CRAZY Musky Strike (slow-mo) – Glide Bait Tips – 50lb Musky (update)
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Heartbreaker....
It's true – glide baits can make muskies go mad when it seems like nothing else is working.
The only problem: poor hookup rates and missed opportunities can make anglers go mad, too!
Here's a perfect example from Steve Genson on a recent TRO video:
I bet she's still wondering what happened to her lunch...😂
Can't help but feel bad when someone loses one like this. The fish practically swallowed the bait, but somehow didn't get hooks!
That's musky fishin', man....
Glide Bait Tips
After seeing that clip, we thought we'd reach out to Steve for some glide baitin' tips. He's an excellent glidemaster in his own right and had some great pointers to share.
When's the best time to throw glide baits?
"The best time to use these baits is in cooler water – 65 degrees and less – but I’ve had great success throwing them all season long. They work great when fish aren’t responding to straight retrieve baits or when I’ve located stubborn fish on a spot and I can’t get them to move on other bait styles.
"They are excellent for target fishing around rocks, weeds, wood and current seams – letting the lure pause for an extra moment on isolated sweet spots where muskies setup to ambush prey."
How do you work it?
"The most important tip I can give for glide bait fishing is to employ an erratic retrieve that’s constantly changing. Mixup your speed and cadence multiple times within each cast. You never know what will trip their trigger.
"You want the fish to bite before it gets to boatside because gliders aren’t the best baits in the figure-8. My go-to strategy to combat this issue is employing a “Death Pause” 3 to 5 feet from the boat.
"I’ll use quick, fast movements with darting action, then I’ll slow down my speed/cadence, and finally I’ll give the bait a hard pop and let it turn to the side and hang there (AKA the “Death Pause”). That’s when they’ll come up and smack it!"
What makes a good glide bait?
They should have a quick, darting side-to-side action. I also like to see a little wobble and a slow sink on the pause. The best baits are the one’s that are easy to control, especially when I’m fishing with guide clients. That’s why I like the Hellhound – of all the glide baits I’ve tried, it’s the easiest to control. Phantoms and Mantas
Make sure to check out the full writeup on our website:
Glide Bait Muskies 101
Should you measure??
Last week, Pete Maina shared some great advice on musky handling in hot water situations. Honestly, there was too much good stuff to fit in ONE newsletter, which is why we're putting a bow on the topic this week.
It's extra important to treat your catch with care this time of year, and like Pete said last week, the factors are cumulative – fighting the fish, unhooking, measuring, taking photos, etc.
The best way to ensure fish survival is removing or minimizing as many steps as possible, and the easiest one to cut out (and possibly the most detrimental) is measuring.
Here's an important tidbit from Pete:
"With exception of contests, measuring is an unnecessary activity. Definitely avoid in-boat measurements in hot water; and if measuring is important with a large net bag it’s easy to do in water with a floating ruler."
More handling = More stress
We've all seen muskies go wild on the bump board and end up flopping on the floor of the boat. It makes me cringe just thinking about it....
Just another reason to measure in the net, or just skip measuring altogether.
Remember this big gal???
If you're a musky-head, you couldn't have missed this 50+ pound BEAST from Darcy Cox's boat on the Woods last fall:
Replicas aren't cheap, but if there was ever a time to do it, it's now. You don't catch 'em 55 5/8 inches long with a 28 inch girth too often.
Well, the call was made and the fishy wall art is finally ready for show:
If you ever find yourself in Kenora, you can drool over this tanker in-person at LOTW Sports Headquarters.
⬇️ Have a feeling this will be a popular reaction from customers in the shop....
QUICK HITTERS:
– Diesel outboard in the works in Sweden (link)
– Cool new feature in Lake Labs – identifying windows, etc. (link)
– Re-designed Daiwa Lexa HD (300 & 400) (video)
– MNDNR meeting on public access vs. AIS (link)
– Kevin Zeitler (NFL) likes musky fishing (link)
– A couple nice muskies w/ JH Outdoors (video)
– Fishin’ LOTW w/ Impeccable Fishing (video)
THIS WEEK'S LUNAR TIMES:
(Times based on Minneapolis)
THIS WEEK'S MONSTER MUSKIES:
Not the best hold/photo in the world, but had to share. Jimmy Fair cracked his first-ever musky, and she hit a ridiculous 56 inches on the board. Her meal of choice was an Apache Triple X bucktail.
This is why you hop in the boat with an experienced guide like Luke Ronnestrand – not only will you up your odds of catching a 55-inch Goliath like this, but you get to see the background, too. 😂
This 54.5" big mama walloped Josh Borovsky's Baby Beaver XL on Lake Vermilion. Keep this one on the down-low, but the Beav has been a killer on Big V the past few years.
Another monster musky from the Bay – this one courtesy of well-known guide Bret Alexander and his client Bob Johnson. She went 55.25" on the stick and kicked off like a champ after a quick photo. #horse
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