SPRO musky baits (segmented bodies)

[Red Childress]

I got a great report from my "musky mentor" over the holidays about how much he liked the new Spro (segmented) musky baits.

Has anyone else tried them out??? Results??

[Polish_Pike]

I bought one of the SPRO BBZ-1's in the wicked perch pattern, they're $35 on Cabela's site. Not cheap, nice lure though for sure...threw it for a while around the stumps at Tamarack, no raises, no results..that was the story of my 2008 season however, but it did have a great action. I think it will bag me a fish this year.

They make a nice rainbow trout pattern that should move some fish up there in your stretch of the river. They have a little bigger profile than the Savagear 4-play I know you like to throw, and kick more water.

On the subject...Hard Swimbaits...

I've been on a swimbait buying spree. I love casting those things. It's a confidence thing....if it looks like a real fish, I believe in it. One of the best ones I bought was from luckylures.nl

I got the Lucky Trout, which is a fantastic Brown Trout swimbait that looks and moves so natural. Best I've seen. He also hand-carves/paints pike, rainbow, and perch lures too. Big $ (like $50+) if you can swing one, but beautiful lures that move real nice. The Dutch big-pike hunters got game.

Next on the list is a walleye swimbait from muskysnax. As soon as I can dispose of a hundred bones, or maybe one of the new Castaics, they look nice. Any recommendations from my musky hunter peers? Maybe I should just save my money and throw $3 homemade bucktails.

[Red Childress]

I am waiting for the new Castaics.....

Those SavageGear 4-play baits are sure deadly on pike in the pikie pattern.....have not done that well in the rainbow color.

50.00 is really not that bad if you can bag a dozen or two muskies with it as opposed to a 30 dollar "rubber swimbait" that tears apart on the 3rd snag.

[muskie24/7]

Hey Polish Pike, Check out the Nates Baits Website! His stuff is beautiful and very EXSPENSIVE!

BRIAN GILMORE

[Polish_Pike]

Hey, Nates Baits look real nice...thanks for the tip. I may have to add some of those to the arsenal.

My 2009 New Year's resolution is to prove the theory about musky lures...."The more they cost, the more fish they catch." I'm a tool.

By August I'm sure I'll be liquidating my inventory (and boat) to get the utilities turned back on...oh well...as long as I get a big one this year, it's cool.

[muskie24/7]

I am waiting for the new Castaics.....

Those SavageGear 4-play baits are sure deadly on pike in the pikie pattern.....have not done that well in the rainbow color.

50.00 is really not that bad if you can bag a dozen or two muskies with it as opposed to a 30 dollar "rubber swimbait" that tears apart on the 3rd snag.

Wow Red! Your made it through 3 snags, Mine ripped just casting it the first time out of the package! O.K-O.K.....Lets not go there!LMAO

Brian

[cband]

If your interested in a lure from Muskysnax, you better get on his list. It took me about 6 months to get my walleye swim bait and I have been on the list for awhile to get a sucker swimbait. I had to force myself to throw it. Very expensive, but it looks good.

[Red Childress]

If these high dollar baits can hold up, I have no problem forking out 40-60 bucks for them. Many of the new segmented baits appear to be built well and they look very good on the teaser web-videos.

Is there a video of the muskysnax baits??? I have not had time to look this morning. Running a little later than normal to school because I had to drive through 2 inches of ice just to get out of my driveway.

[cband]

There is a video on his website.(google it, not sure if I'm allowed to post the link) Just look under Freshwater at the top of the home page.

[Red Childress]

I found the baits but could not watch the video here at school.....it is on a youtube format and most school districts have those blocked for obvious reasons.

They sure look good but I wonder how the fins hold up to punishing strikes?? His site said he was moving from wood to plastic, which should help the durability factor. Those tapered tail/dorsal/pect fins appear to be easy to break.......

[muskie24/7]

Hey, Nates Baits look real nice...thanks for the tip. I may have to add some of those to the arsenal.

My 2009 New Year's resolution is to prove the theory about musky lures...."The more they cost, the more fish they catch." I'm a tool.

By August I'm sure I'll be liquidating my inventory (and boat) to get the utilities turned back on...oh well...as long as I get a big one this year, it's cool.

Your not married, Are you?LOL
Brian

[Polish_Pike]

I did the whole married act for 10 years...then the whole musky addiction thing came along, and that was the end of that. Wives don't like it when you ask them to help you sharpen treble hooks on your anniversary and attempt to re-schedule marriage counseling sessions because Joe Bucher's lunar phase calendar predicts a nice feeding window. That darn Joe Bucher! I guess I maybe could have made better decisions there.

I intend on meeting my next wife right here in this forum someday. It may take forever, but that's ok. Her gentle hands should be scarred by hook punctures and gill-raking, and her long, flowing hair should be the color of a walleye pattern Manta Hang 10.

[ThreeRiversEsox]

I believe that Mike (Snax) uses microfibbetts for the tails and fins on his baits. They are generally pretty flexible, but I could see after some wear and tear you may lose some of them. I'd like to see a picture of some of his baits that have been eaten and see what happens to them. Another up and comer is John Snow, aka Tigger, who's jerkbaits are going on eBay for up to $149. There's a new breed of artist out there, making realistic baits even more of reality for us fishermen. JR Hopkins is another quality swimbait maker, he's made all types of fish, plus an iguana, a lobster, and a pretty sweet crayfish, all out of plastic, the basement baitbuilders newest friend.

[Red Childress]

In response to an earlier post in this thread.........


Is it necessary to drop 50-150 bucks on "great looking" musky baits because they will catch more and bigger fish??

I have never purchased anything over 40 dollars or so for a lure so I cannot have an opinion from personal experience. From reading/listening to other popular musky gurus over the years, they seem to think it is more of a lure action/size debate rather than how many coats of epoxy or paint are on them or if lifelike fins and 3D eyes can really guarantee the fisherman will bang a 50 as soon as it hits the water.

The largest muskies (those in the 50+ inch class) I have ever seen IN PERSON ate or followed the following baits:

9.00 Super Shad Rap; 15.00 soft-tail Phantom; 20.00 8-inch baby bass Manta; 22.00 jointed Wiley's in carp pattern; 15.00 black jointed Believer; 14.00 Swimmin' Joe; 18.00 bucktail; and an 18.00 perch Tuff Shad. There are a few more but I cannot remember the baits we were using right now.

Maybe if we had been using a 77.00 Hughes River bait or some other expensive custom bait we would have LANDED the first 50-inch fish in my boat.

On the flip side of this debate, if I had to choose a bait that looked the best and had the most life-like features it would be hard to snap on a Bagley's Bang-O if there was a SPRO or Nate Bait lying next right to it. I would bet that the "confidence factor" would almost always be the driving force in selecting any lure no matter how pretty it was or how much it cost.