What are Mudpuppys?

[Northlander]

Some say they are young cats and others say they are young Salamanders. What are they really?

[Guest]

Dwarf waterdog
Necturus punctatus

The dwarf waterdog is a medium-sized salamander in its own right (exceeding 6 inches in total length) but fairly small when compared to other proteids, which can exceed three times that length. There are no truly conspicuous markings that aid in diagnosis. In general, the coloration is gray to blue to brown to black with small nondescript spots.

Identification of waterdogs and mudpuppies (as larger members of the genus are called) comes from noting the presence of large, often bushy external gills and only four toes on each of the four feet.

Waterdogs are, of course, completely aquatic and are most commonly found in slow-moving steams among the leaf litter deposited in the bend and other areas of low flow. Aquatic or semi-aquatic invertebrates (earthworms, insects, and crayfish) make up the bulk of the diet.

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Ed Carlson

[This message has been edited by Backwater Eddy (edited 10-11-2003).]

[Northlander]

Do people actually use them for Walleye bait? If so how do you hook um up?

[Northlander]

Hey Eddy what are your experiences with Ring Worms for eyes. Do you prefer the Catch-n Tackle Super Do's? I want to try them both in the St.Louis. I know they will work at least in the spring! Thanks.

[Guest]

Backwater and Northlandr,
Excuse my intrusion into this conversation. I have something to share.

"Reapers" are a plastic version of a Waterdog / Mudpuppy. You can fish a Reaper with the flat of the tail down... or up. It will react to the water very differently in these two positions/presentations.
With the tail vertical, it slices thru the water and has a bigger profile when viewed from the side. it is kinda dead in the movement department.
When rigged horz. it goes just "nutz" in the water! The fall is much slower and gives much more irattic movement.
Lots of Musky guys use Reapers to dress Bucktail spinners.
The MONSTER DO is actually a big "Reaper" with a Super Do "hair cut" on the tail. It is a cut-up Reaper...and the difference is also... it is made with the "gills" at front (the "spider" part of the Monster Do is the gills)!

The Monster Do is a plastic verson of the live "Mudpuppy". it is rigged tail flat in horz. position.

Use a live Mudpuppy for Walleye? U Bet!!!
They rock!
They rank up there with live crayfish and live frogs, in my book.
But... are very hard to find.

I invented the Monster Do exactly to simulate that niche bait... a Waterdog / Mudpuppy.

I have not had many reports on big Walleye on it yet... but the Bass just love it.
I am just waiting though, for someone to pitch some Monster Do's up on some river rocks or wind dam... and to CLOBBBBBER some pig-eyes.
I know they'll eat 'em!
Biggest Northern I ever caught was on a live Waterdog!
Biggest Bass I ever caught was on a live Waterdog.
Stands to reason...
I figure "fisherman will be catch'n on" to the Monster Do.
Catch'n
Dave Hoggard

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Fishermen are catch-n on
Catch'n Tackle
For Bass, Walleye, Pike, Lakers, Trout, Panfish
Used by FishingMN Family

[Guest]

Northlander I have had no real success hence no substantial confidence in Ring Worms for eyes on my waters.

I Do although prefer the Catch-n Tackle Super Do's as they have been producing very well for me.

The Reapers are a very diverse bait. You can use them on toothy critters of all kinds. I plan to work the largest version on cats in the spring...yup..that's right I said on cats.

I have been experimenting with giant plastics and huge muskie style Crankbaits on channel cats, with some very explosive results. I plan to fallow up on it again in the spring with more refined tactics. I know this system can tear up some big rowdy cats. You really have to see it to believe it, they blow up, bust water, and go airborne. Very...very..."Kewl"!

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Ed Carlson

[Northlander]

Cool! Thanks for all your input guys. Im going to try all this info on my river. Come on spring! Not that fall isnt fun too.

[Dan Wood]

I've been using the super do's for a couple years with good luck. The action is just too much - the eyes just smack 'em. I think it is also a very unique action that they aren't used to seeing a lot - another reason why they really hit them hard at times.

I use the ring worms a lot for bass, but haven't used them as much for walleye. The ring-n grub is a sweet wider profile grub that is becoming a favorite of mine for walleye - take a look at those and I think you'll find the wide/shorter profile is a killer combo. Good luck!

[Northlander]

Thanks. Do you see mutch diff. between the ring n grubs and say Berkley grubs. Just a little thicker profile?

[Guest]

Waterdogs caused a bit of a stir for big walleye a few years back. They were an "In bait" for deep beaklines and huge eyes.

Carl Lowrance the founder of the fishing sonar game even got into raising them commercially for a while. If you dig back through the old In Fisherman mags you will see some interesting articles on there use for many species of freshwater fish.

These back issues even had a few elaborate cartoons on waterdogs, funny too. They features "Hondo" a guide who suspiciously looked very much like Al. He is hunting a monster pike with a sumo sized pet Waterdog. Funny stuff really.

(Wondering off topic but what the hey Eh.)

Northlander Collecting all those back issues of In Fisherman has proved to be a wealth of fishing knowledge. I recommend keeping an eye out for complete or near complete sets, they are well worth the investment and make for some good winters reading. The first 17 issues are the hardest to find, but they are still findable. The first few paper issues are very difficult to find in top condition. I amazingly found the whole set just in time as it was headed for the dump.

I got very lucky there Eh. Now I have almost two complete sets. One I plan to hand down to my son. The Early issues of Fishing Facts are very worthy of collecting too.

A tip on a relatively new fishing mag that is every bit as good as the early days of In Fish. It's the muskie mag by Pete Maina "ESOX ANGLER".

www.esoxangler.com

ESOX ANGLER is not your every day fishing mag, serious info on toothy critter fishing with no talk. Very worthy of reading and collecting in my opinion. Check one out for yourself and see what you think.

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Ed Carlson

[Guest]

Northlandr,
Don't wait till spring to try Ringies and Do's on the river... you'll miss the boat. "Plastics" time on the Mississippi River is right now... and continues thru next spring.
I am not just saying that, it is true!

Plastics rock the river on pools 2 thru 8 in the fall, big-time! Guides that are using live bait in the summer, switch back to plastics in the fall... this is the ticket thru December & January.

Here is a link to Crappie Tom's comments about using plastics NOW on the river...
http://fishingminnesota.com/ubb/Forum28/HTML/000822.html
Catch'n
Dave Hoggard

------------------
Fishermen are catch-n on
Catch'n Tackle
For Bass, Walleye, Pike, Lakers, Trout, Panfish
Used by FishingMN Family

[This message has been edited by Catch'n (edited 10-12-2003).]

[Dennis Steele]

I have been doing well catching eyes on the Ring-N Grubs.I like the wider profile.I think the shape makes the grub fall slower and drift natural in the current.They kind of drift float through the water like a wounded or disorientated baitfish.Cast at quarter upstream and retrieved slowly on a semi taught line and the eyes just hammer them.I have also used them for verticle presentation.Some days the eyes like them just drifted along and other day they have produced ripping them up then letting them settle slowly.If your using scents all the little rings hold a lot of scent.I have some Super Do's but haven't given them a try yet as the Ring-N Grubs have been producing well.I will have to give them a try.

[Giant_Jackpot]

Where can I pick up the Ring-N Grubs in the Minneapolis area. Or on the way to Baudette?

Thanks!

[Guest]

I'll second what Dave said. Big plastics catch big fish in the fall. I have been flipping sumo tube baits and twisters up to 6" in the fall and the eyes woof then up.

The Blood Vein colored Ring-N-Grubs rigged with the weedless jigs are some of my favorite. I have been doing great with them this fall, better then anything else so far for sure.

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Ed Carlson

[This message has been edited by Backwater Eddy (edited 10-12-2003).]

[CrappieJohn]

Northlander, At this time of year, you will find the larger profile plastics will be the ticket. By larger profile, I do not mean just bigger plastics, I mean thickness vs length. The ring-n grub definitely does the job of filling this niche.As the water continues to cool, down sizing your baits will be needed. Again, not particularly length, but profile. It is during the dead of winter while fishing the dams of the Mississippi that the powerbait minnow and power bait jigging worm become important pieces of tackle. They come in the laid-back colors that I like using and have the bonus of some unbelievable scenting. Right now is when you want to use a bait that represente size and action that the fish target. The ring-n grub is the bait that I have been getting my fall fish on and I would imagine that this bite will last until sometime in November if the current weather patterns hold together. It is not until the water temps approach the forty degree mark that I start the downward trend in size. In warmer water fish seem to prefer the tail action of the grubs and the bright colors. But as stated earlier, when the water does the big chill, bland colors and smaller profile are in order. In the colder water, your jigging should not be nearly as aggressive as in warm water...just a slow three in hop and drop on a tight line is deadly. I have found the best way to fish the ringies is to drag them on a lonnnnnng, tight line behind the boat. To do the Doo's of any kind, hang'em on a jig, drop over the side of the boat until they hit bottom, reel up a foot and do nothing unless your rod decides to rocket overboard. Just keep checking to be sure you are a foot off the bottom. These Monster Doos look imposing and will fit the ticket now and again in the spring after ice-out and the water goes above forty degrees. You are going to miss some of the most dynamic fishing there is if you put the boat away soon. The St.Louis river is very close in offerings and water conditions to the Mississippi, which I fish all winter long. I don't look at the fall as being the end of fishing seaon ,but rather the beginning. The keys to cold ,open water, fishing is knowing when to down or up size and find niche baits to down or up size with. The baits are there to be had and Catch-n tackle has a world of it that is working right now and will continue to work thru the cold months. Go to the bottom of my post, get my e-mail address, and shoot me a note and I'll get back to you asap with a couple other tidbits.

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Sure life happens- why wait....The Crapster....good fishing guys!
[email protected]

[Guest]

Giant_Jackpot,
You'll find a good assortment of Ring-N Grub colors at Hooked On Fishing in Rochester.
Or... Catch'n Tackle ships FREE and your order goes out same or next day from Owatonna (there is a $25.00 minimun order required for FREE shipping). All colors Of Ring-N Grubs shown on the site are in stock.

There are presently no other retail outlets for any Catch-N Tackle products other than "HOF" in Rochester.
Catch'n
Dave Hoggard

------------------
Fishermen are catch-n on
Catch'n Tackle
For Bass, Walleye, Pike, Lakers, Trout, Panfish
Used by FishingMN Family

[Dan Wood]

Northlander,
Here is a photo comparison where you can see the wider profile on the ring'n grub (bottom) vs. a Berkley power grub (top).

Giant_Jackpot,
These can be ordered online direct from Catch'n.
http://catch-n.com

[Dan Wood]

Here are a few of the colors I like to use
in the fall. The quality on these plastics
is as good as I've seen. One look at these and you'll see what I'm talking about.

[This message has been edited by Dan Wood (edited 10-12-2003).]

[Guest]

Dan Wood's choice colors show above are:
(starting with and rotating)
White Firetail
Chartreuse White Core
Chartreuse White & Black Core
Tomato Core
Firetiger

Catch'n
Dave Hoggard

------------------
Fishermen are catch-n on
Catch'n Tackle
For Bass, Walleye, Pike, Lakers, Trout, Panfish
Used by FishingMN Family

[Northlander]

Dave can ya toss a few of those grubbs in my order? You can bill me if needed. Thanks.

[Northlander]

That would be great. My plastics boxes are getting as bad as my tackle boxes. A guy can never have too much gear I guess. I just hope I live long enough to use 1/2 of it.

[Northlander]

Please do that. Do you need a check now or will ya bill me?

[Guest]

Northlander, you get five free ones with your order... it is this month's"Special"
(I seldom ship without giving something out as a sample for free... kinda like a box of Cracker Jack, nice to get a little extra).

If you like I can shoot you an "assorted" colors pack of 25 total. That work?
Catch'n
Dave Hoggard

------------------
Fishermen are catch-n on
Catch'n Tackle
For Bass, Walleye, Pike, Lakers, Trout, Panfish
Used by FishingMN Family

[Guest]

Northlander,
I can send the Ring-N Grubs with a bill... that is not a problem
Thanks!

You can see some rigging tips for them on my site. I hook my grubs with the tail up the same direction as my jig hook.
Crappie Tom (Rochester area forum here on FM) has a great custom round head jig that is built with a wire stinger hook, which works nicely on the Ring-N Grubs. It gives you a good hook and a stinger trebble. The wire is recessed away from the hook shank to allow plastics to fit nicely against the lead head. You can get these at Hooked On Fishing, in Rochester (or contact Crappie Tom).
Catch'n
Dave Hoggard

------------------
Fishermen are catch-n on
Catch'n Tackle
For Bass, Walleye, Pike, Lakers, Trout, Panfish
Used by FishingMN Family

[EBass]

I saw them at the Gander MT in Minnetonka. I picked up some ring worms. The next week I went back and the whole display is gone.
What the heck happened? This was about a month ago. Just wondering. I thought that was way cool it was in Gander, then it was ripped from me. Ah man.