Northern Pike & Musky Baits

[aulrich]

There are no Muskie in western Canada , so hopefully my pike experience is reasonably transferable, for me a set of lures will have these colours

Perch

Flo yellow fire tiger

Flo orange fire tiger

Silver/blue

Silver/black

Gold/olive

Gold/flo purple/ flo orange

Pike ( very underrated)

To date 1 coat of d2t holds up the best but nothing really last. 20-30 fish beat the tar out of most lures.

[SW Lures]

LOL, thank you. I would say that it wouldn't.

Dale

[TheHammer]

I would have to agree with FishOnSon....I would go bigger on the size...8" or larger.  I make a 7.5" bait that many of the guides up there run, but it moves water more than most baits that size and will get down 25+ feet.  I also make a 10" straight and jointed models that will be available soon and made just for the "big water".  You want something that will also be able to dive a good ways IMO.  The water on the Larry is very very deep and clear and those fish tend to suspend a bit deeper.  My baits are constructed of resin, so the material really isn't an issue IMO.

 

Some of the hot color patterns up there are as follow:

- night shiner

- perch

- walleye

- black sucker

- shad/cisco

 

All in various belly colors

 

Good Luck,

 

Paul Fec 

[Nessmuk]

I've been reading this thread with interest.   We have a home near the St. Lawrence R and I'm interested in fishing for musky.  That alone seems daunting from what I have read about musky fishing.    We're near the famous "Featherbed Shoals" in Cape Vincent.    After seeing what musky lures cost I kinda cringed.   I'd like to try for a musky but $25+ lures isn't realistic for my budget.

 

I am thinking about making some Musky lures with some being copies of what I saw at the local bait shop and maybe some of original design.    Little casting is done for Musky on the St. Lawrence as most troll and many use downriggers.   Looks like large spoons/spinners as well as large wood lures like believers and suicks are popular.    I've been toying with the idea of making some 6-12" flat fish type lures with through wire construction.    Perch, bass, sunfish and goby are the primary forage fish from what I have read.   Lure making looks pretty simple except for getting the lure weighted/balanced properly.    I'm also wondering what wood to use for a plug that will be trolled.   I'm also wondering the best lure to attempt first.

 

Jack

[SW Lures]

This is what I have got from all of this information and what I have read and what I'm preparing to design.

I'm going to create 4-8" perch shape baits of poplar wood (by hand and eye). All with through wire hangers and tow eyes. I'm going to do this by using two pieces of wood planed down to a certain thickness. I will glue and dowel the pieces of wood together with the wire inlaid in the center and retained.

Then I have a aquarium to get the weighting correct. As most of the baits that I have made so far with a slow rising float, in about 45-55° water. Then I will seal up totally and get it ready for swim testing. I have forgot something, I will be keeping all information that I have found. My target depth will be 10-12', down riggers can be used to get deeper or whatever. Once the depth has been proven, I will be looking for a wiggle action because I have found that a nice open wiggle is good for cold spring waters.

Then once this is all complete and I'm satisfied, I will create more baits. Then paint all but one. The one is the original, this is my prototype to save for future needs. Once the others are sealed they will be tested in open water too. I won't let nothing go unless I test again at this point. If all's good I will paint, first a yellow perch then a redhorse sucker. If I have another or time I will make a minnow (alewife). Clear coat will most likely be a MCU.

Then turn them over and wait for what happens on the person's trip. That's what I'm going to do, because of all the information from the people above in this thread.

Also now that this much time is spent on designing, you will understand why these baits cost as they do if the creator of the bait takes the time to make it right. Where as I hope that I make a good one or two for my friend.

Take Care,

Dale

Edited December 16, 2015 by DaleSW

[diemai]

@ Nessmuk

 

As said before ,being located in Europe I'm not familiar to musky ,...but a good and simple lure model for you to start out with might be the good old "GrandMa"(templates available in one of my links above) .

 

The lure has a good reputation and is of a simple , flat shape , ......it's casting performance is quite poor , as the anti-aerodynamic shape with the flat sides and protruding bill take their toll , but for trolling it should be just fine .

 

As far as wood choice , ...the timber material should be picked after the size of the lure , .....the bigger a lure , the lest buoyant the material , ...f. e. making an 8" bait out of balsa would require heaps of ballast to the lure ,  possibly killing most of it's action(unless a certain share of ballast is placed in the back) , ..vice versa a small 4" lure made of heavy hardwood like maple or beech might sink like a brick due to it's hardware alone , no room for added ballast anymore .

 

But IMO the weighting is not the hardest part , but the sealing is , .....in particular for pike and musky lures !

 

Good luck , diemai

 

PS : If you'd have to look after your budget , you might as well check out Ebay for used lures , especially on American Ebay there are heaps and heaps of all kinds of lures listed , and especially when not hunting for the "latest craze" lures , ....or lures , that grew reputations through the decades , you might be in for some good bargains,......homemade lures are not neccessarely cheaper , ...at least not , if you're staring from zero and need to purchase all materials and tool gear required .

Edited December 16, 2015 by diemai

[Nessmuk]

diemai,

 

Yes, I know that I want denser material for the big trolling lure!    Just what wood is the question.  Oak, beech, maple, etc.?    I think balsa would be a disposable lure even for pike!

 

I'm watching eBay but also have some of my own ideas on lures like the large flatfish.    Although we think of smaller fish as prey for pike/musky they are every bit as much a predator. Just a matter of size relative to prey.  I have always found flatfish a go to lure for smaller fish and wonder if a musky would find them more enticing than a believer since it looks skinnier and easier to swallow.

 

I'm retired and have time and tools.   Tools and equipment are not an issue for me since I have CNC equipped shop and metal casting equipment.    Hooks, wood, hardware, paint, clear coat etc. (all cheap) are the expenses for me.    I plan to design lures in solid modeling software and rough out the wood to hand finish.  I prefer through wired lures.  It makes the through wire much easier by cutting the groove for the wire on one side of the blank and then flipping over the blank and machining the shape.  This method also helps to insure symmetry.  Not planning on doing this as a business since we're retired and it would require a major amount of planning and large shop to make profitable Think Rapala type operation and serious marketing for profit.

 

Years ago I used to tie flies for trout which was interesting and this is, in a way, an extension of that.  In addition to saving a bit of money, making flies/lures is fun and allows one to have the lure you want.  

[mark poulson]

Since you're just starting, consider using Azek PVC decking instead of wood as a building material.

It's as buoyant as poplar, strong enough to hold screw eyes, machines well with sharp tools, and is totally waterproof, so no sealing ever needed, and no lure failures when sharp teeth penetrate the top coat.

You will need to wear a dust mask when you sand it, because the dust hates sinuses, and has electrostatic cling, so it sticks on stuff sometimes.

But the freedom to be able to test without fear of water intrusion alone makes it a great choice for home made lures. 

[diemai]

@ Nessmuk

 

Oak and maple are somewhat too dense and heavy even for larger crankbaits , I guess, ......also hardwoods are a pain in the butt to work on , ......probably someone else might chime in to advise you better than I can , as our propably most popular crankbait-making timber here in Europe seems to be barely available in the US , ......at least I had figured out in a TU thread about such abachewood a good while ago , ...also I might not use that abachewood for oversized musky lures , as it might get a little too buoyant for larger lures ,...at least if their shape would be quite voluminous .

 

Years ago I had made some 6" to 7" lipped lures out of teakwood kitchen boards , got those very cheap from fleamarkets , but often these boards are wharped and require planing over prior to cutting out a blank  , ....quite durable and water-resistant timber , but a tad too heavy for my liking as well , .....at least for crankbaits , since weighting options are a bit limited ,  ........but just perfect for sinking glidebaits .

 

Greetz , Dieter

[Nessmuk]

I think your abackewood is sort of like poplar here.   In the UK some woods or similar we use here are just refered to by a different name.   Basswood (aka linden) is known as lime over there.   I'm not keen on plastic engineered lumber for this purpose. Teak is a bugger to work!   I may try pine or spruce first since they are often discarded around here.  I am a bit intimidated by the size of lures for musky. 

 

Time to get a lure or two designed!

[woodieb8]

abachewood is excellent for musky lures. n.a. its an exotic wood. . the heavier the wood the slower the movement in water unless you up size the diving lip.. nessmuk sounds like the toys for building are at your hands sounds fun. .the flatfish/kwikfish style wont work for mr toothy. they cannot accept higher speeds.

[Nessmuk]

I'm guessing that one can troll flatfish at about 3-4 mph max.    Thinned out a bit and maybe faster.   Hot weather faster trolling but colder weather slower as in late fall.

[woodieb8]

we used kwikfish/flatfish here for decades but for walleyes. max speeds were 1.5mph then they twist  blo-out. . they were built 1 mile from my shop. ,icon lures no doubt, on the great lakes here millions of fish have been caught,just not up to speeds . . muskies some days love speed for reaction strikes.. the slowest we troll is 2.5mph.

[Vodkaman]

There is a new wood material that could be perfect for the job. It has virtually no grain and so carves and drills very easily. Its density is about right too, roughly the density of pine. excellent water resistance, such that no sealing is required, I could not believe it when I read this fact, but it is true. Indonesia has a lot of timbers, but I have never found anything that comes close to this spec, you guys are so lucky over there in the US of A.

 

The only down side, is that the dust is an irritant, but this can be said for ALL woods. You should never work with wood without wearing at least a dust mask.

 

For those giant muskie teeth, this material is a must. Even when the teeth pierce the topcoat, the lure is going to keep on swimming and will never become waterlogged.

 

Dave

[Dtedquist]

Dave, did I miss something? What new wood material are you referring to?

Dan

[Vodkaman]

Dan - PM sent.

 

Dave

[RayburnGuy]

Is this "new" wood a secret?

 

Ben

[Vodkaman]

Not really, sounds really good though, don't you think?

 

Dave

[RayburnGuy]

Not really, sounds really good though, don't you think?

 

Dave

 

Sounds almost too good to be true. Hang on a sec and let me see what that is pulling on my pants leg.

 

Ben

[Vodkaman]

Ben - no joke, this fantastic new material is called AZEK PVC decking.

 

The specifications could have been set up for lure builders, it is that perfect for our application. But some will not use it because it is not wood.

 

Easy to drill, cut and shape.

the right density.

Completely waterproof.

Holds paint and topcoat no problem.

Screw eyes hold.

 

BUT IT'S PLASTIC! pfft.

 

Dave

[RayburnGuy]

Oh OK. Got a strip 4" wide and about 6' long left. I use it occasionally along with paulownia and a couple different densities of balsa. 

 

One of the best producing baits I've made so far was built from PVC. When the fish are shallow that little sucker will flat out catch bass. I don't see it as a "cure all", but IMHO it has it's place in a lure builders arsenal.

 

Ben

[SW Lures]

Maybe soon I will get with one of our experts on Azek... Mark. He has been praising it for aloooooong time. I'm interest in it but things has not settled down long enough for me to give it a try. When I first started posting he tried to pull me that way. Also I believe that he mentioned it here in this thread.

Well.....hi ho, hi ho it's off to work I go.

Take Care,

Dale

[JRammit]

Lowes carries a decent PVC trim board... Only problem with it is one side is textured... If you have a planner, this is no problem

[Vodkaman]

Dale - it is just an option to consider. Get this job out of the way, then you can experiment.

 

Dave

[Travis]

I just pass it through my table saw.  My issue is I simply don't enjoy using it.  Definitely something one should try but I would think that for many that enjoy woodworking and get into lure making that using PVC may not cut it.