TOP 5 LURES?

[T Bone]

i am looking to really hardcore get into muskie fishing and i was just seeing what your guys' top 5 muskie lures are and there color and size. i am wanting to fill up my new musky tackle box.

THANKS!

[monster musky]

I have about twenty musky baits but in my two years of fishing I've caught all five of my musky's from 34"-52" on the mepps musky marabou in the firetiger color. So I can't really round out the top 5. I have seen some big fish follow up on my hellhound gliding jerkbait, but never got them to bite. The hardest part is just staying motivated after hours of casting.

Good Luck

[Scottie Thomas]

There are many threads about this or something similar in the past. A quick search will provide some great reading.

I would think about the waters you will be fishing, and also suggest that you develop you own 'Top 5' rather than try to love another guys favorites.

Since ya asked... for me

1) The Original Double Cowgirl

2) Mag Bulldawg - Walleye

3) Lee Lures Chopper- Black & Orange

4) 12 inch Big Game Cranks

5) Cochran Tackle Bou Bling Spinnerbait

[T Bone]

i dont have alot of money to spend so i am trying to find the lures that work the best for others so i wont waste money on lures that dont work.

[Shoot2Kill]

If you are on a budget here is my .02. I'm pretty new to this as well but have had pretty decent luck for a newbie to Muskies.....last weekend 4 fish were put into my boat on the same double cowgirl - bright colors, rolled SLOW across the weeds...all of them within the first 2 hours after the sun went down. Right now I have so much faith in that bait I could really care less about bringing anything out in the boat when the sun goes down!

[mainbutter]

i dont have alot of money to spend so i am trying to find the lures that work the best for others so i wont waste money on lures that dont work.

Any lure will eventually catch a fish, heck any lure will eventually catch a musky. They all work to a degree, which is why there are so many kinds.

To fish 99% of situations, with lures that are proven to catch fish well, I'd suggest looking at the following:

1)double bladed bucktail - double cowgirl is the obvious recommendation

2) bulldawg. They just catch fish.

3) a phantom. Again, they just catch fish.

4) some kind of topwater walk-the-dog lure. fun to use, exciting to get a hit, and when a fish is hungry, it likely will eat a topwater WTD.

This is coming from a musky newbie, but these 4 lures seem to cover just about all fishing situations out there, and make up some of the most basic lures for a musky tackle box.

If you want to do some kind of crank trolling, well get a big crankbait, there's too many for me to suggest one with much confidence over the others, but I do like super shad raps (for no particular reason)

[cbrooks]

My five lures a

1.bulldog walleye or black & orange, can't fish it wrong covers all depths.

2.weagle black or white, learn to use WTD lures.

3.hawg wobbler black or orange, slow moving topwater.

4.eagle tail bucktail black silver blades

5.double cowgirl get one with silver or gold blades and the other with a bright orange or chartues color for overcast days.

6.pacemaker had to use a sixtget black or orange.

for trolling I like those life like pike by Dunwright lures.

Make sure to sharpen all your hooks this will help alot. I don't even want to say how many fish I couldn't hookup on my first two years of fishing muskies compare to now. I use the musky buster hook sharpeners. Good luck.

[50inchpig]

LOWRider/Humper

Bulldawg

DCG/Supermodel

Suick

I think I could get by with 4

[Musky Buck]

For me my lures are a low priority in relation to "when" you go, the pattern is most important. I use 3 lures. Bucktails, Walk the Dog, and I don't even know the other one. But, I only fish when these 2 baits are hot and that comes from time on the water. If I fished more I would learn the trips and triggers of the other baits on the market. So I go less than most, but am able to hit those multiple fish kinds of days and I'm fresh and ready.

[dan z]

DCG- blue/silver

DCG- red/black

pacemaker- prpl/black

jointed drifter crank bait- white

bulldawg blk/org/char

[Cold Front Pooch]

DBL 10,13

Wades Wobbler

Bulldawg/Medussa

Topraider

Believer

Thats in no particular order and condition oriented.

[bronzeback]

Double bodied, single bladed bucktail. Somtimes it's not big and fast, it just fast that you want.

DCG, any of the fluorescents.

Viper.

Topraider.

Super Shad.

[urban cowboy]

Double cowgirl... nickel/orange blade - red black skirt

Jr cowgirl.... nickel blade - black skirt

Mag Bulldawg.... anything with an orange tail

Reg Bulldawg.... anything with an orange tail

Creeper.. preferably jointed.

[hainestaylor]

do you think i will do just as fine if i bought a double bladed showgirl instead of the cowgirl, just because of the price difference.

[Shoot2Kill]

do you think i will do just as fine if i bought a double bladed showgirl instead of the cowgirl, just because of the price difference.

In my limited experience I use these 2 completely differently. I don't have a reel that can consistently burn the cowgirls during the day...but it can burn the showgirl. I've had zero luck with the showgirl but have had excellent success with the double 10s on cowgirl after dark when you can slow roll them which my reel can handle. The 10s move more water and create more vibration IMO. If I had to pick....I'd get the DCG and fish at night.

[hainestaylor]

what is a DCG????

[hainestaylor]

do you think the cowgirl is worth an extra 10 dollars over the showgirl

[mainbutter]

what is a DCG????

double cowgirl

In case you don't know what that is either, it is an inline spinner with two big size 10 colorado blades(name of the shape of the blade), with two decent-sized trailing hooks, dressed with a skirt made of a material called "flashabou".

[hainestaylor]

i am so stupid... why didnt i think of that

[50inchpig]

the big blades are worth the extra $10, they have a certian appeal to them the smaller ones do not

the magic - now that's priceless

[urban cowboy]

do you think i will do just as fine if i bought a double bladed showgirl instead of the cowgirl, just because of the price difference.

What dude???

Is this some kind of trick question?

[urban cowboy]

Originally Posted By: hainestaylor

do you think i will do just as fine if i bought a double bladed showgirl instead of the cowgirl, just because of the price difference.

In my limited experience I use these 2 completely differently. I don't have a reel that can consistently burn the cowgirls during the day...but it can burn the showgirl. I've had zero luck with the showgirl but have had excellent success with the double 10s on cowgirl after dark when you can slow roll them which my reel can handle. The 10s move more water and create more vibration IMO. If I had to pick....I'd get the DCG and fish at night.

I use my showgirls as search baits on sunny blue bird sky days.... Burn and turn baby.

Come back at night and slow roll a cow.

[ryanmitchell]

If you are just starting off in the musky hunting adventure, here are my 2 cents. I bought 4 lures after talking to a guy at Cabelas when I got started. A top raider, grandma crankbait, mepps musky killer bucktail, and I forgot the 4th. I caught 2 muskies in one day on my 2nd or third time trying to catch one. I caught one on the mepps, one on the topraider. I have since spent roughly $1000 on lures and gear, and I have yet to land another one! I have fished exclusively for muskies roughly 50 times all day long, on a number of great muskie lakes.

If I was to start over with the knowledge I know now, this is all you really need.

1. Black skirt/ nickel bladed bucktail - single or double blades. The Bucher magambo w white grub trailer in that pattern is money. $13

2. Mepps Musky Killer - black hair/ single orange french blade. Versatile, effective, easy. A firetiger patterned mepps or similar brand would be another choice for the sunny days. Throw the black/nickel on sunny days too. Black/orange on overcast days. $10

3. Bucher Topraider - black/orange tail. Runs true every cast. Can be fished in calm or chop. There are 1700 different prop style topwaters. I have 9 diff ones myself, raiders are the best bang for your buck. You can get a bright colored one for the sunny days, but the blackish ones work consistently in all conditions. $17

4. A cowgirl or some big double bladed bucktail. Pick a color different from the other bucktails you purchase to spread out your colors. Maybe a chartruese blade in firetiger pattern. You can fish these big bucks all year long but they excel in the summer time and at night. The chart blades with look good in sunny conditions, and great for night fishing as you can see them really well coming in. $20-25.

5. Bulldawg - get the medium sized one, versatile, won't wear you down as much. All White, black/orange tail, or walleye pattern. Just throw it out and either fish it like 6-12 o'clock following and reeling your line back down to 6 o clock, or rip it horizontally across your body reeling as you go back to meet the bait. $15-25.

You could buy a creeper, hawg wobbler, viper, weagle, pacemaker, or similar topwater. You could buy 19 different crankbaits in all different sizes and colors.You could but all sorts of glide/jerkbaits baits like suicks/hellhounds/mantas/warlocks/bobbie baits.

Some of those baits are really fun. The learning curve is steep on some of those baits. Eventually you can get around to learning them, but seeing and catching fish will fuel your desire to pursue muskies, and the baits mentioned will give you a much better chance to do so.

You could also get soft plastic baits like a shallow invader/kickin minnow, and also all different sized spinnerbaits. They all have their place, but there is a reason bucktails and topwater rank highly, they catch fish.

Bucktails and topwater! Morning or night, sunny or cloudy, cold or warm. Vary your retreival speed, and have fun. 94% of the people who have posted on this topic have spent a small fortune on their musky gear. I gaurantee you they/we all have a pile of lures that are either retired because of ineffectiveness or kept in the tackle box because of the absurd amount of money spent on each lure. Also, see if you can go out with a muskie hunter that has an expansive arsenal of lures. Try them. There will undoubtedly be some lures you like to throw more than others. Once you find ones you like and you can afford them, buy a couple and fish them with confidence.

Bucktails and topwater are simple, boring at times, but routinelty effective. Good luck, nothing like having one on your line!

[Shoot2Kill]

do you think the cowgirl is worth an extra 10 dollars over the showgirl

Refer to my previous reply about the results between the two baits - YES, without a doubt.

[urban cowboy]

Keep in mind you have to have the right gear to throw alot of these baits. Its not a poor mans sport for sure.