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Posts: 84
| Just wandering how many of you guys are like me? All I use is smaller lures (mainly becasue bad shoulders that kill me) like bomber long a mags and windels musky snacks single blade bucktails stuff like that . |
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Posts: 620
Location: Seymour, WI | I read a post from DougJ once where he said he has a rod in his boat that he snaps on a black & silver Mepps #5 in the spring and keeps it for the whole musky season. So yeah, on the right lake you can fish small baits all season. Speed will be a big trigger once you get past the spring season. |
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Posts: 167
Location: Tomahawk, WI | My most productive lure for the last 5 - 7 years has been a Mepps Musky Marabou single blade. I've also hand so had good success on Giant Killers and Bucher 700 Tin Bucks. Small lures still work for catching muskies!!! |
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| Dbl 6's with 300ej  |
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Posts: 2687
Location: Hayward, WI | My best bait in Canada this year was a Mepps double marabou - pretty small bait by today's standards.
Then again, I also fish a lake where I rarely had musky action till I started using Mag Super D's, 11" Curly Sues, Cowgirls, etc.
I don't think you can write small baits off, but big baits certainly have their place too. If a person's body can't handle the big, heavy or hard pulling baits, I wouldn't write off musky fishing. Mepps marabous, average spinnerbaits, and tail rotator topwaters are all easy to use and have caught a lot of fish for me. I need to use Mepps Marabous more...
Tucker |
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Posts: 111
| Alway's Have a 7" Suick handy !!!
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Posts: 815
Location: Waukee, IA | Small baits caught muskies for decades. No reason that would suddenly change. Every bait has its time and place. |
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| ive caught several 40-45" fish on 2" shad raps and tail dancers short line trolling at 2.5-3mph. Its a lot of fun using 8lb braid and bass rods. |
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Posts: 20219
Location: oswego, il | If it works and keeps you at it, keep doing it! There are plenty of large bass baits that make great musky baits. |
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Posts: 880
Location: New Berlin,Wisconsin,53151 | I just texted my fishing partner a minute ago about switching back to a Smithwick Rogue. Caught 2 fish in the beginning of the season and then started throwing big baits. It's fun to catch muskies on a bass rod......
Netman |
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Posts: 556
| I have caught so many musky -- several 45" fish on nothing but a small JIG and MINNOW fishing for crappie and walleye early in the season. I personally think that except for fishing for true trophy fish---you will certainly have more action on lures in the 4'-7" size range. We troll in the Fall for nothing but Large musky and there we only use 10" baits on up. |
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Posts: 1529
| early season small rocks here on lsc. and late august again. normally upsize hooks if baits can handle changes |
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Posts: 84
| Don't get me wrong I would love to throw pounders and 10s all day but I'm just physically not up for it. But I seem to have good success using the smaller baits I mentioned. Back in the summer I had a mid 40s fish follow a 6" bass worm back to the boat glad I didn't catch it, water was close to the 90s! During the spring when suckers where in the shoals in the river in my front yard I could a 40" on a 5" senko, which was accidental. I agree with ESOx 911 smaller lures seem to get more action. |
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Posts: 388
Location: Northern Illinois | I use them all the time. It does depend on the lake you fish and the time of year. I love working widely spaced cabbage with them, fluttering down in between weeds, working all sorts of different angles and getting into pockets. I actually will not leave for any trip without the following: Mepps Musky Killer gold blade/black tail, Bucher small DepthRaider, black Hawg Wobbler, 7 inch Suick, and Bucher Slopmaster.
Important note: I've personally made two huge mistakes with a couple of the lures mentioned above. 1. Using bass gear to throw the Slopmaster and 2.) Only having a small size net while throwing the small DepthRaider. Let's just say that I'll never make those mistakes again and that small lures don't always = small fish. |
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Posts: 1279
| I end up throwing a lot of small baits, but as others have said, it depends on the lake, time of year, etc. I am a bit of a contrarian. If I'm hearing boats around the lake clanging double tens everywhere, I throw babygirls. It's worked well enough that I keep doing it. My PB is on a cheap little double bladed bucktail the size of a babygirl, that I got in a clearance bin for $3. |
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Posts: 134
| Elephants eat peanuts boys.... |
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Posts: 84
| MuskyMike51 - 9/29/2014 8:52 PM
Elephants eat peanuts boys....
I like that comparison haha! |
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Posts: 32
Location: Tower, Lake Vermilion | Everybody seems to think you need to bring giant bucktails and bulldawgs to catch Muskies on Vermilion. Funny thing is that before the advent of the Cowgirl and all the big rubber we caught 100's of Muskies on small bucktails and 7" gliders. Most of my fish still come on #8 glittertails and even smaller "Old school" bucktails. We also catch very good numbers on 1/2oz and 3/4oz spinnerbaits all season long. So save some money and save your shoulders next time you come to Vermilion.
"Ace" |
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Posts: 23
| It does depend largely on the lake and forage I would say generally speaking. I remember growing up I fished Shell Lake where the main forage was perch, walleyes, ect. There were times the fish wanted big baits but I would say in my experience undersized lures worked the best. Bigger baits tend to work on lakes where there is lots of big forage, or LOTS of big fish.
My best confidence baits are Bucher slopmasters, the thump you get for the size of the bait is awesome, and can surprise you with some very large bass 
Edited by joncraze 9/30/2014 10:55 AM
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Posts: 278
Location: WV | My best selling lure is 4.75". |
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Posts: 84
| wvhillbillyjlm - 9/30/2014 8:01 PM
My best selling lure is 4.75".
And what would that be? |
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Posts: 4080
Location: Elko - Lake Vermilion | Ace has some very wise words,...But come the End of Oct-Mid to late Nov. if you want to Boat some Huge fish on Big V .. you should be throwing or trolling some Really Big Lures,.... True Story.
G-Rome |
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Posts: 372
Location: On the River | I have caught many fish from spring though fall including some big fish in October on the old Bagley B-Flats |
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Posts: 166
Location: Alexandria, MN | Often times when big lures get followed, small lures get eaten. Still love my Inhalers, Mepps, and Muskie Candies. |
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Posts: 278
Location: WV | middlefork61 - 9/30/2014 9:09 PM
wvhillbillyjlm - 9/30/2014 8:01 PM
My best selling lure is 4.75".
And what would that be?
Small Gill Crank |
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Posts: 618
Location: Bloomington, MN | I still love my Muskie Candy by Fudally, but admit I have not captured or hooked a 50". I'm sure at least one 50"+ followed.
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Posts: 1536
Location: God's Country......USA..... Western Wisconsin | I have one very special #5 Mepps that I used the blade and wire assembly on the front of a hand tied double bush black bucktail that has caught over 70 legal fish through the years. Many new hooks and wire but the same blade and hair. 6" long at best. 48 legal fish in 1991 on a a 7/16 oz Bass jig and plastic or pork. I guess that I am a believer in smaller baits. I did not catch any over 47" though. Hard to imagine that I rarely go chasing those toothy critters anymore. |
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Posts: 2691
Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin | Of the 5 muskies over fifty inches on Pewaukee Lake CPR'ed in my boat NONE were caught on a bait bigger than 4". Lots of other big fish caught on bigger baits but zero muskies over 50".
Every lake has its forage base. Some lakes its best to keep it simple and match the hatch or size to the forage they eat. Big fish on pressured lakes get smart. They eat what they know is food. Or something close to it.
Bigger is not always better.
October and November I do upside but have zero 50 plus i nchers during those months. Maybe its because I'm in a tree bow hunting most of those days. |
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Posts: 400
Location: Metro | phselect - 9/30/2014 8:51 PM
Often times when big lures get followed, small lures get eaten. Still love my Inhalers, Mepps, and Muskie Candies.
Love me some Inhalers! Orange with a mini spinner hanging off the back. |
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Posts: 1916
Location: Greenfield, WI | My son splits his fishing time between a 6" Slammer Crankbait and a #4 Mepps with a willow leaf blade.
Two weeks ago he lost his first 50"er at the boat on the Slammer when the Berkley Cross-lok Ball Bearing Snap swivel (100# test) straightened out! |
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