Which bait do you wish worked better for you?

[Nick Kuhn]

Topwaters for sure. I've only ever caught a single 30" on a topwater, and had maybe 3 blowups total. Now I don't throw them all that much, but usually on every outing I throw them for a little while.

[JRedig]

If you like swamp donkey's, i'm brewin' something up that should be right up your alley. Hopefully have them ready by next year for initial testing.

[guideman]

Most baits will catch fish. It's operator error that turns good baits into Christmas tree decorations.

Most anglers over work Burts, fish topwaters to fast and forget that all you have to do to get a glider to run deeper, is let it sink.

If you're having a real tough time getting a suick to work right, try adding a splitring.

Some baits need a high speed reel to work their best, jerkbait and some topwaters are a good example.

Just remember, one mans garbage is another mans treasure. I'll take all the hellhounds you have and a few of them suicks too.

You have to throw them to catch fish on them. One or two cast once in a while, just isn't a fair assessment of how well a particular bait will work. Don't get me wrong, I have bought a lemon or two in my time.

The thing is, almost every bait that was mentioned here has caught me a muskie or two over the years. I'm sure they can do the same for you if you put them in a position where they can excell.

The right time, the right place, the right speed and the right action. JMHO

"Ace"

[DHanson]

they pretend they are slow dancing w/ it... i had an older guy in my boat one day, started throwing a helhounds and started to hum. i could tell his humming was in rythym w/ the swaying of the helhounds... he loved the lure, but never caught fish.

That would be a funny sight.

[musky_tail05]

Shallow Invader, Hellhound and Phantoms.....I love all three and wouldn't trade them for anything but just can't get them to eat the stupid things. I can get them to dance and swing like crazy and I'll get plenty of lookers, but just no takers.

The one bait that I don't care much for is the Reef Hawg. They're a great bait and I know they produce for alot of people. Don't know what it is about these things, but for me they're nothing more than snake magnets.

[Jay Hanson]

Shallow Invaders are junk too...have given them a fair try to..

[MuskieMojoTackle]

Shallow Invaders are junk too...have given them a fair try to..

Junk?

No way man. One of the best twitch baits out there if you ask me. Good wobble, nice hang...the hook setup leaves a little to be desired, but that can be fixed with a simple little modification

[Jay Hanson]

$12 mailed to your home address, hybrid w/ the flappy tail..or $8 if u live in the metro and can pick it up?

[AWH]

i agree, IMO hellhounds are junk, when they first came out people liked em alot, look at the shelves now, no one buys em, they dont move now...

There was a big glider craze in the musky world about 5 years ago. In the last few years the trend has definitely been to baits other than gliders. But a lot of Hellhounds are still sold and it's one of the best selling gliders out there. So to say that "no one buys em" is very inaccurate.

There are certain times of the year where gliders tend to be baits to use to locate fish. You'll get plenty of follows, but good luck getting them to eat. And then there are certain times of year when gliders are some of the most effective baits to use to get the fish to eat. It's actually been pretty predictable in my experiences.

Aaron

[Jay Hanson]

only a few suckers still buy hellhounds that are new to muskie fishing and havent figured out they dont catch fish very well... just like when I/otheres started fishing i made a few bait makers happy.. cause i didnt know any better...

[AWH]

Use Hellhounds when fish are more apt to eat them than follow and you might find that they catch fish much better. I am personally not a big fan of them. I like gliders that act more like a Wabull or Phantom (more erratic with more belly roll). But I know too many people that do very well with them to say they aren't a good bait. A number of them have been fishing muskies for a very long time (not all beginners that are new to musky fishing). One may have even posted on this thread....

Now the Pig...there's a bait that people don't buy anymore!

Aaron

[10,000 Casts]

How about Kilr Eels and the Flying Witch, I have never had any luck on either of them. Super overrated imo.

[10,000 Casts]

Hellhounds are certainly not "junk" they are a great bait, I just get alot of lazy follows.

AWH, are you referring to fall when you say getting more strikes as opposed to follows on gliders?

[ande]

I am amazed at how many people dislike Hellhounds. There was a evening early season that Hellhounds were the hot bait and yes I caught fish on them. I think 3.

I suspect the reason for disliking the Hellhound may be the way it is being worked over structure.

[AWH]

The first few weeks of the season and then again from turnover until ice up are great times for gliders. You'll still get plenty of follows. But odds of getting them to eat during those times go up greatly. Changing up your cadence during each retrieve also helps a ton.

Aaron

[HugoBox]

Its interesting how I make my decisions on the baits - it may sound crazy, but I'm convinced your mood affects things - if you're anxious you may be going to fast, if you're tired you may got too slow - or maybe I'm nuts...

I bought a WA Wabul and couldn't "figure" it out. It didn't do what i expected to do - I'm not a big drinker in the boat but just for the helluvit I tossed it out cracked a beer and took sips between twitches - mostly cause it was towards the end of a long fishless day and I was feeling lazy. Two casts into that style of fishing a fat mid 40's ate the heck out of that poor Wabul and my whole take on that lure changed. I'm thinking now that I never really gave it a chance to work before.

Two lessons are One: Stop and enjoy yourself from time to time AND two, don't wait until you've tried everything else in the box to work a new lure. Think about it, you've been on the water 4 hours without a sniff and that's the time to experiment?? If the known producers don't work why would the new one?? I thought about what I'd do different next year and thought maybe starting each day with a different offering would be the way to go unless I'm onto a known pattern.

[DHanson]

How about Kilr Eels and the Flying Witch, I have never had any luck on either of them. Super overrated imo.

These have worked a little for me on the north end of Mille Lacs in the shallow sand. I have to be honest though, you will get a lot of swipes and misses at it with out the fish really opening their mouths at times. It takes some time to learn how to work it though. IMO this is a bait you throw when nothing else is working and you know there is fish there. Sometimes slowing down with one of these baits working it really erratic, or even a giant tube can turn a bad day of fishing in to a good one. I have had days that the ONLY thing that worked was a tube, stupid fish!

[BuckKiller]

never had much luck on topwater baits... not really sure how to us them.

[Andrew Erickson]

kick n' minnows are awesome!I would have to go with the bulldawg.I know alot of people catch fish on em,but all i can get is follows

[b1gf1sh1]

Quote:

How about Kilr Eels and the Flying Witch

i agree if it's the bigger sizes. but the eels in tiny, small and mediums work in the rivers well. especially if your a bass fisherman

and i mentioned the squirrly burt. i know guys that love them and been with a couple as they produced. maybe next year i'll really slim my box down even more and try them more often. i just love how they look in the water.

on a side note ... top waters, prop style... after the lure lands count to five or even ten before retrieveing in calm to medium calm water, on the retrieve stop sometimes for several seconds up to twenty, stop and twitch...pause... reel stop and twitch...pause...twitch..., or twitch it all the way back to you with pauses in-between.... or just reel the heck out of it and catch only the fish that want that retrieve and miss out on the ones that want the above. but try them all in the same area. IMHO. just my two cents.

[cjac]

*** Any selling of baits is to be done on the "For Sale" forum located above on the board. ***

Kickin' Minnow: Best bang for $6 there is!

Interseting that most baits that are "not liked" involve a bit of angler skill, tactical execution, and above all patience.... Suicks, Hellhounds, Shallow Invaders, etc. don't catch fish on their own, there's definitely a component of operator execution.....or error. The right rod and reel combo make working these baits so much easier.

I think that's where some miss the boat on topwater lures (as I read many times in this post) and their effectiveness. I bass fish a fair amount and know that a pause is just as effective as a steady cadance on a retrieve, if not more.

Let a Weagle or any WTD topwater swing, a Wabull do the belly-roll, let a Suick dive and rise (not perfectly), and fish will react.

[dobiel]

I witnessed Muskies on a serious Hellhound bite late this fall for two weeks straight on a western suburbs lake. 2 Saturdays in a row and 5 fish boated between the two of us and only one was under 40 inches and 3 of the fish were caught on a Hellhound. I could not get any fish to eat on anything I had except a 38 on a Suick the first weekend and finally the second weekend switched over to a Phantom that resulted in a 46 but only after my buddy had boated a 43 and a 45 within the first 2 hours on the lake. Not to mention numerous follows. Yeah, Hellhounds suck.

[Jay Hanson]

sun shines on a dogs _____ once in awile!!!!!! u just hit a feeding frenzy and they probably would have even hit an Invader or even a Kickin Minnow... just a fluke.

[dobiel]

Trust me, I tried everything in the box and didn't want to toss a glidebait because of the wind and having to control the boat and work a bait at the same time. You just keep believing whatever you want and I'll keep boating fish, ok?

[Jay Hanson]

o.k, that is cool u got fish to nail em like that...impressive on that lure IMO..