Bulldawgs

[EatSleepFish]

ive heard alot about these lures lately and was wondering is if a fish tears the tail off is there a way to repair them? the tail seems kind of flimsy and it seems like a waste of money to buy one for +$15 and have a few dinky northerns tear the tail right off. also how do you work them?

[musky_tail05]

I have three Uptown dawgs that have no tails. I tried melting the tails back on and glueing them, both methods didn't work too well. On Thorne bros. message board, they show a new product called "TB-Tail Soft Plastic Replacement Tails". I'm gonna pick some up if I can find them.

As for working the dawgs, there really isn't a wrong way to work them. I usually give a pull-pause retrieve with mine.

[10,000 Casts]

Yes they are worth every penny...

I have a few and I am getting more. Next year I am going to throw more Mag Bulldogs.

As for working them it depends on how deep you want them. Straight retrieve over the weeds is good, Slow retrieve through the weeds is also good and in my opinion, under used because it takes a solid technique. Over rocks they are deadly. A steady pump is good and I also like to use them as a jerk bait.

The bulldawg gets thrown by someone in my boat almost every trip. Yes the tails can get bitten off and they do get roughed up a bit but you will get some good use out of them before it happens. I personally will trade a lure for a fish anyday. If you are in a spot with alot of little snakey Norherns then I would throw something else.

In my eyes I would rather have a lure that is known for getting torn up than one thats not

Just some thoughts

John

[cjac]

Yes, they are a good bait. However, you will end up with some in need of repair. The best way is with the small portable propane torches, melts cuts shut, closes nicks in the nose that lead to the weight pulling thru, and melts tails back on. I used to use glue until I got the torch tip in the late fall.

Casting them with the right "sling shot" approach also helps reduce on the wear and tear of the lure and shoulders and reduces the "Dawg ball" tangled up lure casts.

All kinds of ways to work them, from straight retrieves to a really slow, almost jigging apporach over early season cabbage beds. They got eaten......

Caution: I replace all the split rings on mine, just trust me on this one and do the same! Wolverine, Buchers, Thorne Bros are a few that I've used. On the mags I switch out with the Wolverine 3x splits.

Chris

[Whopper Stopper]

I don't dispute anything 10,000 casts or Cjac says about Bulldogs, because, either you love them, or you hate them. But.............I have thrown Bulldogs until my back screamed to quit, and then I threw them some more. I have used every technique I know, and I have had some of the best in the business help me in my boat or theirs. I own about 10 of them. I have big, little and some that are a little big. I have a spectrum of colors that make me yarn for life back in the sixties and seventies as I knew it. I have drug them over rocks, over weeds, over drop offs, even up in 6 inches of sandy beach. I have hopped them, popped them, skipped them and tore them through weeds and wood. I even had one fly off on a long cast and spent 40 minutes looking for the stinking thing ( yes I got it). I have spent from one hour before day light until two hours after dark throwing the same watermelon colored mag Bulldogs just to prove to myself they work. I have caught weeds, shoes, wood and even 3 snails at a time, but I have yet, to ever catch as much as one friggen Musky on a Bulldog. Do you think I will ever catch a musky on one of these things? Come hell or high water you can bet your boots I will. When June rolls around I will be out there throwing my favorite watermelon dawg and I won't quit until I catch one.

WS

[cjac]

WS,

I've climbed back onto my chair after laughing so hard at your post! Tell us how you really feel!

Come June up on Forest or WBL or BE they should move fish over the emerging weed edges. We'll have to pick a day and hit the same lake.

Confidence helps, and I really like the LOTW Perch pattern, it just works for me. Gold/walleye colors on the Pond are hard to pass up too.

Chris

[EatSleepFish]

whats the best size? how about the realistic looking baits that MI has out now?

[Musky_Madness]

If I were you, I would get my hands on the new Bulldawg that has a spinner built into it. It's new this year and adds something different. At this point, what muskie on any pressured lake hasn't seen a Bulldawg yet? Gotta mix it up

[MuskyBrian]

it's weird...some lakes are "dawg lakes and others simply aren't. Summer of 2005 I couldn't keep fish off the thing...then last year I fished some new waters and really struggled with it. I can tell you that on the lakes they work good on, other lures often will not compare

[AWH]

I've never had a lot of success on bulldawgs. In fact, pretty much zilch up until last year. But bulldawgs probably moved as many fish as any other bait I threw last year. So maybe I'm figuring out the secrets to this bait...although I'm really not sure what I was doing different, other than different colors.

As far as the dawgs with the spinner blades. These teaser blades can actually be purchased separately for just a couple of bucks.

Repairing dawgs...the methods named are all good suggestions. There's also a new glue (it was new last year) by Hawg Seekers Tackle. This is some great stuff that really does a great job on repairing plastic baits and anything else that needs a strong, fast drying glue. Much better job than just regular super glue. And it dries fast. To the point that you can be repaired and back in the water in about 10 seconds.

Aaron

[Musky_Madness]

You are correct, but this is actually built into the bulldawg where as the other one you just stab into the rubber.

[setterguy]

Using a florocarbon leader is a little easier on the plastic baits when casting ect...its worked for me anyway.

[MLmusky]

I have had alot of success on dawgs in my boat.. Here is a common mistake I will see and that I remind everyone who is new to using a bulldawg.. Set the hooks hard on the lightest tap... You do not feel the bone crushing strikes that you get from a topwater or bucktail on a dawg.. Keep you line tight at all times, even the slightest tap on the light should get a hook set.. Believe me, if you are not catching muskies on a dawg, you are doing something wrong! Work the rod straight down, keep yourself square to the bait, keep your line tight and look for the slightest taps.. You will put more fish in the boat...

[EatSleepFish]

what colors have you guys been successful with?

[Cowgirladdict]

Black and Black, did i mention Black?

[MLmusky]

My favorite is some sort of cisco patter, blue/clear or blue and white, blue/gray...