The market for locally made, small-batch, boutique lures is booming.
The modern era has brought what seems like an endless list of lure options, but anglers shouldn’t overlook the tried-and-true. Easy to find at a retailer near you, these proven baits catch muskies right off the shelf.
1. Mepps spinners
The bucktail market has a massive basement industry. They are fast to produce and trends in blade design and skirt materials have master builders really pushing the fringes of design.
Step back less than 20 years, however, and fish were total suckers for simpler, and in many cases smaller, spinners. Generations of anglers across Ontario have caught fish by simply casting and reeling skimpy, single-bladed spinners tied with deer hair and feathers.
Mepps’ Musky Killer, Black Fury, and Aglia fish fast and easy. Heavy, powerful rods and reels simply are not needed. From opening day until the water begins to cool in September, it’s hard to beat the buzz and speed of a smaller blade fished fast. Musky Killer #5 is an excellent pick for newer anglers, providing easy all-day fishing and very littlewater resistance. Colours like black and silver, black and gold, and firetiger are long-standing producers. Blue Fox’s Musky Buck is another option.
2. Joe Bucher Outdoors TopRaider
One of the first mass-produced, hard-plastic surface baits, TopRaiders still hook muskies. TopRaiders don’t break the bank and most stores with a muskie section sell them. TopRaiders run with a deep, cupping or popping sound. Their landing percentage is high.
For calm conditions, the single-prop model is the pick. Less is often more, in terms of lure sound and disturbance when the surface is still — it produces just the right amount. In rougher water and/or in darkness, the two-section Super TopRaider pops. It can also draw muskies up from deeper, open water.
3. Rapala Super Shad Rap
Equally good as a casting bait, Super Shad Raps handle high trolling speeds well. They track relatively tight and don’t wander from centre, like other lures are designed to. Shad Raps also have the tight wiggle or “shiver” that helped popularize balsa or other wood designs.
A relatively shallow diver out of the box, Shad Raps can be used to work from the surface down to about 10 feet. Some situations see Shad Raps towed close to the boat, while longer, weighted lines carry them much deeper and further back. Shad Raps are a blank canvas, and can be used over a range of depths. They also pull beautifully behind smaller, in-line planer boards.
Having a tight travel path and wiggle, Super Shad Raps are also equipped with only two treble hooks, making them highly effective for trolling weeds. Safety pin-style spinnerbaits or high riding bucktails are what most muskies are used to seeing and feeling in the cabbage. Super Shad Raps offer a new presentation to these fish and come through obstructions surprisingly well.
4. Suick
Rudimentary in appearance and action, the wooden Suick is a readily available and proven lure. Suicks range from six to 14 inches. Running depth and action can be changed by adding lighter or heavier hooks, slightly bending the bait’s steel tail fin, or soaking it in water, to add ballast and slow the lure’s rise when paused. Newer models allow screw-in weights.
The melodic, plodding action of a Suick plays any time of the season. They’re also great near weeds. Shorten your casts and allow the lure to dive into open pockets and rise, to skirt over the thick spots. One muskie-triggering move with a Suick is a long pause several feet from the boat, letting the lure rise to the surface before you resume your retrieve and start a figure eight.
Originally published in Ontario OUT of DOORS’ 2023 Fishing Annual
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