New ''TargetLock'' 👀 – Swimbait Tips – Worst Musky Headline Yet?
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The Sonar War Heats Up!
The big electronics companies have been one-upping each other left-and-right these past several months.
Back in February, Garmin announced Livescope Plus.... sounds like the new transducer is a decent upgrade over regular Livescope.
This new release happened right around the same time Humminbird made significant software updates to their MEGA Live transducer.
Lowrance added "Ghost 360" to their arsenal in January.
Now, Bird/Minn Kota has something totally different up their sleeves....
Enter: TargetLock
A souped-up independent mounting system that syncs with your trolling motor & graphs (as long as you're running Birds):
Of course they release this new tech RIGHT AFTER a live-viewing sonar debate sparked in the musky world. 😂
It has a bunch of features, including some stuff you won't find anywhere else....
- Steering your transducer independently while on Spot-Lock
- Steering your transducer in sync with your trolling motor
- Locking the beam onto a specific target, even when the boat is moving
- Selecting a waypoint on MEGA 360 and locking onto it
- A 120-degree sweeping mode for combing water
- You can control the pole 4 different ways
Lots of features, but pretty pricey ($1,500) and you need a 45" or 52" Ultrex.
Every time something new comes out, we find ourselves wondering....
- Have we gone too far??
- How much further will we go??
- How does any non-pro afford all this stuff??
- Is this the best way to get hardcore gamers outta the basement and into the outdoors?? 😂
Swimbait Rod/Reel/Line
If you're new to fishin' swimbaits like the Swimmin' Dawg, this short video from Steve Heiting will help you get started:
He shares some good info on how to fish swimbaits (watch video) and some advice for choosing the ideal rod/reel/line setups (read below):
"Equipment is important when you're fishing a Swimmin' Dawg because these are heavy baits and they are rubber. Muskies tend to get their teeth into them, so you need to crack their hold on the bait when you set the hook.
"For larger sized Swimmin' Dawgs, I have a 5.1:1 reel – you don't need a high-speed reel for all applications – and a 8'6" St. Croix Legend Elite HF rod. I'll use 80 to 100lb braided line leading to a Stealth Tackle 130# fluorocarbon leader."
For smaller 8" Swimmin' Dawgs, he'll run an 8'6" MHF rod with the same reel, and he'll downsize to 65lb braided line (for extra casting distance) and a Stealth 124# wire Twitch Bait Leader.
Speaking of Swimmin' Dawgs, how spicy are these colors on the Taps & Tackle site:
Musky Innovations has a bunch of cool colors on their site, too. Including these big Monster Swimmin' Dawgs (16 inch, 19.5 oz):
Chalky 'skie
If you've spent enough time on Facebook or TikTok, you've probably seen some wild and crazy chalk art.... but none of them beat this musky-themed sidewalk art from Bridget Erion and her niece:
Here's a look at the masterpiece halfway through the coloring process:
Definitely a slight upgrade over the rainbows, smiley-faced suns, and random squiggles my kids draw.... 😉
This Week's Mashup:
Mashup time!
#1 – Check out this sweet replica 'skie sent in by Charles Weiss, hand-carved outta pine wood and painted with acrylics:
#2 – For all you tourney-heads.... The Jeff Young Memorial Shootout is happenin' October 1-2 outta Agency Bay Lodge on Leech Lake – always a great event:
#3 – Our subscribers have sent in a TON of cool musky plates over the past few weeks. We shared a bunch of them in this newsletter, and have been sprinkling more in here-and-there since then.
Here's another cool one from Eric A. in Illinois:
#4 – Sometimes it's fun to watch mainstream media BUTCHER fishin' related content – this article has been syndicated on Newsweek and buncha other sites:
Swing and a miss!
QUICK HITTERS:
– Violent musky strikes w/ Doug Wegner (video)
– Clear water musky fishing w/ Todays Angler (video)
– Story behind Nolan Sprengel’s MN record ‘skie (video)
– 11 yo got 53 inch musky w/ Cast & Conquer (video)
– Shore fishing setup w/ justkeepcasting (video)
– Tiger musky fishing w/ 54 or Bust (video)
– Musky chasin’ w/ Blue Ridge Musky (video)
– “Motor Head Island Monster” w/ Bucher (video)
THIS WEEK'S MONSTER MUSKIES:
Big props to Jim Saric on poppin' this big bodied 'skie on a Llungen Nutbuster spinnerbait at the side of the boat, right before the figure 8.
Killer shot from Doug Wegner of a recent 52.5 inch Minnesota musky 🔥
Here's another 52.5 incher from Minnesota – this one's from Alex McLean on an XL Beaver (📸 John Holmgren)
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