The term “hang-time” has been used in the sport of football most often, and it usually refers to how long a punt or kick hangs in the air from the moment the player kicks or punts the ball until a receiver catches it. Generally speaking, a longer hang time is preferable to kickers/punters because it allows defenders ample time to run down field to intercept the ball carrier before he has had a chance to advance very far. The same term applies to angling, but is used in a different fashion.
Hang-time in the angling world is most often associated with a purposeful pause or hesitation during the retrieve. In musky circles, hang-time comes into play with a variety of lures and techniques and can be particularly deadly in cold-fronts. It’s also super on muskies, pike and bass hugging tight to weed clumps, brush piles and man-made fish cribs. Finally, it can trigger explosive strikes from followers.
While a lot of musky anglers tend to focus on lures designed to be retrieved in a constant straight forward fashion, cold front muskies might not always respond well to this style of presentation. This is particularly true the more water temps drops, and can be vital to success on bluebird post frontal fish no matter the season. Quite often these scenarios push muskies closer to bottom or tighter to cover. This is when creating some “hang-time” at critical junctures catches ’em when most other tactics fail.
Essentially, my definition of “hang-time” simply refers to a pause, suspend or hang in place for a spell. This can be particularly deadly next to a likely musky hideout increasing the potential for a strike. But hang-time works equally well on a following musky especially when the lure is a glide bait. I have triggered some of my memorable musky strikes from close range follows, and visually observed their response to added hang time. This is particularly deadly on my own lure design The GlideRaider.
A number of other lures are likely to work with hang-time technique, and some of the most obvious would include various styles of jerkbaits. These lures were inherently designed to specifically accent some form of hang time. The key thing to remember when working any jerkbait lure is to accent your hang-time at the most probable musky location during any retrieve. For example, any time you encounter a collision with weeds, increase the pause length or hang-time. If you are casting the jerkbait right into and around shoreline cover such as fallen trees or sunken brush of any kind, a prolonged hang time while the lure is near cover is sure to draw the best response.
Jerkbaits and glide baits are not the only good hang-time lures. Minnow baits such as my own ShallowRaider are perfectly suited for the hang-time technique, too. Even though these lures have a built-in wobbling action and will catch more than their share of muskies by simply casting them out and reeling em in, adding a jerkbait pause to at least a portion of each retrieve is certain to draw far more strikes in cold fronts. The same can be said for deeper diving crankbaits and working deep water cover. Instead of just cranking and winding a deep diver, add a pause any time it hits an obstruction of any kind. This additional hang-time near cover is probably your best chance to trigger a strike.
Summarily, I’d highly suggest adding the hang-time trick to your arsenal of techniques. Anytime the bite is off or muskies seem to be in a follow mode some hang-time is bound to change your luck.
