Watching our Northern weather take another turn for heavy snow doesn't help us enjoy the outdoors, but it does give us time to get creative. If you, too, are feeling the winter blues, it's a perfect time to get out in your garage and prep your tackle for the upcoming musky season. This winter project provides an upgrade to a tackle box favorite, the Lake X Toad.
Suick Thrillers where originally designed by Frank Suick in the 1930's and mostly consist of a slab of cedar with treble hooks and metal tail. Their simple, antiquated design makes for an underwhelming appearance compared to many of the latest and greatest musky lures available. With so many phenomenal muskie lures on the market, that old flat hunk of cedar and hooks just doesn't seem very cool.
Anyone who has spent any time chasing muskies with me over the years knows that I am an absolute glide bait nut! And even that might be an understatement as some of my friends have even said that I get “glide bait anxiety” if I’m not throwing one! As a guide in northern Wisconsin I rely heavily on this style of lure to help my clients put more muskies in the net from early spring all the way till ice up when the gales of November come swirlin’! And talk about fishing pressured waters or competing in tournaments with seasoned professionals, pounding the water to froth… How have I found success in these challenging situations too? By fishing with lures that I feel will offer me a higher chance at triggering strikes from muskies that are in a neutral mood.
The Joe Bucher Suspending Depth Raider isn’t just another lure; it’s an entirely new way to trigger strikes.
As a fishing guide in northern Wisconsin I spend a lot of time teaching the art of fishing to folks of all skill levels, from first timers, to advanced muskie-nuts. A few years ago I stumbled across a little secret while instructing some beginning muskie anglers on the basics of casting, retrieving, and figure-eighting while using a baitcaster. I needed a lure that was super easy to fish, relatively lightweight and easy to cast but also simple to retrieve. Just cast it out and crank it in quickly. The answer was an oversized lipless crankbait, and the results began stacking up.
There is no question that big rubber baits put muskies in the net.
There were many reasons for the design of the original DepthRaider, but none as simple as wanting to get a lure down to that special depth zone few conventional musky lures reach. This depth zone is not necessarily that deep. It’s just a tad deeper than the rest of the lures go on a typical cast. To be specific, the 7 to 12 foot range is virtually untouched by most musky anglers using a casting style presentation. The 8" DepthRaider was designed to tap into muskies at this range.
I like topwater musky fishing so much, I spend the vast majority of my time casting for summer muskies and seeking out waters that provide me with the best opportunity to take advantage of this style of fishing. Here are some of “down and dirty” tips that you need to know specifically about fishing The TopRaider that are sure to make your outings more productive.
The productivity of magnum minnow baits is certainly well documented for both muskies and pike. Hundreds of trophy fish have been taken on these big “slabs” over the past 25 years or more. They are truly one of the top producers of lunker ‘lunges all across North America in both casting and trolling situations. They catch big fish in a wide variety of conditions both deep and shallow, as well as in nearly every season – spring, summer, and fall.
I know, I know. This isn’t the first article ever written about how to fish these hot new giant in-line spinners, often referred to as “twin tens” or “big blades”. These giant in-line spinners sporting two super large blades and usually a hardy tail dressing of tinsel are one of the hottest lure crazes of recent times. What I hope to add in this article is a solid foundation of what it takes to fish these lures effectively.
Ka Whoosh! For the third time on this particular hot, muggy, flat dog day afternoon I was startled by the gator-like eruption on the water’s surface way back in the thick impenetrable jungle of surface weeds. Only, this wasn’t central Florida – it was Ontario, Canada. So, this was no gator (alligator). Instead, it was bound to be a big musky or giant pike. However, try as I might, I simply couldn’t find many lures to work effectively thru this ultra thick emergent cover, nor were the fish interested in the few things I successfully fish by them.