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Posts: 516
Location: Kildeer, IL | Stick baits like Suicks are probably my favorite bait to throw. It is my favorite, because I see and hook a lot of fish on them. My problem is landing them. I either have really bad luck, or I am doing something terribly wrong.
Does anybody do any modifications to their Suicks to make them more effective at hooking and keeping fish? Does anybody upsize their hooks?
Thanks,
Scott |
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Posts: 2691
Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin | I do make a few modifications. Most important is to get the hooks set hard. Most of the time a muskie can crunch down on a wood bait and you can set it and still not move the bait.
Remember, you need to get that bait to slide in the fishes mouth to get the hooks to dig in.
Have you ever got a tooth back in a Suick or wood bait after loosing a hooked fish? I have seen broken off teeth in plenty of my Suicks. I know I am getting that bait to move on hook-sets.
My point is get that bait to move and your going to land more fish. As far as hooks: Keep them razor sharp and maybe even cut of the original hooks and replace with better ones. I like the Owner hooks for my Suicks. They are down rite nasty sharp. |
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| Suicks are my favorite bait also. I second Mike in what he said about hook sets. A little stifffer rod helps, but just be sure to put the boots to 'em on the hookset. I usually don't change a thing with the actual bait. Make sure you are in a position to set the hook when you are working the bait. That is the biggest problem I see when Guiding. Don't use long sideways sweeping rod movements. If one hits on the end of a side sweep you are screwed. Use downward pulls so you can get a longer quick sideways hookset when one does hit.
Ty |
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Posts: 2691
Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin | One extra tip is to take a step back as you set the hooks.
This may sound wierd but think about it and try it when you get a chance. Try it with a rod anywhere. Hold the rod in the down position and take a step back as you set it. Now try this as you have just finished the sweep or pull, like your working a Suick. The step back will take up some slack and you WILL get a better hook set. This is something I always try to do when I am working a pull bait and glide baits.
Just something I like to do to better my odds on hooksets. Try it you might like it. |
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| I custom weight my bobbies and suicks and I have found it helpful to "T" the front and middle hooks for better hooksets. As mentioned above, I replace the split rings with Bucher #7 300 lb and I upsize the hooks with a size bigger Eagle Claws. It helps with the hook set to have a single strand metal leader and use a Heavy or Extra Heavy action rod  |
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Posts: 32886
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | I do something when fishing a Suick that helped me increase my hook up percentage tremendously. I give the fish a 1 and a half count, as I make sure my line tightens up, and POUND it! The second delay seems to allow the fish to get the thing in the face a bit better. I started that a couple years ago after watching several fish on Pelican attack a Suick and shock the heck out of the rod with strikes that were sorta slashing, if I gave them a second they would get the thing positioned better in a 'T bone' manner most of the time. |
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Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | yup, break their teeth with your hookset (literally) ... they won't let go right away, so also make sure the angle of your hookset is there .... right through their tail. don't be afraid to wait for the best angle and/or to give it to her again any time during the fight if you see an opportunity to bury them deeper into her face. razor sharp hooks too ... i like Gamakatsu's. |
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| One other important factor in getting a good hookset is your line. It will be hard to get a good hookset with mono.. Power Pro works great !!!
I LOVE SUICKS  |
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| 1st cut of hooks and replace with a good quality hook of you choice this time put them on with a good split ring.it make it harder for a fish to get leverage and throw the bait, also try T'ing the hooks helps with the hook set
Larry |
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| The hook set-up I run on all my 10 inch woodies is 6/0 up front, with two 5/0's in benind. Some guys I know drop the tail treble altogether. Heavy wire that I can really hone down seems to help the nose track down, and can add depth when I need it to. Mustad's X-Strongs are the hook I like. They weigh a lot, and you can sharpen them down as good as a lighter wire hook. To ride higher, the same size set-up with Eagle Claws works well. The majority of fish I get on jerkbaits eat the front hook. The upsized hook here helps with action and tracking, and also gives extra bite. I upside the lead treble on all my tandem buck/bootails and every single I other plug I use. Drilling out a Suick and weighting it is easy. Pour lead outside, in a well-ventilated area. Great lures. I use the same set-ups as everyone else so far. Real stout rod (6'9 and 7'0 Premiers) and 80 or 100 pound spectra-based line. Probably hit more fish on Suicks a rod length or less from the boat than everywhere else combined. |
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Location: Lake Chautauqua & Latham, New York, USA | Jonnysled:
Where does one buy Gamakatsu treble hooks large enough for Suicks??? |
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Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | just started seeing the Gamakatsu's here in the midwest in larger sizes at alot of the musky shops starting this year. Nelsons in Rhinelander, WI. has them and i think R&H's in Minocqua and Eagle Sports in Eagle River have them too. i would think maybe Guides Choice in Eagle River does as well. i was soooooo happy to see them finally get the larger Gami hooks distributed up here. i'd rather invest in re-hooking all my baits with Gamis than buy any new baits. they are the stickiest hook out there and durable too.
if you are out of the area, check the online catalogs or find Chuck Nelson on one of the boards ... i think he's on the MuskyHunter board pretty often. he might sell and ship although not sure if that is part of his store's business, i think his wife actually operates the store.
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| You can weight them like mentioned & T the hooks. I also take and turn the eyelet sideways or at an angle. Gets the bait to work more side to side. Not all Suicks are created equal. After working each one for a while you will know each lures tendencies. From this observation you should be able to adjust certain things to make the lure run the way you want it. Bending the tale straight up or down or angling the tips of the metal tail make the bait run certain ways. I have also taken and glued a rattle on the bottom of one of my baits. Don't know if this helps or not but I can't see it hurting. One last thing I do to the Suicks that I make run deep are to put some epoxy on the nose of the bait where it will make contact with rocks, wood, etc. This will make the nose last a little longer and not splinter. |
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Posts: 24
| Does anybody modify the hooks to keep them from fouling on each other? Seems the last 2 hooks like to catch each other. Anybody remove 1 hook, move the hangers and use 2 large hooks? |
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Posts: 3868
| I got the sweetest death-roll-back-and-forth-on-the-rise suick you ever saw. As compared, most of my other 10 or so suicks are junk, and tune 'em all you want. So.....
be careful
don't screw up the action of a good lure.
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Posts: 3240
Location: Racine, Wi | Buck, I take the front 2 hooks out. Then fill the holes with lead. (if you want a shallower running Suick, you don't need to weight). Then drill a hole in the middle of where the other 2 were. Put in a new cotter pin and upsize the hook one size. You get great hookups, and don't have the hooks fouling. This also reduces the hooks on bait so that you don't have one more to hook the fish in a bad area.
As far as finding the actions, or better yet creating the actions you like, take a bucket full of Suicks out and nothing else one morning when you have time. You will find the ones that you like, and modify others. Then just remember which ones run better in which situations. ie shallow, deep, slop etc. (notebooks help to remember if you have a memory like me.). This forces you to adjust the bait to get them to run. There aren't any bad Suicks, just baits for different situations. |
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Posts: 4
| Got this from an old timer, when I was young, now I'm an old timer! This is slow and boring and I only use it when it's flat calm. 9" bait, bend the tail almost all the way down throw it out and lift the rod to vertical (don't jerk or pull) pick up slack and repeat.The bait will swim down with a nice side to side action then comes up and breakes the surface.A little practice and you'll see when it looks right.
Only slow and boring between fish !
Edited by Jack Pine 3/19/2006 7:51 AM
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| Definitely "T" the two front hooks. Not only does it up your hooking percentages, but it does away with most of the hook rash. And everybody knows that Suick doesn't spend much money on their topcoat. I'm usually down to bare wood gouges in about 2 or 3 trips.
Beav |
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Posts: 381
| I cut off the hooks that come with them!
Put on Bucher #7 split rings,
Put on Eagle claw 774
and make sure you out a sharp edge on them!
The delay works great, it is hard to make your Brain wait after you fell the strike! |
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Posts: 355
Location: Wausau, Wisconsin | I am fortunate to have ADD. Often when a musky bites my lure, I forget what I was doing. To boot I am not very smart either so it usually takes me a few seconds to figure out what to do. Then I get really excited. With the excitment comes a maniac hookset. Because of this I haven't lost a whole lot of fish on Suicks and thus, they are my favorite bait. |
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Posts: 12
Location: NORTH WEST PA. | I cut the hooks off put on split rings and T the hooks. Then I put small rubber bands around the body and the hooks so the hooks lie flat to the belly of the bait.You don't need the back hook. |
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Posts: 2361
| Lots of ideas here. Makes me feel kind of ashamed that I use them straight off the rack with no modification and seem to hook almost all the fish that hit them. Don't T the hooks or change the hooks until they are really wrecked. Do sharpen them.
The only thing I do these days to increase my hooking percentage is to try and avoid letting this bait hit the surface. I pull it when it gets a few inches from the top, IF I am doing a pull pause retrieve, instead of a more or less forward moving, erratic retrieve. Fish don't seem to do as well taking this bait off the surface when you are letting it rise up, or maybe they grab it in a way that leads to poor hook position. I don't know, and I don't think this is my original thought, I think somebody pointed this out and after thinking about it, I agreed and continue to agree. |
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