fatfingers Posted January 15, 2014 Report Share Posted January 15, 2014 I agree with woodie on the damage in the net. It is pretty much impossible to build a bait that a musky cannot destroy if one of the hook tines is attached to the net and the musky starts twisting and thrashing. For those who don't already know, there are newer musky nets out there that not only almost eliminate the thrashing and twisting, they also pretty much eliminate any possibility of harm to the musky from the net itself. The one I have has a soft rubber coating, a larger "basket" for the fish, and a flat bottom. When we net fish with it (which took some getting used to because it is larger than the average musky net), the fish seem to immediately relax in the bottom. Rarely does one ever thrash like the do in the old nylon hoop nets. A bonus is that the net not only preserves the integrity of the fish, it also pretty much eliminates having lures destroyed in the net. Once you use one you'll throw away your old hoop net with the nylon knotted bag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROWINGADUBAY Posted January 16, 2014 Report Share Posted January 16, 2014 I disagree with the durability issue I think of you made a musky bait that got destroyed after one fish but was guaranteed to catch one every trip out. The Musky Shop wouldn't be able to keep them in the They charge about 20 bucks for a bull dawg and they are sometimes destroyed after one fish but they keep selling if the fish keep biting. I have caught allot of muskies and my biggest was a fraction of an inch shy of fifty inches that bit a three inch twister tail and an eighth once jig 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodieb8 Posted January 16, 2014 Report Share Posted January 16, 2014 were talking wooden lures. guys that spend good money do want baits that will give them a service life. I agree rubber does not hold up to large teeth.. yes twisters designed for smaller fish can catch a musky/shark porpoise etc. ...we run into muskies over 50 inches and over 50lbs.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROWINGADUBAY Posted January 16, 2014 Report Share Posted January 16, 2014 were talking wooden lures. guys that spend good money do want baits that will give them a service life. I agree rubber does not hold up to large teeth.. yes twisters designed for smaller fish can catch a musky/shark porpoise etc. ...we run into muskies over 50 inches and over 50lbs.. I understand that we are talking about Hard baits as this is the hard bait forum. I brought up soft baits because fisherman pay the same price for them as they will a hard bait even though they are not as durable .Also the point with the twisters was to show that you can target big fish with small baits just like the team of Pecosky and Puccio who won over $15,000 while fishing 2011 PMTT Tournament in Eagle River Wi. in the middle of summer by using three inch crank baits(Rapala DT10s} on 8# test line using spinning tackle! My point is to not limit your self to certain materials, if balsa or styrofoam gives a bait a certain twitch or shimmy that a muskie can't resist then make them. I know I would. When you figure out how much people spend on gas lodging and food for a weekend of musky fishing that 20-30 dollar detroyable bait isn't a whole lot, especially if it catches the only fish of the weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrogAddict Posted January 16, 2014 Report Share Posted January 16, 2014 (edited) I understand that we are talking about Hard baits as this is the hard bait forum. I brought up soft baits because fisherman pay the same price for them as they will a hard bait even though they are not as durable .Also the point with the twisters was to show that you can target big fish with small baits just like the team of Pecosky and Puccio who won over $15,000 while fishing 2011 PMTT Tournament in Eagle River Wi. in the middle of summer by using three inch crank baits(Rapala DT10s} on 8# test line using spinning tackle! My point is to not limit your self to certain materials, if balsa or styrofoam gives a bait a certain twitch or shimmy that a muskie can't resist then make them. I know I would. When you figure out how much people spend on gas lodging and food for a weekend of musky fishing that 20-30 dollar detroyable bait isn't a whole lot, especially if it catches the only fish of the weekend. I caught a 39 inch Northern last summer while drop shotting with 8 lb test and a 3 inch soft plastic minnow so I agree that small can get it done as well. Edited January 16, 2014 by FrogAddict Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodieb8 Posted January 16, 2014 Report Share Posted January 16, 2014 ok I agree small stuff will catch muskies no doubt.. most guys that target musky never use small as mentioned for musky. and 8lb test certainly not recommended.... yes plastics catch fish also. we use them here for walleyes. finnese minnows and average at least 1 musky a morning... my comments originallyare on the average musky lure. and yes if I could use balsa,or other durable lite woods awesome. we use cedar which will give corky action ,durability,is a major issue. guys here can catch up to 25 musky a day trolling...with all them teeth weee ha.. baits get chewed.. again reasoning for wire thru,as baits are pulled up to 5mph ,8 hours that can equal to 40miles per 8 hour day.but that's how I do it. im sure theres a zillion ways/factors and such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeking 56 Posted January 17, 2014 Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 A lure, wether it's plastic or wood is only as good as the guy who uses it. I've had several multiple fish days trolling and each one of those muskies was caught on a different bait (drives my partners absolutely wild). It's all about finding a pattern. The common denominators each time were amount of line out and boat speed. Lure depth presentation is key, color or action is secondary IMO. When the fish are on, they're on and they'll hit anything you properly present to them. s56 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatfingers Posted January 17, 2014 Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 The original question was general in nature from what I read. Generally musky baits are larger than most, but what size is big and what size is small is an all day subject. I pretty much agree with woodie. Guys, if you go to a musky show, where the crowd paying to get in the door are targeting only muskies, you aren't going to find the venue peppered with booths selling 2 inch twister tails. That is not to say that smaller baits never work. Leesville is a lake in Ohio and is famous for muskies. The number one lure for Leesville is a bait called the Sisson. It's about 2 1/2 inches long and is the number one bait used on the lake, year after year. And interestingly, the fish do not inhale the bait, although I can understand how you might think they would. But...on the subject of small baits...not all of them work with any regularity. Only a very few baits smaller than four or five inches work with any regularity at all...generally speaking. The point is that yes, there are those days when you can throw your shoe in the water and a musky will take a swipe at it, but most days, on most waters, woodie is dead nuts on the money. I'll add one other opinion...I am of the opinion that day in, and day out, there is a limit to how big of a bait will produce. Can you catch fish with a big ol' say, 16 inch bait? Yep. But generally speaking, once your start using baits too big, you will probably get out-fished by someone using a more average sized bait. Those 15 inch giant baits are impressive to look at and hold in your hand, but in my opinion, have very limited application. So, generally speaking a musky bait can be too small and even too large, day in and day out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
