Gotta have Tonka lures

[andy nelson]

Hey guys just getting into Musky fishing, went out with a buddy a couple times and now I need to get some of my own stuff. Tonka is mostly where I fish, what are some good lures and colors that work here for you? Thanks and as always any tips help too!!

[50inchpig]

i'm not a tonka regular but there's not much i wouldn't throw there at some point during the season.

last night i jumped in DeBos boat so only brought the good baits and had a suick, topwater, 2 bulldawgs, big blade, small blade, and a phantom. i could make it through the season out there with those i think. probably want to add a rad dog or two and a few cranks to that.

as with any milfoil lake, any point, turn, hole, gap, hump, bump, slot, edge, channel, cup, spine, saddle, island, drop, current area or flat could hold fish. don't forget about the inside edge too, the possibilities are endless so cover water and mark fish you see, they are there for a reason.

[andy nelson]

Thanks! Any info helps..

[Shawn Kellett]

Here's my A list:

Eagle Tails Mag: Chart/chart and brass/brown

M&G spinnerbait: yellow/black

Mag Stomper: Dark color and bright color

Lowrider: dark and bright

Cowgirl: Chart/chart black, nickle/ blue silver

Muskie Treat: Tonka Dream, Crisco

10" Suick: brown/yellow

That will get you through most any condition out there.

[b1gf1sh1]

i'm not a tonka junkie but i know a couple. black bucktails are both their mantra's and those two never met. only other thing i know about tonka that might be helpfull is it's got one name but is really multiple lakes with different water clarity, oxygen levels and lake beds. each "bay" has it's own quirks. so lure color, action and even size can make a big difference. good luck.

[50inchpig]

No Dawgs, Shawn?

[Zelmsdawg]

I think in the minnesota musky map book, one of the guides interviewed about tonka said he would never leave the dock without a phanthom or jackpot.

That being said, I've had success on tonka with all the main bait categories: hair, top, jerk/glide, plastic and crank.

I think its more important having a lure that your confident in that works well at your given depth/conditions which i think is mostly 12-15 feet weed edge. I know this is specific which you might be hoping for but everything has its place and time. Color might be more important than bait style but I haven't fished the lake lately so can't help there

Zelmsdawg

[brad coin]

any aerodynamic cylinder shaped bait that you can bounce off jet skis and cruisers,,,dont forget "lead em"

[andy nelson]

Excelent! Keep em coming! I picked up two Dawgs today.

[Shawn Kellett]

Marc, I HATE dawgs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I run a Mag Treat if I want big rubber. Dawgs either have poor hooking % or they totally kill themselves with the thing. Dawgs don't produce for me. I call them my "black cloud" baits. I can fish them for a week straight and never see anything on them, then switch and catch one. I've thrown dawgs for a few hours this year and haven't seen anything. I've thrown Mag Treats for about and hour and seen 5.

I need to amend my line-up to include a Weagle. MUCH better then a jackpot!

[PostFrontal]

Man, how did I forget about the nickle/bluesilver cowgirl. That was my #1 producer the year CG's came out. I need to dig that sucker out.

Tough to beat a Mag Treat in the waves on any lake....that's a secret

[Shawn Kellett]

I've got some new Mag Treats that are ready for clear coat right now. This batch is the new 3 hook design.

[b1gf1sh1]

Quote:

each "bay" has it's own quirks. so lure color, action and even size can make a big difference

i'm stuck home building lures today and a little bored baby sitting the coating so i have some time to clarify.

color can make a difference because of the secchi disk reading. this is the depth a special disk, called a secchi,lol, can be seen by the human eye. the darker the water the brighter, in general, you'd want your lure so it's more visible.

action is important to better match the forage base dominating that area. darker shallower areas won't have ciscoes, as an example, and would have perch, bullhead or pannies and suckers and other minnows like gold shiners and the like. (my rule is if there is bullhead (cats in rivers), there is suckers). a slower, looser action would be more appropriate than a fast, darting, tight erratic action like ciscoes swim. and vise versa, unless you know there is other forage around in the clearer deeper areas.

size can be important for visibility, matching forage size dominating the area, profile match, and as mentioned above, matching the action.

as long as i'm at it i may as well clarify ''lake beds'', tecnicly known as ''lake basins''. they are really different lakes it's just they are not seperated by land but transition while still covered by water. these transition areas are great fishing areas where one type bottom gives way to another, rock to muck, sand to rock and so on. or depths change dramaticly, more than 4 feet, along with bottom types are best. also one of the basins edge may be weedy and the other is not. great spot on a spot.

i heard this awhile back... there's areas that are cleared there through lilly pad fields so people can get their boat out from home. i guess early and late in the day if a guy casts close to shore from outside these fields and reels back to the boat, or from shore i spose, something good usually happens.