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Posts: 79
| I have spent alot of my summer on good water and in the moon phases and I am starting to notice that the cowgirl might not be what it used to be, "The only bait to throw". Dont bet me wrong I am still seeing fish and catching most of the fish I see on them. But I tend to not see as many fish as I used to when throwing a cowgirl. Are they finally becoming just another bait in the arsenal? In some ways, I hope so. Anybody else noticing this trend? |
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| maybe,maybe not but 1 thing is sure cowgirls is 100% useless in some lake or river that i know. |
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Posts: 425
| While spending the summer on Vermilion I got to notice a lot of "what people throw". Now I'm not 100% sure if every #10 blades bait that I "hear" and see flying threw the air is always the Original Double Cowgirl or not, with the DCG being the #1 blade bait out there I assume that most of the time, it is the Cowgirl, but, it could easily be a Glittertail, DC-10, Spanky bait, etc. But to answer your question, NO!! The Cowgirl is not just another bait. Once we hit the peak of muskie hunting time, starting around 4th of July. It was hard to go hit a spot, where you DON"T see or hear someone throwing big blades. Especially after dark, that cling, cling of the big blades still haunts me in my sleep. Those red and green lights 100 yards away are fun to listen to sometimes, music to my ears. Cling, cling, then the swoosh, swoosh, splash next to boat side, followed by the "holy !#!#! net, net, net!" Jake
Edited by 50"skie 9/6/2010 7:56 AM
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Posts: 425
| But I will have to say there was bit of #8 blades going threw the air pretty often as well. |
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Posts: 1296
Location: WI | I think with the warmer water temps this summerr I had less follows. The fish mostly ate or didn't. Last year I had tons of follows on cowgirls, so the only thing different (besides fishing pressure increasing) is the tempeture. |
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Posts: 1220
| As I have gotten older, and watched a lot of the different types of folks who walk around, I've noticed two groups that are always easy to spot. One is the (mostly younger) group who simply must have the newest, sleekest, fanciest, trendiest thing that's out there-all the time. And, the other is the (mostly older) group who for the longest time possible cling to their ideas and methods with a stubborness that allows for acceptance to change...almost none of the time. Many in the second group haven't even tried the DCG's yet, and many in the first group have already moved on. One thing is clear to me, there have been two MAJOR, MAJOR, MAJOR things happen to musky fishing in the last 5-7 years. One is the Bulldawg, and the other is the DCG. Visit any musky tournament where there are a hundred guys on the water tossing baits and 80 of them will be tossing one of those two. You can simply not over-rate the imortance of either one of these, or (until the next big discovery) net anywhere as many fish if you ignore them. Marty Forman |
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| palerider - 9/6/2010 12:54 AM
I have spent alot of my summer on good water and in the moon phases and I am starting to notice that the cowgirl might not be what it used to be, "The only bait to throw". Dont bet me wrong I am still seeing fish and catching most of the fish I see on them. But I tend to not see as many fish as I used to when throwing a cowgirl. Are they finally becoming just another bait in the arsenal? In some ways, I hope so. Anybody else noticing this trend?
You my friend are nuts, the cowgirl is still the #1 bait in my boat!!!!  |
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Posts: 14
| I have caught 5 ski's on cowgirls the last two times out. I raised 27 fish with cowgirls in wisconsin two weeks ago when i was over there fishin a honey hole !! The latest fish I caught this year was 51.5 inches my biggest ski ever so i really dont think that they are just another bait!  |
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Posts: 79
| I talked to some guys at the boat launch today and they saw a ton of fish on CG's today. Caught 3 of them. I now understand why I have not been seeing a lot of fish on them, I have nto been fishing the right structure for about 2 weeks now. I always struggle in July and early August but I seem to get on more fish come late August and September. Need more time on the water to figure them out. |
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Posts: 829
Location: Maple Grove, MN | I think it all depends on which lake you fish and how you fish. For some the Cow Girls, Eagle Tails, and other very large bucktails are the perfect lure. For others, those big bucktails are not very affective and probably not the best lure choice.
I have had little success with Cow Girls and here is why I no longer throw them:
1. The big blades make throwing them into the wind almost impossible and I like working into the wind.
2. I can't drive the Cow Girls through cover because they hang up like any other treble hook lure. I have to keep them up in the water column and farther away from the strike zone. Not my fishing style.
3. The increased drag of the big blades makes the lure harder to crank in and the stress of the rod puts a lot of strain on my back and shoulders.
4. In my boat, the fish just don't hit them while they hit spinner baits and topwaters much more consistently.
As with any lure: Some people like them. Some don't. To some they are special. To some they just are just one lure of many. And to some they are completely worthless.
I will add that I got out this weekend twice and both times outfished a number of boats throwing Cow Girls with my spinner baits. Not one of the boats I talked to came close to what we caught. To top it off, I was using small spinner baits and not even large ones. It was like fishing for Bass.
Edited by Herb_b 9/6/2010 10:38 PM
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| If everyone is throwing cowgirls, cowgirls they will catch em on. It's a #*^@ lure, its all about confidence and if people are throwing them all the time they will see fish and catch fish on em' too. So I will agree just another bait. Put on a #5 Mepps and they will catch muskies. Apex predators will eat whatever. They are just a fun attractive bait to throw. |
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Posts: 221
Location: Detroint Lakes, MN |
It's all relative to the lake you are on.
They are not just another lure on many lakes. Often they are the only lure that people see or catch fish on many given days. That's talking to people using many different types of baits, including my own experimenting.
But on some lakes, Leech comes to mind for me, they are just another lure, and often not effective at all.
JS
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Posts: 1220
| Already said enough about what I think of the bait, but would comment on the post relative to being a tough bait to toss into the breeze. Yes, it's tough to toss into the breeze, especially the Musky Mayhem original version. When I am committed to that bait and in the wind, I will set up the boat to mostly drift with minor correction and then cast downwind where you can toss it a mile. I have also found that certain lighter rods "load" with this bait a whole lot easier and therefore compensate for you. Example: I prefer to use an LT "Slingblade" and my saltwater reel when it works, but have a Lamiglas 8'6" XH with a Revo Toro that has a lot more flex and will toss the blades further into the wind if I really need to do it. The better idea, most of the time, is to switch to a different brand of "double tens" like the Bucher Magnum Tinsel, which I don't like as much as the Mayhem version but will generally cast one and one-half times farther right into the teeth of the wind. You can also add weight to the rear of your bait in many different ways that will also get you "out there" where you need to fish. Marty Forman |
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Posts: 829
Location: Maple Grove, MN | The truth is there is no one perfect lure for all lakes or occasions. The closest type of lure to that would probably be a spinner bait, but even then there are plenty of times and places where they are not the best lure either. The best thing is to have a variety of lures and presentations to cover the waters and times one fishes.
Whether your favorite lures are Cow Girls, Spinner Baits, topwaters, swim baits, crank baits, or whatever, there will be times when you will be better off going to a different presentation. That you can count on. |
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Posts: 317
| On the Fox Chain, last year, you either threw 10's or went home empty. It was seriously like 95% 10's, 5% topwater. This year, the fish won't even look at them, but are all over Mag 8's. Maybe it's the vibration difference. A few weeks ago, I was throwing 10's, and a buddy was throwing 8's. He has 12 fish up and three in the boat. I had zero follows. We had same color, speed, etc. Maddening. |
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Posts: 431
| Out of 18 fish on LOTW this year in my boat, I caught 8 fish on Double 10s- My dad caught 10 fish on baits other than Double 10s. I threw other baits and hooked a bunch of fish, but none landed on anything but 10s. There was a parade of blades on Pewaukee yesterday. I personally don't understand having 3 guys in a boat and all of them throwing double blades unless you've already tried other things that haven't worked while the blades keep producing. We had all 3 guys throwing blades at times, but never the same kind of blades. Usually one or 2 guys would be throwing something else and switch back to blades if the blades kept getting action. Also, my buddy had more action than anybody else I saw yesterday morning and he wasn't throwing blades. As has been said before, Double Cowgirls are a tool. |
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Location: SE Wisconsin | These baits, like any other, have their time and place. It really makes me wonder when I listen to guys mention their surprise to not see a fish while fishing shallow over weeds with their twin 10's no matter the conditions... There is no magic pixie dust, but a good pair of 10's definitely DO have their time and place. |
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Posts: 8844
| Lures = tools
No one tool is right for every job, no matter how good it is.
Sometimes they just don't want the double 10's.
Edited by esoxaddict 9/7/2010 11:27 AM
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| It's all a marketing joke to me.
1st. We all had to have the bulldawg.
2 years later we all had to have the triple D.
2 years after that all the talk was about the weagle.
Now it's the DCG.
The musky community gets together during the offseason and tries to promote new baits and then they hammer them home on the Internet message boards to the point the average putz thinks he has to run out and blow a $200 dollars on 5 bucktails.
It's all a joke. A musky is not going to follow a DCG and turn away from a dual bladed mepps.
If the fish is there and it's hungry it's going to eat. You're just fooling yourself thinking otherwise. I bet I could do jedi mind tricks on over 50% of America with the proper funding. |
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Posts: 221
Location: Detroint Lakes, MN |
Actually the weagle came before the DCG and the DDD.
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Posts: 182
Location: musky waters of SE, WI | "It's all a joke. A musky is not going to follow a DCG and turn away from a dual bladed mepps."
IF it werent for musky mayhem and the dcg there wouldnt have ever been any other dual bladed bucktails anyway. I stand with the original through and through. And i agree they have there time and place, they arent always going on cowgirls but i love it when they are.
Edited by Ryan_Cotter 9/7/2010 2:52 PM
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Posts: 32935
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | B,
I am SOOO glad we have folks to watch out for us so we don't go out and buy any of the hot baits.
Are you going to actually expect folks to believe that Dogs didin't change the way many anglers approach this sport?
The DCG is a phenom. Argue all you wish to the contrary, that lure catches fish and catches BIG fish. That lure started an entire paradigm shift in Muskie tackle. And there are certainly times a muskie will eat a double 10 and ignore a Mepps. Of course, there are times a downsized bait will do better. As someone above stated...tools. I prefer to have a complete toolbox.
Muskie community comes together to 'promote' a lure? I guess I missed that memo.
The Weagle works, and catches big muskies.
So does the DDD.
If they didn't, you wouldn't be talking about them now.
Ryan, There were production double bladed bucktails a long time ago. The BL Whoppertail comes to mind... |
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Posts: 182
Location: musky waters of SE, WI | Steve, i guess your right there were some before them, but they never got popular until mayhem brought them out. If you think about it cowgirls and "double blades" really have changed musky fishing.
Edited by Ryan_Cotter 9/7/2010 3:22 PM
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Posts: 4343
Location: Smith Creek | I think he was kidding about the muskie community getting together in the offseason. I think dcg's are good lures but we have to remember their appearance corresponded with an incredible bite on Mille Lacs and after that it became a self-fulfilling prophecy. BTW, anybody been killing em on the Shadillacs? |
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Posts: 32935
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | He wasn't kidding.
What lure isn't a 'self fulfilling prophesy' if it's popular? Some are way better than others, and the double 10 falls into that category. A lure won't reach the status of the Dawg, Weagle, or Cowgirl if it isn't producing...and producing very well.
Your last 'comment' proves the point. |
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| Ryan_Cotter - 9/7/2010 3:20 PM
Steve, i guess your right there were some before them, but they never got popular until mayhem brought them out. If you think about it cowgirls and "double blades" really have changed musky fishing.
Huh? You never heard of the Bootail Comboo or Shumway Flasher? The Comboo was made for about 15 years before the DCG. Excellent bait and very popular with many anglers. The Comboo and Flasher had twin 8 blades and the DCG was the first with twin 10 blades.
Re: the comment about working into the wind and not liking DCGs, throw the Mepps version. It casts like a bullet and catches fish just as well as a DCG. Mepps was late getting into the market but they have a great bait nonetheless.
Those of you who think baits with twin 10 blades are a fad or a self fulfilling prophesy, well, you're just leaving fish for the rest of us. Thank you. I've fished for muskies for over 30 years with over 2,000 in the boat and I've never seen anything like it. Plus, there are many times when you will be costing yourself fish by not throwing them and there are times when you'll cost yourself fish by not having ALL THREE guys in the boat using them.
Finally, to conclude this rant, anybody who thinks they need a special reel because twin 10 baits pull too hard should just man-up. I know of several women and kids half your size who will cast them all day. If you want extra speed, okay, try a salt water reel but you don't need anything special. |
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| sworrall - 9/7/2010 3:34 PM
He wasn't kidding.
What lure isn't a 'self fulfilling prophesy' if it's popular? Some are way better than others, and the double 10 falls into that category. A lure won't reach the status of the Dawg, Weagle, or Cowgirl if it isn't producing...and producing very well.
Your last 'comment' proves the point.
Well, I have to admit, that at times it does seem like there are certain people together pimping specific baits, I'm not saying recently, but a few years back. The lure I am thinking of is the Weagle. I will say that I do NOT own one, but I have a jumbo viper which I think is comparable and I can attest to success with this lure.
Before the Weagle was available to the masses there were countless threads about it in fact, the "developer" even had "Weagle, just another bait" as his footer on his posts.
To me it grew tiresome because EVERY fish these guys caught were "caught" on this lure. Now, that may have been the case, but I find it hard to believe. There is no question that the Weagle and the DCG work, but when people who have a monetary gain by the success of a lure are spending countless hours pimping it I guess I am a skeptic. Again, I am not saying anyone is doing this with the Cowgirl, but I do feel it happened with the Weagle.
I dont personally know Rusty Lilyquist, but I remember his "Lilytail" which was an ingeniously designed rubber skirted bucktail with a longer shaft and single hooks. It would go through reeds with ease. Now this guy didnt frequent musky boards, I think it was before their time, but every fish that hung in pictures on the wall in the Longville OneStop that he caught was on a "Lilytail".
I think in order to get an accurate assessment of whether or not something works, we need to listen people who do not get paid to use them or dont benefit monetarily from their use.
In that case, I dont get paid by anyone or get any lure for free. I have lures that I have confidence in and have proven to catch fish. My hottest lure is a CJ Willow Spinnerbait. It is so beat up now, you cant even tell what color it was. I caught my PB on it (49) and countless other fish.
Everybody has a lure that they count on. Maybe these guys use them that much. I think it would be a tremendous mistake to NOT have a DCG (or similar) in their toolbox. When nothing else is working, I throw the whole #*^@ box at them.
Now, if I actually catch a musky on one of the bucktails my buddy made me, I might somehow benefit from them. I could sell them on EBay for big bucks because he has since ceased production of his 20 bucktails per year. They must be collectors! LOL |
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Posts: 16632
Location: The desert | Musky anglers are Einsteins. Oy.
Edited by Pointerpride102 9/7/2010 4:01 PM
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Posts: 829
Location: Maple Grove, MN | Hey Captain,
I hear you about the CJs. We've been catching a lot of fish on them lately. Hot bait. Don't tell anyone. Check out the Minnetonka reports....
This is how I see it:
No matter what one throws, it is still just a lure. If a DCG works for someone, great! If a CJs works for someone, great! If a Weagle works for someone, great! If lure XYZ works for someone - great! The important thing is to have fun. If a bait isn't fun - don't use it.
Life is to short to worry about such things.
My opinion. |
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Posts: 1220
| Just for the record, I never got a free bait or even a shirt or a boat sticker from Musky Mayhem. I don't even know the people who run it. I did buy a few on sale yesterday at Cabela's ($17.99 for dbl. 10's) which is a great price. What I said is what I believe based on the addmittedly flawed individual and angler that I am. It is simply a beautiful product that hooks and hangs on to musky better than any single thing I have ever seen. Marty Forman |
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