thinking of putting together a big muskie/pike selection

[modny]

like it says, i got a 8 foot heavy action shimano bob izumi casting rod with a shimano chromica reel( not the best i dont think, whatever) with some braided line.

 

i'm looking into putting together a pike/muskie specific box.

 

what kinda tackle should i look at? should i used, as far as baits go?

 

i "reely" wana land a gator this year.

tahnks

[pokerdemon4]

I like using M&G spinnerbaits, suicks, believers, jakes, grandmas and oversized bucktails. Joe bucher makes some good depthraiders, shallowraiders, topraiders, bucktails and slopmaster spinnerbaits as well. I've recently ordered some salmo baits from ebay. Im hoping these will work well. Anyone use them? The fatso looks good. Im hoping anyway. This is an addiction. Once you start you won't stop. I buy most of my stuff at LeBaron. YOu can get a members card for 25 or 30 bucks i think and you get an additional 10% off. Their stuff is the cheapest I can find anywhere. Other than ebay. They have a good selection as well. Hope this helps. Have fun collecting.

Edited June 26, 2008 by pokerdemon4

[modny]

should i use specific leaders? or line?

 

i wanna be like LEW when i grow up

 

[fishinggeek]

Yes kudos to LeBaron! That rod/reel combo might not be enough to chuck the really big baits. If you're set on that one, I suggest starting with the smaller muskie baits, things like 6' Grandmas, 7' Believers, 1-1.5 oz bucktails or spinnerbaits. Those should be fine to cast with heavy non-muskie gear. If you want to move up, try borrowing someone's big crankbait, jerkbait, swimbait, or whatever and see if throwing it with your setup is good. These baits can be 3 ounces or more, and chucking them with lighter tackle is pretty hard on your body and the tackle.

[pokerdemon4]

I use between 50 and 80 lb power pro. My leaders range from 50lb to 130lb seaguar fluorocarbon. I tie some of them. You can buy them pretied. Its harder to tie the heavier stuff. Some guys use crimps on the bigger fluoro. Titanium leaders are great too, although expensive. A decent reel is a good investment as well. I like round baitcasters for tossing big baits. Depending on what model, they give you more power and lower gear ratios than flat bass style baitcasters. This means you can tango with a bigger fish better and toss bigger baits. There are some great reels out there. Just depends on how much you wanna spend. Im currently using the japanese shimano calcutta conquest on 2 of my musky rods and they can handle anything. Worth the money I think. But thats just me.

[modny]

the rod is actally pretty stiff, i can chuck some big believers no problem/.

 

can u order from lebaron online? its pretty far from my house and i'm kinda lazy to drive there

[pokerdemon4]

You can place an order online. There are a couple of locations. Check out the website. www.lebaron.ca

Edited June 26, 2008 by pokerdemon4

[BillM]

Can't forget a couple of Musky Innovation Bulldawgs Maybe some DCG's.

[pokerdemon4]

Where do you get your double cow girls? They are expensive. I keep fishing the bull dawg but havent caught anything with it yet. Ill keep tryin my best. Cheers

Edited June 26, 2008 by pokerdemon4

[BillM]

A nice cheap DCG clone, I have 5 or 6 of them.

 

http://www.tacklebooty.com/muskybucktail.html

[mepps]

for casting, inline spinnerbaits are my favs. For trolling 10 inch Jakes are great.

 

[Weeds]

I've just discovered Suicks. Awesome lures.

[Sinker]

Don't forget spinnerbaits!

 

Pokerdemon is totally addicted to buying musky baits.........its an illness with no cure for that poor guy...LOL.

 

I haven't caught a thing on bulldawgs either....whats the deal with them anyways??

 

Sinker

[musky66]

Hey, where are you at? I am going to start thinning my collection of Musky baits as I keep using the same 3 or 4 every trip. I probably have a rubbermaid tub full of 60 lures to sell off.

[hogman3006]

Don't forget spinnerbaits!

 

Pokerdemon is totally addicted to buying musky baits.........its an illness with no cure for that poor guy...LOL.

 

I haven't caught a thing on bulldawgs either....whats the deal with them anyways??

 

Sinker

Alas, I have that disease as well. I cannot stop myself when I see something I don't have in my box. It weights 87 lbs. Ebay is my curse as well as my savior. Really good deals on musky stuff, so I can buy two. My go to bait is a chartreuse, yellow, bleeding #5 muskie mania bucktail.

[hogman3006]

Hey, where are you at? I am going to start thinning my collection of Musky baits as I keep using the same 3 or 4 every trip. I probably have a rubbermaid tub full of 60 lures to sell off.

check your pm box, I tell you, I am an addict.

[ccmtcanada]

You do have lots of money right? $25 bucks for a single musky lure can put a dent in anyone's pocketbook quickly!! I like large spinners....black/orange combinations.

[modny]

Hey, where are you at? I am going to start thinning my collection of Musky baits as I keep using the same 3 or 4 every trip. I probably have a rubbermaid tub full of 60 lures to sell off.

 

 

i'm in hamilton

 

check your pm box, I tell you, I am an addict.

 

i got dibbs guy...

 

You do have lots of money right? $25 bucks for a single musky lure can put a dent in anyone's pocketbook quickly!! I like large spinners....black/orange combinations.

 

i'm not looking to brreak the bank. i know some lures are like crazy expensive, i'm by no means going pro

[Victor]

i'm no muskie fisherman but I've caught numerous pike on the mepps musky killer ... was hoping to hook into one but ended up catching pike. That lure should be alright for your setup, can be retrieved at a variable speed and won't break the bank.

 

i'm sure many others will say, make sure you have the proper landing/safety tools to protect you and the fish.

 

Good luck!

[lew]

Musky baits can be extremely expensive and there's nothing worse than having 100's of dollars worth of baits sitting in a box and not being used, so just start out slow and buy a couple at a time until you find out what works in the areas your fishing, plus what you feel comfortable casting with.

 

Get a couple each for the different water columns.

 

A prop bait for the surface is good, something like a Top Raider, then get a couple jerk or glide baits. Mantas work well as do Suicks or Sledges, but my personal favorites are Double D's which have an unbelievable action.

 

You'll also need a couple crank baits for getting down deep some days.

 

Bucktails are excellent for running across the top of weeds, then get a few BIG spinnerbaits for working thru the thicker, deeper weeds. Muskies like to bury themselves deep in the weeds and nothing is better than spinnerbaits for getting at them.

 

Get a natural color for each bait, like perch or walleye, plus get some in brighter colors like firetiger. Some days one will work and other days you'll need to go the opposite way.

 

For blades, get a couple each of brass silver chartreuse & orange.

 

Start with a few basics, then work your way up as you find what works.

Edited June 27, 2008 by lew

[brickNblock]

I haven't caught a thing on bulldawgs either....whats the deal with them anyways??

 

Sinker

 

I can attest to the bulldawgs for sure!!!!

FishNsled and I fished Balsam last fall and I threw every lure imaginable...started with my goto's, Large In-Lines and changed up to Sledges and then Suicks. FishNsled used the same Orange tailed Bulldawg all day long and boated the only lunge. Cant remember but I believe he caught 4-5 that day.

I never owned a buldawg before but over the winter stocked up on a few....2 in Orange, 1 in charteuse and one Blk/orange..Cant wait til we get back up to Balsam this fall Will.

[modny]

Musky baits can be extremely expensive and there's nothing worse than having 100's of dollars worth of baits sitting in a box and not being used, so just start out slow and buy a couple at a time until you find out what works in the areas your fishing, plus what you feel comfortable casting with.

 

Get a couple each for the different water columns.

 

A prop bait for the surface is good, something like a Top Raider, then get a couple jerk or glide baits. Mantas work well as do Suicks or Sledges, but my personal favorites are Double D's which have an unbelievable action.

 

You'll also need a couple crank baits for getting down deep some days.

 

Bucktails are excellent for running across the top of weeds, then get a few BIG spinnerbaits for working thru the thicker, deeper weeds. Muskies like to bury themselves deep in the weeds and nothing is better than spinnerbaits for getting at them.

 

Get a natural color for each bait, like perch or walleye, plus get some in brighter colors like firetiger. Some days one will work and other days you'll need to go the opposite way.

 

For blades, get a couple each of brass silver chartreuse & orange.

 

Start with a few basics, then work your way up as you find what works.

 

 

thanks lew.

that seems like the most logical thing to do..

 

i already have a chartruse musky killer , works great.

 

i remember hooking into a monster pike up north years ago on a white jointed believer. it was my dads lure..he never used it since he bought it in the 70's.. i casted her out and let it sit for like 5 minutes. then i twitched it and SLAM a monster pike took the bat. it took like a solid 10 minutes to bring her to the boat, and then of course it wouldn't fit in the net and it shook the hook.

 

now that lure has no paint left and just crazy bit marks all over. it was easily a 30+ lb fish. i couldn't believe it. good times.

[lew]

i remember hooking into a monster pike up north years ago on a white jointed believer.

 

Believers, specially the 10" jointed version, are one of the best musky baits you'll find, plus they're also one of the most versatile. They're one of my favorite trolling baits, (bumblebee) they also work well as a crankbait but they also make an excellent top water bait, specially after dark when cranked very slowly over top of a weed bed.

 

They've got rattles in them which work well in some instances, like after dark or in dirty water, but I like to remove the rattles on some of them to make them more of a silent bait and just let the natural vibration of the bait do it's thing.

 

Different strokes for different fish.

[modny]

yea..

 

is the bumblebee a good color or what?

 

i remember catching some big pike on large rap shad raps, like the white with red head ones and natty perch color

[lew]

is the bumblebee a good color or what?

 

If I'm gonna troll a Believer, which I often do, the bumblebee is always the one I start with.

 

......watch for a fishing report next Wednesday