Suggest some starter lures for Musky

[wasabi_VA]

Just hooked, caught and lost my first musky while smallie fishing. It was a crazy couple minutes and a beautiful 3.5’ to 4’ fish. Lost it at the net. It hit a 4” grub. Want to pick up a few basic lures - any suggestions? 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

@T-Billy   hit em with the Alabama Rig ?

[Further North]

Tell us about the gear you have now so we can tailor lures to what you have. 

 

...there's no reason to suggest 6 oz. soft plastic baits if you don't have the gear to throw them...

 

...and there's plenty of smaller, lighter lures and baits that work just as well.

[T-Billy]

2 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

@T-Billy   hit em with the Alabama Rig ?

[Further North]

Right off the top, assuming you have normal "bass" gear, #5 Mepps will catch a lot of muskies, as will spoons up to about an ounce (I like the Doctor Spoons that are just a nudge heavier than an ounce).

Other inline spinners roughly the size of a #5 Mepps and above (to the point where they're too heavy for your gear will work well too.

Big tubes work.

You will need wire leaders.   Personally, I don't care for commercially available leaders (I don't want that upper swivel crashing into my tip guide and eventually breaking it, so I tie in about a foot of tieable wire right into 50#+ braid, then put a swivel at the business end if the lure/bait I'm using needs one.

[bowhunter63]

Bucktails  Joe Bucher makes a good one. You can throw them all day and still tie your shoes in the morning. Get a few dark color and light color ones. When I lived up nort they were my go to 

[Further North]

2 hours ago, bowhunter63 said:

Bucktails  Joe Bucher makes a good one. You can throw them all day and still tie your shoes in the morning. Get a few dark color and light color ones. When I lived up nort they were my go to 

Good call.

I wouldn't go above a blade size of 6 or 8 on "regular" bass gear, and even then you'd want a retrieve ratio below 7:1.

[wasabi_VA]

6 hours ago, Further North said:

Tell us about the gear you have now so we can tailor lures to what you have. 

 

...there's no reason to suggest 6 oz. soft plastic baits if you don't have the gear to throw them...

 

...and there's plenty of smaller, lighter lures and baits that work just as well.

@Further North Among other faster action rods I have these 2 casting rods

 

St. Croix Mojo Bass MJC68MHF (not a Fast action if you ask me)

An older Bass Pro Tourney Special TSP70MHT (looks like today's Bass Pro Musky rods)

 

Today's 3 to 4' Musky was handled pretty well with my St. Croix Triumph TRS66MF spinning rod.

 

I am inclined to dedicate the Tourney Special TSP70MHT rod as a part time musky rod (I've been using it as a channel cat rod). It was a combo purchase close to 30 years ago and I still have the casting reel that came on it (I posted about it here). The reel still casts great but I just don't know the drag strength (one for sale on eBay says max drag is 22 lb)

 

[Further North]

4 minutes ago, wasabi_VA said:

@Further North Among other faster action rods I have these 2 casting rods

 

St. Croix Mojo Bass MJC68MHF (not a Fast action if you ask me)

An older Bass Pro Tourney Special TSP70MHT (looks like today's Bass Pro Musky rods)

 

Today's 3 to 4' Musky was handled pretty well with my St. Croix Triumph TRS66MF spinning rod.

 

I am inclined to dedicate the Tourney Special TSP70MHT rod as a part time musky rod (I've been using it as a channel cat rod). It was a combo purchase close to 30 years ago and I still have the casting reel that came on it (I posted about it here). The reel still casts great but I just don't know the drag strength (one for sale on eBay says max drag is 22 lb)

 

What's the lure weight rating on that Tourney Special TSP70MHT?

...I catch a lot of muskies on "bass" rods.  I have one each rigged for:

1. #5 Mepps.  It's set up to be able to throw that lure (about 1/2 oz.) for distance and accuracy.
2. 4 1/2" Doctor Spoon, just over an ounce.  Again, rigged for distance and accuracy.
3. Strike King Smokin' Rooster*.  Probably 5/8 oz. total, Texas Rigged over wire with a 1/4 oz. bullet weight.

All three of those produce consistently up here.  Your fishery will probably be different.

I've never been, and will never be, a believer that you have to go to heavy rods and giant lures/baits.

*Strike King stopped making the Smokin' Rooster in 2020, or 2021...I bought out all their old inventory that I could get my hands on from Sierra Trading post (700+ baits), and I also pour my own.  Here's one of my custom colors.

[wasabi_VA]

After watching some instructional videos I'm questioning if I should target musky. I feel confident I can handle smaller ones provided I bring a bigger net, but as a kayak fisherman I might wind up with more than I can safely handle (either me or the fish) should I catch a bigger one. I saw some pics of lures filling up their mouth and my kayak cockpit seems inadequate for managing that situation and taking care of the fish.

[Further North]

16 minutes ago, wasabi_VA said:

After watching some instructional videos I'm questioning if I should target musky. I feel confident I can handle smaller ones provided I bring a bigger net, but as a kayak fisherman I might wind up with more than I can safely handle (either me or the fish) should I catch a bigger one. I saw some pics of lures filling up their mouth and my kayak cockpit seems inadequate for managing that situation and taking care of the fish.

It's good that your questioning this, it shows that you have the right attitude.

You'll definitely need a bigger net, I recommend a folding one, this one in particular:

https://muskyfool.com/collections/nets/products/956gi3i9lwdtxqjqtht9rmm73zsjc0

I use it on both my boats to save space.

I wasn't aware you were fishing form a kayak, that'll bring some challenges, but plenty of people do it frequently and have developed methods to unhook fish easily.

One thing I'd do in that regard is debarb your hooks, and switch to single hooks wherever possible.  There's lots of excuses for not doing this, not a single one of them good.  Keep your line tight and you won't loose any more fish than you would if you leave the barbs alone, and de-hooking is orders of magnitude easier.

Three other things you need right away: 

1. A good jaw spreader, and it needs to be a big one. 
   1. I'd recommend this one, particularly on a kayak.  It locks open, and works much better than the spring type.
      https://muskyfool.com/collections/tools/products/outtooljawspreader
2. You're going to need a set of long pliers.  I Keep a set of these in each boat:
   1. https://www.menards.com/main/tools/hand-tools/pliers-plier-sets/masterforce-reg-15-triple-joint-needle-nose-pliers/68103/p-1503642864338-c-9156.htm
3. Hook cutters.  There will come a time when cutting the hook is your only option, for both your own safety, and for the musky.  There's cheap ones, and there's good ones, and there's no overlap.   I highly recommend these, by Knipex:
   1. https://muskyfool.com/collections/tools/products/knipex-cobolt-compact-bolt-cutter-8-inch

Chasing muskies - particularly in shallow rivers - is a blast, if you have the right mindset for it.  Lots of hours per fish you see, even more for each one you catch....but the "fish of 10,000 casts" stuff is nonsense.  Once you know what you're doing, you'll at least see fish almost every day you go out.

[Dogface]

22 hours ago, wasabi_VA said:

Just hooked, caught and lost my first musky while smallie fishing. It was a crazy couple minutes and a beautiful 3.5’ to 4’ fish. Lost it at the net. It hit a 4” grub. Want to pick up a few basic lures - any suggestions? 

 

I have found the most consistent musky lure to be an inline spinner like the Mepps Musky Killer or the Joe Bucher Bucktails. Easy to throw with bass gear. 

 

BTW the two biggest pike I have caught were both caught on a 4" grub while fishing for walleye. I love them grubs!

[Dogface]

BTW I see that Further North suggested hook cutters and I strongly agree. I always keep a set in each boat and keep them handy. I have had to use them on a few occasions and one time it was a serious situation.

[Bankbeater]

If you have lipless crankbaits, throw those.  Musky love them down this way.  I would put them on a steel leader first.

[Vilas15]

If you're serious about it you need a big net (i use frabil power catch #8425), some good hook cutters (knipex), long needle nose pliers, some heavy leaders and min. 50 lb braid on a decent 200 size reel (preferably 300/400) and a Heavy bass rod. It's more expensive than bass fishing to do it right but you can work your way up to all that gear. Start with the proper release tools before spending serious money on baits. They're not too picky. Its all about the right location and conditions over different colors of the same bucktail. Just put in time on the water and you'll find one eventually. Don't go for double cowgirls or pounder bulldawgs, you don't need them.

[DaubsNU1]

The only time I have caught Musky is when fishing for bass : ) 

 

Caught them on a spinner bait, rattle-trap, and strangely enough, on a pumpkin green jig-n-craw(!)

 

Each time on medium to medium heavy casting rods, spooled with 20lb braid. And no steel leader.  

 

Landed them all without a net. Does help to have good set of pliers.

[Further North]

6 minutes ago, Vilas15 said:

If you're serious about it you need a big net (i use frabil power catch #8425)

I agree 100% on the big net, but that big hoop and long handle are going to be a problem on a kayak.  That's why I recommended the folding net.

We agree 100% on everything else you wrote.

[Further North]

4 hours ago, DaubsNU1 said:

Each time on medium to medium heavy casting rods, spooled with 20lb braid. And no steel leader.  

The fish gods were kind to you, with no leader...

[Deleted account]

4" grub...

[bloom]

several years ago on one of my favorite lakes it seemed whenever I used musky tackle and lures I caught bass and when I used bass tackle I caught musky. For a few years my best musky lure was a white #5 mepps with no hair and an Uncle Josh white bass strip fished with 12 lb mono on a spinning setup.  Perhaps a good approach would be to upsize some bass stuff and use some kind of leader. I agree with all the advise given earlier, specially having hook removal tools.

[gim]

On 3/26/2023 at 12:04 PM, Vilas15 said:

Just put in time on the water and you'll find one eventually.

This is the best advice I can offer too (outside of having the proper handling items).

 

There comes a time when they will bite, but that bite window is usually brief.  There needs to be some sort of environmental trigger in my experience, such as a low pressure system, sunrise/sunset, moonrise/moonset, a wind shift, etc.  Its not like bass fishing where you can usually still catch a few fish regardless of the conditions.  They are either biting or they aren't.  Patience and time on the water is going to be the best solution.

[Susky River Rat]

6” phantoms are solid and should be light enough. If not go with the 4”. A suick is also a good light bait to use.  I prefer the hi impact ones over the wood. They don’t look like much but, they just work. 

[gim]

25 minutes ago, Darnold335 said:

If not go with the 4”.

I just bought one of these this winter.  Kinda pricey but was suggested by a friend who had success using it last fall.

[Susky River Rat]

3 hours ago, gimruis said:

I just bought one of these this winter.  Kinda pricey but was suggested by a friend who had success using it last fall.

I prefer the 6” over any of them and run it on 65# braid and a steel leader no swivel I on the surgical stroke assault stick. I think that’s their light one. 

[gim]

7 minutes ago, Darnold335 said:

I prefer the 6” over any of them and run it on 65# braid and a steel leader no swivel I on the surgical stroke assault stick.

You snap it like a slash bait or a jerk bait, don't you?