Best Lures for Musky Fishing

Saturday, 07 April 2007

Don’t be fooled by the musky’s seemingly harmless name. This giant fish has been described as “pure muscle with gills,” and have been to cause adrenaline overdoses. They put up an incredible fight, much like those given by your favorite professional wrestlers. Indeed, a thirty-pound musky can very well give you the excitement of your life.

While it’s not difficult to catch for one, it may take an angler several hours in search of a musky. That is the reason why they are known as the fish of 10,000 casts. This level of difficulty is also why they are a treasured game fish by anglers all over the world.

Musky thrive in areas such as the Great Lakes, Lake Ontario, Chautaugqua, the Ohio River system, the Hudson Bay, the Upper Mississippi and the Saint Lawrence River. This type of fish prefer large rivers and cold, clear lakes.

Actually, nobody, not even the musky fishing experts can agree on just what is the best lure to catch these creatures. Most of the techniques on catching musky are related to presentation rather than the lure. Muskies can consume their prey that are half their size, so the general rule is, the bigger the bait, the bigger the musky the angler can catch when, or if it does, finally strike.

One basic musky lure seems to be a bucktail. Bucktail is thought to be the number one lure for musky. It is a lure made on a straight wire using colorful beads, brass bodies and the tail made from deer tail hair. These are effective all year round, in any condition. They’re also rather easy to use, as they are cast and reel lures. The technique is to make the lure move forward the moment it hits the water. Angler should control the speed and depth when they retrieve.

Another popular lure is the jerkbait, which are plastic or wood baits that either float, or just nearly float. These are especially effective over rocks, sharp breaks and contour lines or weedtops. Still another is a glidebait. This is a lure designed to either shrink or become almost buoyant. Some sink rather fast, while others are near floaters and can be worked in the upper part of the water column.

The bottom line is, lures come in virtually hundreds of shapes, sizes and colors. Some other lures include spinnerbaits and crankbaits. Deciding which lure to use depends on the situation, although anglers may want to have a few of each every time. Anglers may also want a high quality steel leader onto which the lure can be attached for the optimum musky fishing experience.

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