slug go

[Big_D]

i am thinking about trying slug gos for northerns and i was wondering if anyone uses them. do they work? they seem like they would work really well for narthern that dont want to bite the spoon. what colors seem to work? thanks.

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Big D

[Guest]

Pike love sluggies, and they are pretty versatile, depending upon rigging...stick-bait style (weighted & un-weighted) for a horizontal presentation, "wacky" rigged (weighted & un-weighted) for a stationary presentation, or on a jig for a vertical presentation. 6" Slug-Gos work great as trailers on 1/2-1 oz. "bass" jigs, and the 9" version works well on 1 1/2-3 oz. jig heads like Kalins Big'n jigs. Just remember that if you're throwing a 9"er, the sheer weight of the plastic will tear the bait if you really whip it.

Wishing you many torn baits,
FLB

[Big_D]

i was thinking that they might be good if you get northern to chase your lure but dont bite, it might work to get them to bite. kind of a different presentation. i have another question for you. is it hard to cast a slug go with a baitcaster? like far. because it seems like you would have to have a high quality baitcaster to cast em. Thanks FLB

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Big D

[delmuts]

you would be surprised! slugos are a fairly heavy plastic. set your tension like you would for any onther lure and you shouldn't have to much trouble. one draw back when using them is those sharp teeth can do a number on plastics rather quickly, but it is fun ! del

[Guest]

amen

[Steve Foss]

I've used them on pike when the pike are shut off pretty hard and won't respond to a more aggressive lure (yeah, not often).

Best way I've found is rig it weedless like a Texas-rigged worm or with a hook/weedguard. No weight. If you're using really heavy equipment, won't work well. Better the rods with a soft tip and no more than 20-lb line.

Anyway, the Slug is almost neutrally buoyant (sinks VERY slowly, maybe because of the leader's weight), so when you jerk it along and then stop, it just lays there like a fish that can't muster the energy to keep going. Let the pike tell you how long to wait before starting the retrieve going again. I've had pike hit after the Slug is sitting still for 30 seconds. Must have driven her crazy, just sitting there like that all that time.

Slugs are also really good early season, when the water's cold and the pike aren't hot yet.

I'm sure weighted slugs work just fine for deeper water, too. Probably good to rig them Carolina style when pike are deeper and inactive. Carolina gives that plastic a nice glide, not as jerky as a Texas-rigged.

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"Worry less, fish more."
Steve Foss
[email protected]

[This message has been edited by stfcatfish (edited 03-11-2003).]

[stephendawg]

One presentation I'm especially optimistic about is a 9"er on a giant Johnson spoon.The flash and flutter of the spoon surely has to drive pike (and musky) nuts at the right times. A steady retrieve makes the Sluggo wiggle back and forth like a small water snake. Try it. You'll be amazed how it looks coming back to the boat. Fluttering down into the cabbage and ripping it back out looks promising too. A minnow ahead of a snake....seems like a good idea anyway. I bet I'll be sharing a story about success with this rig later this summer. Here's hopin'.....

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...if I only had more time off!...
Dawg

[Guest]

Most of the time pike are not shallow. At least the ones that I have found anyways. When this is the case I have used a plastic and then pinched a split shot on about two feet from the hook. The size of the weight will depend on how deep the water is. It is in my opinion, much more effective to fish the bottom half of the water column. This will get your plastic in their strike zone much faster.
I think that you can all agree that a person will catch most of there bigger fish on the bottom of the lake once the water gets over 70 degrees. When it is this temp I will take my plastics and jigs and fish along the deep weed edges.
I have been fishing in a private lake for two years now every big fish that i catch comes off of the bottom. The first cast I ever made with a jig and plastic landed me a nice 13 pounder. I was fortunate enough to be in clear water and I saw 3 other hogs with her, and within 10 mins I caught and released 4 fish over 10. They seem to be very aggresive with jigs and plastics even when it is very hot out. It is very hard to miss these strikes also because pike do not like to let go of a bait. I have found that a heavy jig and a very flashy trailer such as a 10 inch worm work the best. You can work it very fast. I like to use these bigger plastics and jigs because most fishermen are going after them with spoons and the usual other stuff. i dont think that you can beat jigs and plastics. I like white jigs and very bright plastics and move them fast, cause they will strike out of aggression. The only time you work it slow is when the water is in the 35-45 degree range.

[Steve Foss]

Tang:

You are right. When the surface temps go above 70 degrees, few large pike remain shallow.

That's because large pike like cool/cold water.

However, you said that most of the time pike are not shallow. That's a little misleading. There are only three months, actually a couple weeks more than that, in most northern Minnesota (for example) lakes when surface temps are much above 70. That's late May through early September.

Strictly speaking, large pike CAN be found shallow eight months of the year, so they CAN be found shallow most of the time. They can also be found deep then, but water temps and oxygenation allow them to pursue bait wherever bait swims most of the year, and that often is shallow. It's only in high summer that big pike tend to hang around the thermocline or underwater springs to find cooler water with oxygen.

[This message has been edited by stfcatfish (edited 03-12-2003).]

[stephendawg]

Pike deep...
I agree that in the warmer months big pike go deep to stay close to colder water hence the added weight. But, if you're inclined to go for musky (as I usually am in Indiana) musky will certainly be found in the top 15'on average. And big pike can still be snagged there too on their sporadic trips into the bath water. In MN on Vermilion, I caught a fat 36"er on a 10" Jake in 12' and my nephew (a prolific basser) caught a beautiful 41"er on a craw colored crank bait ripping it in 8' of cabbage. Suprises like that are a real treat!

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...if I only had more time off!...
Dawg