Trolling Pike lures what are your favorite ?

[Wookiee]

I already know I will get the wise guys out with this question but what do you guys like?

[NCLaker]

#10 X-Rap Clown has been my new go to if I am trolling.

[polarsusd81]

The old Red Eye is hard to beat when trolling. I have caught a ton of pike on the old chrome standby. When I was a kid we used to troll them all the time.

[NCLaker]

Never tried using red eye spoons. What is top trolling speed for these lures?

[solbes]

1) Deep Husky Jerk (has three hooks, #12?)

2) Ol' Standby #7 Shad Rap, Just lost my ~10 yr old one on Sun

3) Jointed Shad Rap

4) Wally Divers (Med Size)

[markkstanley]

Big spinnerbaits 3/4oz or larger. Use a swim bait as a trailer. Also like Mania tackles Ernies both straight and jointed.

[polarsusd81]

Mark brings up a good point. Big spinnerbaits are known pike killers and tipping them with a swimbait is a great tip.

As far as a trolling speed for the old red eye's I think 2.5 ish would be good. The only way you are really going to fast is if the bait pops out of the water and starts dancing on the surface.

One thing to keep in mind is during the summer months the pike like to lay out over deeper cooler water, so trolling in no mans land might just get you into some big fish. I have done well in the past doing that in August and early September. Watch for clumps of baitfish on your electronics and hold on tight.

[Fishin Dan]

Big X-raps have worked the best for me. Silver/black has been the best

[PerchJerker]

I just bought my first spoonplug not long ago. I think it runs about 15 feet down and the action is crazy, it goes all over the place, if you run it 3.5 mph or more. I've only used it a little so far but I think I'm going to like it.

I had become pretty much a crankbait-only guy when trolling but Mark got me going on trolling spinnerbaits a while ago and we've picked up a lot of bass and pike doing it. Muskies like them too. And one thing you'll catch less of on them is weeds

[Wookiee]

What kind of swim bait do you use Mark? I am pretty much swim bait ignorant.

[cjac]

I've tried it all. Weeks in Canada where it's a Daredevile or bust, same goes for a Johnson Silver Minnow over the cabbage.

I do like the spinnerbaits over the weed flats, but that's often more productive on big weed flats, 'tonka being a good example. 3/4 Northland Reedrunner spinnerbaits have quickly moved up the list.

HJs produce, and I also like the smaller muskie baits like the 6" Swim Wizz, Super Shad Raps, and even up to the 8" Believers, both straight and jointed. Same goes for the 6" Jakes & Grandmas. X-Raps too as mentioned. Oh yeah, the reg. Shad Raps as well, very well at times.

My point is it's all situation and lake dependant, mix it up a bit and you'll key in. Few weeks ago it was iridescent purple...bait didn't really matter.

[Coach Dog]

Down Deep Rattlin Fat Rap, Parrot Color.

[jwhjr]

Steel Blue Deep Down Husky Jerk

[markkstanley]

Berkley 5" Power Shads and Lunker City Salty Shakers have been my gotos over the last few years. You can rig them either flat side up or the regular way both work well. Before these swimbaits came out I would use suckers or chubs as a trailer. Sometimes I will opt for 6" grubs as a trailer if I am using Colorado blades on my spinners but generally the more "whump" the better and swimbaits do that well. FYI I catch a lot of muskies doing this and have even caught some nice eyes and green carp.

[MuskieJunkie]

Mark

Are those the saltwater powerbait version? I'm having trouble finding them, where do you buy them?

Also how do they hold up? I have been using the Yamamoto brand and the tail breaks off a lot.

[cjac]

Brian,

Thorne Bros has the 5" Power shads that Mark is mentioning, they also have the 6" Lunker City trailers too.

Chris

[NCLaker]

I just bought my first spoonplug not long ago. I think it runs about 15 feet down and the action is crazy, it goes all over the place, if you run it 3.5 mph or more. I've only used it a little so far but I think I'm going to like it.

PJ, what spoon plug did you buy that runs 15 feet down? Do you have to use a swivel/snap swivel to avoid line twists?

[PerchJerker]

I'm not sure which one it was, I got it at Cabin Fever and they had 2 sizes. I got the smaller size, it's probably 5 inches long and 1.5 inches across. I think the bigger size they have goes to 20+ feet.

It doesn't seem like it would twist the line, it wobbles a lot and runs out to the sides but doesn't twist. But I ran it on a leader to prevent bite-offs.

[markkstanley]

The Berkley saltwater power shads hold up really well. Less thump than the Salty Shakers. FYI you can cast this setup or just cast with a jighead. I've been doing this for over a decade. Used it for striper fishing when I lived in the Carolinas and when I moved back to MN just modified it a tad for musky and walleye. Stange is right - this is a great bait for a lot of fish species and can be used almost anywhere. Creme Little Fishies are another option if you can find the large size - I used them and another swimbait that is no longer sold originally.

[MuskieJunkie]

Thanks for the info guys.

Darn you Thorne Brothers and your great selection of items that are exactley what I'm looking for, let's see if I can get out of there for under 200 bones when I go to pick up my $5 powerbait, "no honey, I'm just going to buy a couple of things."

[markkstanley]

I have found it much easier on my pocketbook to order online from Thorne. Limit myself to one trip a year to the store to window shop. Like RK said in the musky forum 5 lures cover over 90% of my musky fishing but the color combos available at Thornes make even that an expensive proposition.