Top 5?

[Fishin Dan]

Hey guys im new to musky fishing and i need a little bit of help picking out some lures to start with, so i was wondering. If you had to pick only 5 lures to fish all year what would they be?

[Quackaddict9]

Weagle

Mojo XX

Double showgirl

Rad Dog spinnerbait

Hellhound

[MNMUSKIES]

Suick

Rad Dog Spinnerbait

Double Cow Girl

Suzy Sucker

BullDawg

[HugoBox]

These guys are pretty dialed in - I'd add a Jackpot, Doc, or Topraider to the mix as well -- also a large black plain old safety pin spinnerbait - M&G maybe.

[Rebel9921]

1. Pink/Pink Cowgirl (I'll also bring a Pink/Pink Showgirl in case my arm tires from the Cowgirl)

2. Pacemaker

3. Hellhound

4. Weagle

5. Magnum SuperD

[Fishin Dan]

Thanks guys also what should i be looking for right now? I do 99% of my fishing from shore since i dont have a boat and im not quite sure what kind of structure i should be looking for right now. Should i just keep fishing the weeds?

I know im not gonna catch a musky every time i go out but after fishing for a couple of weeks and not even getting a follow i just was wondering if i was doing something wrong.

[Esox_Magnum]

Hellhound

Triple D

Super D

Cowgirl

Wades Wobbler

[10,000 Casts]

1.Double Shogirl

2.BullDawg

3.Wades Wobbler or Suick (tough one to decide)

4.Magnum X Rap

5.Pacemaker, (the old one, I will never buy the new plastic one)

[b1gf1sh1]

Quote:

Thanks guys also what should i be looking for right now? I do 99% of my fishing from shore since i dont have a boat and im not quite sure what kind of structure i should be looking for right now. Should i just keep fishing the weeds?

I know im not gonna catch a musky every time i go out but after fishing for a couple of weeks and not even getting a follow i just was wondering if i was doing something wrong.

my grand pappy amos said once,''boy... them muskies are gonna be in the exact same spot as a eight hunerd pound gorillee... anywhere it want ta', an' don't you fergit it, hear?'' that means it does'nt matter where your fishing, if theres muskie in the water, theres a chance it's right in front of you no matter where you are. lol. below is a list from a prior post from this winter. it's got a list of my top 4 or 5 of different style lures. at the bottom i'll put the ones you need for shore fishing. can't guarantee i'll stop at 5, and the color is whatever works on your lake. you may need 2 or three colors of each lure (sure you want to be a muskie fisherman?). easy pickings from shore is on rivers. just find an eddy and cast it till your arms come off. keep going back till you find the sweet spot(s). anyway here they are

Topwaters:

1.triple bladed buzzbait/white angora rabbit on 2 red vmc hooks (this is a super secret lure i've been perfecting since last spring. it will also come with 2 blades and four blades. will be ready this fall i'm sure )

2.Topwalker any size / modified paint and coating/rattle insert

3.headhunters puzzler, bright red/modified with white dots added

4.magnum jitterbug... black

Crankbaits/Trolling Baits:

1.super shad rap / tennesee shad it's discontinued

2.storm shallow thunder/ mullet

3.big old dardevelle

4. believer/swimwhiz

4.5, bagley monster shad

Bucktails:

1.spinnerbait or inline with angora rabbit fur tied. solid black or solid white or mixed/red vmc's on inline

2.brown /yellow with red tail end red vmc's

3.black marabou

4.black bucktail

Jerkbaits:

1.big fork 10'' sand cat in white /black top/flo orange bottom/red vmc's

2.bagley monster shad lipless topwater with spinner on back hook eye

3. 6'' storm hybrid suspend shad in natural color. discontinued. 8 left

4.medium sucker minnow on my own live bait jerkbait setup. only i have it

Plastics:

1.tubes, black or white

2. twister tails, 5'' or larger

3. 5'' storm rippin shad, discontinued shad color, 6 bags left

4. assorted junk i throw all year testing and get a muskie here and there

reccommended... black bucktail, 6''believer/7''swimwhizz, super shadrap, storm shallow thunder in mullet or sucker, white spinnerbaits like a bucher slopmaster with a dark head, some medium tube baits, storm plastic hybrids, not above but a salmo slider aint bad, topwalker baby loon is a nice color, puzzler, medium large daredevelle, stop and start alot with a magnum jitterbug...or anything really lol. i tried to keep it simple with the lures for ease of use. seeing as your new. but this is a nice start. rememmber, 3 colors each, bucktail in different blades. good luck.

[10,000 Casts]

Wow, would you post a picture of the triple bladed Buzzbait/White Angora Rabbit on 2 VMC hooks?!?!?!

Just Curious

Anybody else here ever use rabbit fur, can't say that I have, what is it like in the water?

Also, what is a Headhunters Puzzler?

[JRedig]

How about top 5 that you've boated fish with?

Showgirl

Daredevil

Topraider

Manta

Phantom

[ole matty]

double showgirl

mojo xx

dcg

squirrley burt

reef hawg

[MUSKY18]

Top 5 are the same because I have boated fish with them all:

1. EAGLETAIL - More monster fish on this lure than any other

2. SUICK - Greatest jerkbait known to man

3. HAWGWOBBLER - If you don't have one, you are WRONG

4. BOBBIE BAIT - Right there behind the suick

5. JACKPOT - Great search lure and fish love em

[Fishin Dan]

Thanks for all of the great advice guys! I do have a couple more questions for you guys.

What should i be looking for in a rod? Med-Heavy? Heavy? And what length? 7'? 8'? Somewhere in between?

Also what should i be looking ffor in a reel? i have used Abu Garcia baitcasting reels for years and i really like them but i was looking online the other day and i saw the legend series abu garcia reels. There quite a bit more expensive so i was wondering if anyone had used them or not? And are they worth the extra money? Or is there another reel you would recommend?

I would like to keep it under $300 for the rod and reel. any help you guys can give me would be greatly appreciated

[MUSKY18]

What to look for in a rod depends on what you are going to be throwing. If you are going to be throwing Pounders and Curly Sue's, then the XXXXH heavy rod is the one for you. For all general use however, a Med-Heavy is probably your best all around bet. As for length, it again, depends on the person working the rod. Nowadays, most guys are going to longer and longer rods. The longest that I have is an 8 foot St Croix that I absolutely love. I use that for crankbaits and big bucktails. I have a 7'6" MH that I use for smaller bucktails and topwaters. When it comes to jerkbait rods, I think I am one of the few that still use shorter rods. I use a 6'9" for my jerksticks, because I feel comfortable with that length of rod and is what I like.

Basically go with what you feel comfortable with.....

As for a reel, I am a Garcia man from top to bottom. I have never had one fail me and I have a couple of reels that are over 10 years old. I have one that is almost 30 years old and still works great. If you are looking for a reel to handle the big bucktails (Double Cowgirls, Super Cowgirls, DC-10's, etc), then take a look at a 7000. Geared low, big spools, and just a workhorse of a reel. That is my personal preference though. I know there are alot of guys on this board that like the Diawa Luna's and Calcutta's, and these are both very good reels as well.

[Fishin Dan]

Thanks for the help MUSKY18. I know its all about what feels comfortable to me i just want to kind of get an idea of what im gonna need. With everything being so expensive i dont want to buy something that isnt going to work well for me and end up hanging a 100+ dollar rod up on the wall in the garage and never using it anymore.

[MUSKY18]

Fishin:

One thing to look at is the Gander Mountain series of things. They have really good roods and reels that won't break the bank. I have a few of their Guide series muskie rods and like them a lot. You can get a couple different setups and get a really good feeling for what you like. Perhaps the best way that I found to figure out what I like and what I don't like is to go fishing with someone and try out their units, see how you like what they have for setups.

[Fishin Dan]

Ya i wish i knew some people that fish muskies. Mostly all walleye fisherman I have a 7' MH rod with a abu garcia reel for northerns and i love that but i just dont feel that it is suitable for the much larger musky lures. So i figured that i should just go with what i know and just upgrade the pole and reel.

[10,000 Casts]

Quote:

1. EAGLETAIL - More monster fish on this lure than any other

2. SUICK - Greatest jerkbait known to man

3. HAWGWOBBLER - If you don't have one, you are WRONG

4. BOBBIE BAIT - Right there behind the suick

5. JACKPOT - Great search lure and fish love em

What a great old school list!

[MUSKY18]

Those are the baits that I "cut my teeth" on when I was learning to fish. Still reach for them out of my box first. LOVE EM!!!!

[MuskyChad]

1. Jake

2. DCG

3. Seducer

4. Topraider

5. Hawg Teaser

Chad

[b1gf1sh1]

Quote:

Wow, would you post a picture of the triple bladed Buzzbait/White Angora Rabbit on 2 VMC hooks?!?!?!

Just Curious

Anybody else here ever use rabbit fur, can't say that I have, what is it like in the water?

Also, what is a Headhunters Puzzler?

sorry that buzz is a secret just now... soon...soon. that is an old post. at the time i was favoring the tied hooks, now i'm leaning toward tied springs for stability....sigh...so hard to decide. angora rabbit(yes, it's hollow) is on a few lures. funky chicken if i rememmber right is a combo with hackle. action? lol ... unmatched. really expensive and tough to get used to tying,. why it's not a common thing. has the action of (if tied right, and the funky chicken aint done right) marabou at rest or fall and the tightness of profile of bucktail on retrieve. spreads like nothing else. custom make them alot and never hear anything but praise about it. of course the buzz will have the other tail materials too, and mabe a plastic something or other.

puzzler by headhunter has a cedar body in back of the same jumbo sized blade as a boogerman racket buzz but it's SS not aluminum and it's bent entirely different, with a #2 blade on a wire to hit the buzz blade and a wire tied bucktail with the hair cut straight and a single treble. muskie magnet for sure. awsome in waves.

someone said we should post top 5 that caught fish....

so what's yer point?

Puzzler... this has been recoated twice, and has a fairly new tail. since the beads are cheapo's i'm going to have to change them too next time i recoat it.

[10,000 Casts]

That is a cool bait.

Can a guy still get one or are they hard to find?

[b1gf1sh1]

just seen a few at Thorne bro's thursday. in the fly fishing area by the components, about two feet up from the firetiger baby weagle on the top left corner right above the white and black hellhounds how's that for easy? but your a way's away so mabe you need to order it from them.

[porterhouse]

Here is my top 5

1)Hellhound

2)Mepps Tandem musky killer

3)Perka

4)Slammer Thunderheads

5)Viper

Brian