What To Throw for Musky Action?

[Pete Stoltman]

Since last weekend the action seems to be steadily increasing with good reports of musky action. Be aware that the windows of opportunity are quite short and you may spend the better part of a day practicing casting until the action starts. When this happens it seems to be a period of an hour or less when you will see fish, get hits, etc. BE ON YOUR TOES. Those guys who follow the solunar tables are telling me that they are seeing a definite correlation with action during peak solunar periods.

Now what the heck do you want to be throwing when the action happens? I would have to say the hands down favorite this week has been dive and rise jerkbaits from everyone I've talked to. Suicks, Ducktail Warriors, Sandcats and baits of that nature are getting fish to hit. Most often these fish are hitting as the bait rises which creates the issue of dealing with hits on slack line. Watch the bait rise and be especially aware for any following fish. Be ready to set the hook FAST when a fish hits. It may be your only shot at it.
Quick rising crankbaits will also be in the mix and there again if you fish these baits with a pull and pause (yank & crank) retrieve you're getting a similar action as the jerkbaits. Baits like Slammers, Big Games, Cranes, Jakes, Grandmas, and both Shallow and Depthraiders will do the trick.

Baits that are producing but to a lesser extent have been soft plastics (Dawgs, Suzy Suckers and their variants) bucktails, and every now and then surface baits. Now that the water has cooled down considerably and heading toward the basement remember these fish can be anywhere. It's not too early to start watching for schools of suspended baitfish in open water and the toothy critters that follow them. Let us know if you're seeing any particular patterns developing in your neck of the woods and keep watching here as Matt and I will try to provide you with the best information we can muster.

[Muskie Matt]

Pete is absolutely correct on the dive/rise baits effectivness lately. An important note being, in my boat anyway, is that the fish will ALWAYS hit on the baits pause/rise period. EVERYTIME! Leading to the "slack line" strike Pete previously mentioned. Whether a short timed pause or longer pause period (generally longer pause/rise periods work best in the late fall). This habit of hitting on the pause leads me to really attempt an "eyes on" type of retrieve, I want to SEE that bait on every pause/rise and I'll see that fish hit everytime then. When I see the flash of a fish on that bait I just naturally raise the rod tip and usually feel the fish unless it's a miss, which happens.

Of course an "eyes on" type of approach isn't always possible due to water clarity, reflections, chop on the water, bait depth, etc. and then I just do my best to keep slack out of the line best I can on the pause. I'll usually feel a light "tap" of some sort... leading to Muskie Matt rule #2: Set the hook on everything! HA!

Good luck out there, stay safe n warm!

[North of 8]

Pete, I recently got a ducktail weed warrior from R & H. I really liked the action right out of the packaging, like a really well tuned suick. And because my place is on the Moen chain, shallow and weedy, I liked the weedless feature. However, tried it out last weekend and on no more than 20 casts hooked a very nice fish but about 10 feet from the boat it got off. I am concerned that the hooks that come with it are on the small side and when you have only two double hooks, not trebles to start with, that reduces your chances. What do you think about adding larger double weedless hooks?

[Pete Stoltman]

I agree the Warrior is a nice bait. Never been a huge fan of those weedless hooks though. Even in very weedy lakes I tend to use standard trebles and then just adjust my retrieve. Softer pulls or even a straight retrieve with pauses will usually get through most of the slop. Now if you want to keep those weedless hooks on maybe upsizing would help. I'd try moving up one size at a time to make sure the bigger hook doesn't affect the baits action too much. If you try it, let us know how it works for you.