Swimbaits vs. Crankbaits

[Red Childress]

Which of these are getting the most attention in your boat??

The swimbaits seem to get more attention for us.

[RapRunR]

Last time i was out the water had receded a lot. I noticed something on one of the rocks but didn't go look as i hadn't been out for over 2 weeks and was concentrating on fishing. My friend stops by and fishes with me. He walks over to that rock, comes back and says, look what i found. A huge sucker looking swimbait that looked almost brand new and was about 10" long. Must have been a 15 or $20 lure. Now if i would have just walked down to check out that funny looking thing on that rock, lol.

I use cranks but would like to start using more swimbaits. Could you guys give an idea of which ones produce more than others, colors, sizes ?

[Red Childress]

For the money, you cannot beat the Swimmin' Joe by ROI (or whoever bought them out). Cheap and fairly durable for 15.00. The 8-inch run much better than the 10-inch.

Curly Sues are a very nice bait too and resemble the Bulldawg but not made in China!

[ttabaleulb]

Crankbaits were pretty much the name of the game for me last season. 75% of the Musky that I landed were on them. Ok, that only amounts to 3 fish, but... LOL I only threw swimbaits every once in a while. However, this season will see me throwing PLENTY of 'dawgs and the like. I just had to get used to casting those things. That Pike that I landed in the Fall was on a 'dawg.

[Trauts]

Jay if you are going to fish dawgs...get a longer and heavier rod...actually get the longest and heaviest rods that are practical for musky fishing.

Trust on this one bro...I fished 2 days at Cave Run throwing nothing but Bulldawgs...and couldn't lift my arms high enough to feed myself for a week!

[ttabaleulb]

Actually, the rods that I have are fine, I just needed to adjust my casting technique to adapt to those heavier baits. My last trip out in the Fall had me trying a few things that I think will work quite well. I know that there are people that have a different rod for each type of bait that they throw, but I can't afford that line of thinking!! LOL So, I'll just have to make due, for now. :)

[allegheny river kid]

I've got a 2nd vote for the swimming joes, although i caught no musky with them last year pike and walleye and bass loved them up. I've thrown the storm swimbaits and savage lures foreplay last year and other than a few lazy follows and one small fish trying to eat it on a fig 8 i had no luck. I really like the soft plastics revolution of baits, big tubes, bulldawgs the hybrids like the shallow invader. These accounted for my fish last year on the river.

[Polish_Pike]

anybody seen these "Cow-dussa" lures yet? A giant Medussa swimbait trailing a half Double Cow-Girl. Weighs about 6 lbs. Why anyone would stock up on these is beyond me...looks like one of those that will attract more anglers than fish.

So I bought one.

I'm gonna scare the crap out of wading smallmouth anglers by catapult-ing this gigantic party favor in the mouth of deer creek. First, I'll yell "Canonball!" just to be polite.

[Red Childress]

Garrick,

I am still laughing........I wonder how many calories are burned while throwing that "alien life form" all day? I bet it is a heck of a night time bait.

In reality, it just goes to show how differently muskies are pursued on pressured water.....the kind of water where there are several boats watching the moon phase, getting in line for their "secret" spot, and trying to use something different on those pressured fish.

Most of us have no concept of what it is really like fishing on the hot lakes of the Midwest.