Bait Speed Revisited...

Ok, I am really starting to question things here in terms of bait speed/action. As I have been trying to learn the "way of the Musky", the one thing that seemed to be consistent was to maintain or increase bait speed if you see a Musky follow. Well, I was just watching "The Next Bite" and they were fishing mainly surface baits (walk the dog types). They were fishing those things MUCH slower and with more pauses than I would have ever expected(especially with fish following)!!! Thats the way I used to fish for Bass with those types of baits, but have avoided that to this point, due what I had read. AND, they had strikes on those slowed/paused baits.

Half of the Musky (Ok, only 2 if you're counting) I have landed so far were on "twitched" crankbaits. The jerk/pause seemed to really turn these fish on to the bait. Am I missing something here, or am I over analyzing the situation?? As I retrieve a Shallow Invader with an action that makes me want to eat it, even though thats contrary to what I have read, is that what I should stick with?? These may seem like basic questions, but I fear that I may turn off a fish by being too quick to speed into an 8 rather than give an extra pause or two. Boy, those things look like they are just dying to get eaten with the proper work.

I am certainly not trying to discount the figure-8, just wondering if there is more I can do to get the action before getting to boatside.

You’re opening quite a can of worms here. Red asked me to answer this post, so I’ll do what I can to confuse you a bit more. HA!

With “jackpot” style surface baits, you’ll find that quick hopping them will produce a good number of strikes, while working them slowly with a pause now and then will actually produce more hookups. At least that’s been my experience. There will be days when the fish will only react to the quick hopping bait, so regardless of the “blowup/hookup ratio,” that’s the route you have to take. Some days I find it very hard to fish slow enough to work my Marauders and Jackpots properly. And yes, contrary to what I’d recommend while fishing just about any other bait, pausing the bait when a fish is following can be deadly. We get so ingrained to “keep that bait moving” that it can be hard to make yourself pause the lure when a musky shows itself.

As for twitching a Shallow Invader, that’s pretty hard to beat in a lot of situations. But there are as many different “twitch” retrieves as there are Shallow Invader colors. See my story “Twitching on the Edge” in the upcoming Musky Hunter Magazine Aug/Sept 2009 issue for detailed explanations on some of these techniques.

But twitching and the figure-8 are apples and oranges. If you have a musky follow a twitched bait to the boat, it’s rare that you’ll convert that fish on a figure-8. It happens, but not all that often. You’ve got so much triggering action while twitching, if the fish doesn’t eat right away, it’s probably not quite in the mood. That being said, I’ve found nothing more effective in converting follows to strikes than speed. If I can get a fish to go around once on the 8, I feel that musky should end up in the net. That increase in speed will often turn the attitude of a lazy fish to a kamikaze! My last 50” musky wolfed a 10” Kickin’ Minnow after no less than 20 figure-8s!!! Talk about a workout! Just try pulling that bait around 20 times as fast as you can. HA!

The bottom line is the more experience you have reading the attitude of fish, the better you’ll be at converting follows to strikes. There are very few set in stone rules to musky fishing, so don’t overanalyze what you see on TV or read in a magazine… especially if it hurts your confidence level about what you’re doing. Here’s the only “set in stone” rule I can think of… “If what you’re doing is working, stick with it. If it’s not, do something else.” I know that sounds over simplified, but that’s what it all boils down to.

Good luck out there. If you can stand the crowds and boat traffic, it should be a dynamite weekend to fish!

Jim Bortz

Thanks for replying to that question, JB. I was running a little late this morning to meet my clients and I thought you could offer more insight on that subject anyway so that is why I roped you into it.


Jay,

BTW.......Ditto on what JB said :) and with a short story from last year............I had a client with me last June chucking a Top Raider and I had the boat positioned along a shallow bank as we worked the deeper channel. As his top raider came clicking by me in the front of the boat, I saw a very nice fish right behind it so I yelled "there is a fish". He suddenly paused his bait and the 45 inch fish put her nose right behind the bait and I mean 1-inch from it. I then yelled "just jerk it" so he did.......the fish just sipped the bait off the surface and was in the net in under 30 seconds.

Are you confused yet?? :)

Guys,

Thanks a ton for the response!! I was just really surprised by the way they were getting action from those fish by pausing those surface baits.

You bring up another great point about learning to read a Musky's mood. That, along with tons of other things, is something I have to focus on. At this point, by the time I get my mind back from just seeing a fish, I have either spooked it, or am going right into an 8.

Definitely looking forward to the article in MH!! Thanks again Jim!! Oh, and thanks to you too Red!! LOL

I'm actually holdin off to fish until Monday-Wed. to avoid some of the crowds. But, I am definitely hittin the waters hard once there. I'm still lookin for #1 for '09 and am hoping to get that done this week!!

Good luck everyone!!

Jim

very good explanation...except for the 'read my article' bit. that's just a tease! HaHa... seriously, can't wait to read it

thanks for the info as well...

LOL I kind of feel like Alice chasing the rabbit down a hole!!

To be honest, I actually think its great that there are certain guidelines to try and follow, but few "set in stone" rules about chasing these fish. Thats exactly the kind of thing that really got me psyched to start into it.

One of the issues for me is that I am at a place in my Musky learning where I am trying to figure out the following things about a spot I believe might hold fish:

1) How much time do I spend on a spot?

2) How many different baits should I throw before I move on?

3) Did I not use the "right" bait/technique while I was on that spot?

4) Should I return at a "peak" time even though I didn't see a fish?

I am sure that everyone asks these same questions, but these are some that keep me up at night!! LOL Its gotten to the point that as I am taking the boat out of the water at the end of one trip, I am already going over the plans for the next trip in my head!!

The good part is that I have convinced myself that I have the arsenal to attract these fish, so the spending has leveled. Now, I am working to get as much time on the water as possible. My goal is to have at least 100 days on the water this year, including trout and bass.