Pike and Musky Baits

[chickenhawk]

Okay so I need some more BIG pike and musky baits.....any suggestions as to what I might need......I definately want some spinnerbaits and some more spoons.....has anyone had much luck on spooks? or would buzzbaits be a better buy? are there any specific rubber baits that one would suggest? how bout favourite colours/sizes/name brands.......thanks and i am looking forward to see your responses....

 

Hawk

[chickenhawk]

nothing?

[irishfield]

Dang Chicken.. you're about as patient as my mother in law !

 

Buy yourself a couple of Suicks.. throw them out and let them sit.. twitch.. sit. Black/Orange #5 or larger Mepps... etc.

Edited December 30, 2008 by irishfield

[Weeds]

I agree with Irishfield; I had alot of luck this year with Suicks for musky. Definately 9 Inch weighted, and perch pattern I think. Although I never let them sit, ripped them like crazy and after July they lost their magic. Next year maybe I'll try twitching them later in the season.

Edited December 30, 2008 by Weeds

[cram]

Suicks are universally loved, but i personally hate them. If you live nearby i'll happily give you my basically-untouched one(s). My favourite jerk bait is the black and gold bobbie bait. Its not that popular (at least currently), but i love the action.

 

Trolling baits -- i use 9 inch grandmas or jakes. There are LOTS of finishes...i like the silver and black/gold holofinish (basically gold/silver and black with shine baked in).

 

Spinners --- big shiny (gold, silver, orange, black) colorado bladed inline spinner baits with marabou (feathers) or flashabou (rubber/silicon) tails (mepps musky marabou, buchertail spinnerbaits...there are lots of brands - just get big round blades, good weight in the lure to cast, and feather/silicon that moves a lot).. Don't get the standard hair bucktails -- they don't move in the water at all. You might try the double blades (lots of vibration), but be prepared to work your reels really hard. I use an abu garcia 6501 (i think?) and its a higher gear ratio baitcaster....not ideal for big-pull inline spinners. Classic double-blade type is the double cowgirl.....though there are lots of copy-cats. You might also tip your bucktails with twister tails. I don't but know lots that do and swear to it.

 

Spinner baits.....i use 2 - a big white one and a black/gold one, both with a willow and a colorado blade -- flashabou rubber and a big twister tail. I tend to use these to burn through weeds and or slow-roll in the early and late seasons. More follows, fewer strikes than my inline spinnerbaits. Not sure why - likely just me.

 

Rubbers -- i don'tn use them often but have been eyeing up the big superD's. They are like bulldawgs only with better colouring and eyes, internal structure (holds the rubber better), and cheaper.

Edited December 30, 2008 by cram

[pike slayer]

i know for pike the rapala xrap #14 did wonders and i dont see why a musky would goggle that lure up to. also for spoons the lucky strike super flash.

[chickenhawk]

thanx for the replies guys....have written my list.....lol any other suggestions are more than welcome.....i remember a guy whose board name was Mepps who did alot of pike fishin....is he still around???

[Walshskie]

For musky baits what waters do you want to fish. The kind of baits I would sugest would be very different for St. Clair as compared to G-Bay. But you can't go wrong with belivers, shallow, deep, cast, troll works for evert thing. If you are new to musky fishing my best advice is learn to tune your baits when trolling, some time if its a bait I really want to use I'll spend 30 min getting it to run right and make sure its running right all day.

[gotguns]

I can only tell you what works for me here up north. I live in Sudbury and fish locally as well as up north. I've been stocking up like amd lately too so I know the feeling.

 

I recently ordered some really nice J-mac jigs and bullet head jigs as well as some nice 6" io think twisty tails and plastics. The J-mac jigs have skirts and a weedless setup and are really nice. I got some in 1/2 oz, 3/4, and 1 oz. sizes. I'm now looking at some swimbaits and slug-gos to match up with these setups. I've had some luck with jigging weedlines in 10-15ft of water in the summer with these big jigs and plastics. Nothing finesse about it, just let it drop to the bottom and jig it up 6' to 8' feet. Ordered from J-mac, very nice products, nice big hooks and well made.

 

Last year I had good results with Husky jerks and X-raps size 10-14 depending on weather and how their biting. Popular colours for me are clown, silver and blue, firetiger/perch and the odd silver or gold.

 

Also I've been playing along with williams wobblers, half gold/ half silver with replacement trebles with maribou or whatever it is.

 

I also ordered some nice big spinnerbaits, I think it was from northam fishing? sorta fuzzy right now think ing of the name. Ordered some 3/4 and 1 oz sizes, very well made nice product.

 

 

I spent alot of money but man are these things nice. I had some problems in the past with certain jig or spinnerbait setups where the hooks were a little too small. Lost a few nice pike with normal sized jigs and their little hooks. I can take some pictures of all the stuff if you want. After that you'll truely appreciate the quality. You get what you pay for. Next is some lunker city swimbaits and slug-gos. Never really tried the swimbaits but looking forward to putting some 6" swimmers on the J-mac jigs.

[mattyk]

some big bucktails (double cow girls), topwater like (top raider or Weagle), large plastics (bulldawgs), crank baits (10" Jake, 10"Believer)

[Rizzo]

if you want a big spinnerbait get a trainwreck...that's about as big as they come

[rockfish]

I'm surprised that jwl hasn't posted in this yet, he must still be doing his week long holiday partying. Rule of thumb is usually the bigger the bait, the bigger the fish but that isn't always the case.

I caught this Muskie one day close to dark on a 3.5 " perch coloured Berkley Frenzy crank that cost $2.95 on sale while trying for Pike when other tactics weren't working. Jack (jwl) can tell u that he's landed some good sized skis on his favourite 6" white twister on an unpainted jighead. I've also seen an 18" Pike take a bait almost the same length as it when I was watching a guy Muskie fishin' so u sometimes don't know what fish will take on the menu.

 

When fishing for Pike I like to keep it simple and stick with large spoons, Cleos and Williams Wobblers, suspending cranks, X-raps and Husky Jerks and also large Vibrax inline spinners.

 

 

[chickenhawk]

thanks for the help guys...