mepps and Shumways still. Mike I think the key ingredient with Spanky’s is the heavier blades, and not so much the clevis. I’ve spun the blades off plenty of bucktails and it's always been the thin piece of metal on the front of the blade that fatigues for me. I've never had a large clevis fail… yet.
The thin brass blades on the DCGs/supermodels spin off pretty quickly, not even in the same league for trolling... totally agree that those baits are built to last!
Jerry its the little black washer that makes Spanky baits hold up not the clevis. The heavier blades have more pulse at 4 mph. You are right about that. But it is the neoprene washer that keeps the clevis from wearing out. If you take that washer out ? a Spanky will only last about three hours. Craig and Dan solved that problem right on The Heatwave trolling on St. Clair. My own bucktails use the same blades and we use a small neoprene washer as well. Without the washer it doesn't matter what clevis you use it will wear out in a few hours at 4mph. The heavier blades will wear out the clevis while lighter blades will wear out the blade first. Heavier blades have a deeper throb but the sheer pressure from them eats clevis ends for breakfast. I used some plastic beads at first between the first clevis and the metal beads and watched them wear out. Its pretty incredible how fast the plastic gets eaten up. The neoprene washer just doesn't wear out . I agree that thin blades wear out before the clevis but if you look at the clevis after trolling thin blades you will also see wear on them. I don't like casting Heavy blades. The lighter thinner blades are what I use on most of my casting Bucks. I get better lift with .025 blades then .040. This why I think more Fish are caught casting with Cow Girls as it takes more speed to make a Spanky really wake up. I think both are great buck tails just different applications for me. I dont cast my Spanky baits at all. That's interesting, thanks for your insight. I looked at some Spanky's I have and the only thing I noticed was a small piece of rubber looking stuff, but it was nowhere near the clevis. These are some d10 hair balls and the clevis looked okay still. Does that neoprene washer you mentioned need to be directly behind the clevis to prevent the problem you're talking about? I've been trolling single 10s for 20 years, but almost exclusively with the lighter blades, last year I trolled some heavier blades without any issues so I'm a little concerned with some of the .040 blades I assembled this past winter. I will definitely be keeping an eye on them! The only issue I've ever had is with the .025 blades as mentioned, and I totally solved that by dismantling and installing a split ring on the blade. How many of those blades have you lost because the clevis failed? And would you be able to put a picture up of that neoprene washer detail up or email too please. thanks [email protected]
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 split ring repair.jpg (88KB - 168 downloads)
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Posts: 720
| Voodoo tails and anything Crazy "D' tacklw use to make. I've had a lot of fun with those baits.
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