Follow up question for RK on his seminar

[HugoBox]

RK-

I had to bolt when you were all but done so wasn't able to hit you up at the expo. I've got a ton of Long A's and other similar minnow baits that have hauled in a walleye or two but I'm thinking I'd want to put them on steroids a bit before tossing them for muskies - do you swap out the split rings or hooks? Also, I dig the magnum BeetleSpin idea (purple fladoo) - in the past a shad body or big twister tail replaced the hair or silicon once a safety pin spinnerbait gets too beat up.

I enjoyed your seminar - possibly the most important thing is that any lure that can be thrown on a flippin' stick is a good choice.

So much for the Pounder on opening day!!

Thanks - Erik

[RK]

Hiya -

For the Bombers, if you get the heavy duty Magnum Long A you don't need to beef them up at all. They have heavy split rings and X-Strong nickel-cad saltwater hooks. Caught hundreds of muskies on them and never had a ring or hook fail. Other minnow baits it might be a different story though. Just have to look them over and see, and when in doubt swap out the parts. Costs a few pennies...

Yeah, the Purple Fladeux is one of those sneaky little things guys just don't consider. You have to see one in the water with those big, cheap shad bodies. The whole thing wobbles...

I guess I better explain for those who weren't there... Years and years ago Larry Dahlberg showed me how to make a spinnerbait with a 1/2 or 3/4 oz Owner saltwater jighead and bucktail wire. Put a shad body on it and it's basically a giant Beetle Spin for pike and muskies, but they can really kick butt sometimes. Someone asked him what it was called - as if it were some secret lure or something - and in typical Larry fashion he made up a silly name on the spot - the Purple Fladeux. It wasn't purple, and I have no idea what a fladeux is, but I've called it that ever since...

I'm serious about the flipping stick thing too. First of all, the muskie hasn't been born you can't whip on a flipping stick - ESPECIALLY with reels like the Revo Toro available these days. Early in the season before the casting muscles are in shape I use flipping sticks all the time. Can't fish well if you don't feel well, and most of the lures I rely on the first couple weeks of the season are easily handled on a flipping stick or light muskie rod. Actually, some of the bass swimbait rods out now are even better than a flipping stick. The St Croix swimbait rods and Shimano Crucial swimbait rods are both pretty awesome muskie rods. I think the Crucial 8' XH swimbait rod is the best muskie rod Shimano makes... I use them all season.

Glad you enjoyed the seminar. It was a fun one to give.

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[Cooter]

So is the Purple Fladeux similar to the Shumway Fish Tail Spinner?

[RK]

Hiyca -

Yeah - it's basically the same thing as a Hot Head or Fish Tail Spinner, although the Owner jigheads have much better hooks... Simple bait, but they work, especially when the water's cold in spring.

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[b1gf1sh1]

RK. ever try that with a dual spinner (side X side) set up? not something i do a lot but they do work great in the right situations. to tell the truth i don't think i ever even used one on a lake, just rivers. really nice for eddies with fast current at the edges. just let the current bring it to the top and into the slack to drop, and repeat. deadly. several piggy 'eyes that way too.

[goblueM]

RK - what line would you reccomend if I were to pick up one of those swimbait rods? Just got a Toro and was pondering getting something like that, and I'm not sure what the full application of a smaller rod is as far as lure size and line type/strength

[RK]

Hiya -

Don - yeah, the twin spin... What an overlooked bait, for about any species depending on how big the bait is. Connie Peterson a Gopher Tackle used to make them, and they were deadly on fall bass. Marv Kiley used to make a muskie size one too, and I still have a couple. Great for slow rolling in the fall. What's cool about the single spin models with a shad body is how it all wobbles even at low speeds.

goblueM - I have 80# Master Braid on mine, but that's basically for simplicity's sake since it's what I use on everything else. Works fine on a 60-size Toro. I think you'll be surprised at what you can do with a setup like that. Smaller bucktails, topwaters, jigs, swimbaits - you can do a lot of stuff with a long fast-action rod...

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[b1gf1sh1]

yeah, i never knew what they were named but twin spin sounds good. i had a couple bass sized and just did the bending myself for the muskie sized. i got the piggy's, 10 maybe more around 30'' give or take, on a muskie size(not ''mega-muskie'' but a tail like a hot-shot) fishing for pike/muskie, all in pool 2 on the mississippi. my biggest is from the croix and i got her on a 8''or 9'' dead sucker going for cats . i never really did a perfect measure, just in the water but she was all of 34'' or up past 35''s a bit maybe, and very gizzard shad/emeralds fat and shoulders like a wild boar. a 30+'' 'eye will eat some pretty big stuff, lol. i learned a lot from those experiences.