Zilch

First off, I am SO jealous of you! Now for my story...it's kind of the opposite experience that you had but no less surprising. I was out targeting the Esox on my annual Canadian trip pulling a rather large 1.5 oz spinnerbait through the slop. My bait stops dead and I set the hook assuming I found what i was after. Just then a smallmouth broke the surface with my lure in tow. I winced it it and was just stunned that this thing took that large of a bait. I'll have to post a pic of the spinner I was using next to a war eagle or something for a size comparison. The smallie had both of the big hooks in it's mouth. Beastly little guy...I'd hate to be a smaller fish in that lake.

Zara Super Spook I guess I'm in the minority as I can't seem to get my LC Sammy to work properly. The Spook I have no issues with though.

x2...the drop shot has been producing well for me this year. I've also caught fish on a T-Rigged Craw and a good old fashioned Rapala floater.

I fish all over the place and my take on color is that I like to carry 2 colors of a particular lure I've chosen for the day. I will carry something in a natural color (silver/black, gold/black, perch) and something very bright (firetiger). I've fished perch colored lures in ponds/lakes with 0 perch population and done just fine. So, I'd say just pick a couple colors that you feel confident in and just spend the time to try to learn how the lure works.

Ha! Neither was I. Excellent video...made my day.

I just put some on my cranking setup and I'm not sold. With heavier lures it seems to be fine but if I try to throw something lighter it seems to coil up on me. I'm going to give it a couple more chances and see if it breaks in. If it doesn't I will be going back to braid with a leader and a loose drag. Also, if you are going to try the Yo-Zuri hybrid you might want the green or smoke. I bought the clear and it seems to be pretty opaque.

Same here. Just to keep it from flipping over on me.

I really like these baits and the fish seem to as well. Also, they are on sale this week at Dick's sporting goods if you have one near by. I've had luck on the purple albino one.

What size tail did you go with? I have a pretty good assortment of big hammer tails in my bag and was thinking about trying this. Thanks.

Sound advice from Primus. Attach a leader and throw the bait of your choosing. Also, if you are concerned about losing action, fluorocarbon will serve you well as a leader. Tie on a couple feet of fluoro in an appropriate test to your main line and enjoy. I really want to try one of these lures. Already have a couple spots in mind.

Soft Solid - Big Hammer Soft Hollow - Yum Money Minnow Hard - Never tried one

Sure do. One of my favorite musky lures that works well on bass too when downsized. My personal favorite is the yellow with gold spinner. Just seems to work for me.

i picked up a pack of these but in the 3/0 1/16oz flavor to go with some bass magic 3.5" swimbaits. quick question , how do you guys work these? steady retrieve? twitch/jerks? Slow rolling it straight in. Just enough to keep the tail kicking. To be honest though I've not caught a ton on them at this point. However, when I did catch fish it was on a slow steady retrieve.

I like the Gamakatsu screwlock 5/0 with the 1/4 Oz. weight on the hook.

He's had me locked in his clutches for the past couple weeks as well. I've placed a Tackle Warehouse Order the past two Tuesdays in a row now. To top it off I took a roadtrip to Cabelas a couple weeks ago. Oh, and I can think of even more stuff I would like to have. Somebody help me!

Ahhh, the musky. My favorite fish to chase...and be frustrated by. Personally, I have a St. Croix 6'6" Musky Rod. Works great for musky cranks, jerk baits, and heavy bucktails (1.5 oz or larger). I have it paired with a Tica Caiman 200 reel. If I were to do it over I'd probably go with the 6' 10" version though. The current movement in musky fishing is to go longer with rods. There are many companies that are now making 8' and 9' musky rods. I imagine they would throw these large baits about a mile. That's all well and good I suppose but I've always wondered how you transport them. (I don't have a boat) However, I recently read an article on In-Fisherman called "Musky Lite". It was interesting because I have been thinking that bigger/heavier isn't always the answer. I've noticed that I've had more issues staying hooked up with musky using my musky specific rod then I did using my 6'6" bass casting rod when casting my favorite small bucktails. Also my most productive musky lure is a 3/4 oz. Mepps musky killer that has about 1/2 the hair ripped off if it. This is a lure that is manageable on a MH/H action bass rod. As an aside, my brother has no issue hooking up and landing them on his walleye rod with an Erie Dearie. : So, with this in mind, a couple weeks back I picked up a Kistler 7'8" Magnesium Flipping stick as a closeout at Cabelas. I bought it to serve duty as both a bass jig/light swimbait/frog rod and light musky bucktail rod. I've not thrown a bucktail with it thus far but from messing around and throwing baits that are similar it seems like it will do the job fine. So long story short(er). St. Croix makes some excellent and reasonably priced rods. However, if you are just throwing spinners/bucktails then a heavy action bass rod will serve the purpose too.

For hollow belly baits I use the Gamakatsu spring lock 5/0 hook with the 1/4 oz. weight. You could probably use the same one for a 4" as well. For 3" baits I use the 4/0 with the 1/8 oz. weight.

x9 I just got a Citica 200E today and this thing is a work of art. I can't get over just how small the thing is. I've been using a Quantum Energy PT for a couple years now which is also a great reel. However, this new Citica is just an incredible value. Heh, I thought I got ripped off for a second. It's so small I thought it wasn't even in the box.

I didn't vote because it all depends on how lazy I'm feeling. I either tie on directly or use a snap.

I don't see why not. I've caught small mouth on blades in the past. In fact, this year I caught one while pulling a white/black Bionic Bucktail through the slop looking for muskie. So, I know they will hit a spinner including big 1 oz ones.

All good advice. The Blakemore Roadrunners do really well too. Especially the Crappie Thunders. Seem to have really good luck with the black/chartreuse ones.

Reels: Quantum, Shimano Rods: St. Croix Line: Trilene, Sufix, Power Pro, PLine Cranks: Rapala, Lucky Craft Soft Plastic: GYCB, Kalin's, Rage Tail, Yum, Zoom Honorable mention: Mepps - Don't go musky fishing without one.

I'll bend it back unless it feels like it is about to fail. At that point I'll grab a new one and put the old in a trash bag. I'm not fishing for cash so if I lose one to a failed hook I just assume it was a giant.

I have a couple of the Booyah Boogies left in my box. Prior to use I glued the clip shut with super glue. I've not caught much with them though I don't throw them often. Mine seem to run straight but I have to agree that the Strike King Pure Poison is put together a little better.

Here is what worked for us last week on our trip up north: 1. Zoom shakey head worm TR weightless. Watermelon seed color. Let it drop on slack line then then slow lift. Smallmouth were slamming these. 2. 5" Senko TR weightless. They seemed to prefer the green with chartreuse tail. Same method as #1. Worked ok but not as well as #1. 3. 7" Anaconda TR with 1/4 Oz bullet weight unpegged. Double header color. Was just slow swimming it in and then letting it drop on occasion. Again, #1 was much more effective but I landed a couple with this. Water was gin clear with little wind. I could see the bottom of the channel (20 - 30' or so) when the sun was overhead all week. We were just drifting along the mid depth weeds (8' or so) using these baits/techniques. Hope some of this was helpful.