As many of you may already know, live baits can work
great for muskie and pike. In Wisconsin, the use of live
bait (usually in addition to artificial presentations)
is very popular, especially in the fall, for muskies.
It can work well in the spring too. In a nutshell, it
works best and is most efficient in cool water ranges.
Many nice fish are taken; big pike are often a surprise
bonus at times too.
To cover a good general time frame for effectiveness,
I'd recommend bait use from the start of the season (where
there is no closed season it should work all winter) to
the upper-sixty degree range of surface temperatures.
However, I may cheat, occasionally, after I've officially
given up hope of success on artificials when a nasty cold
front comes in. But, once temperatures are in the 70's
for good, I'm done. I bring it back into play around turnover
time, usually about the 60-degree mark for surface temperatures.
There will be on and off periods, but once past turnover,
bait will be effective to ice up.
Any bait type would work, technically (as long as it's
legal to use of course), but suckers are the popular bait
in Wisconsin, and readily available at any reputable live
bait dispensary near muskie waters. While it seems that
Wisconsin can certainly claim to be the originators of
live bait fishing in the states, partially because multiple
lines are legal, bait use is spreading to other areas.
There are some folks who aren't real happy about this.
There is good reason for their unhappiness, and it is,
in most cases at least, borne of concern for the fish
caught on live bait rigs. Live bait has tremendous potential
to kill a lot of fish. It has done a significant amount
of damage over the years in Wisconsin. Thankfully, though,
this has taken a real turnaround in the last five years.
More education and peer pressure is needed to eliminate
mortality caused by live bait completely, but things are
certainly headed in that direction. And, the good news
is, it is possible to achieve 100% releasability with
live bait, if some simple rules are followed.
This isn't a complicated issue. In fact, it's quite simple.
If esox are allowed to swallow a hook-and it doesn't matter
what type of hook-and it remains in their stomach, gullet
or deep inside their mouth, it will kill them. The only
question is how long it will take; some die immediately,
and some may take months.
So, if anyone intends to use live bait, it certainly
comes with great responsibility. Hopefully, you intend
to release the fish you catch. Realize though, that if
you allow esox to swallow, you have killed them, and this
includes undersized fish too. Live baits (and any deadbaits)
must be used with quickstrike rigging. To insure a clean
release-and to increase hooking percentages-immediate
hooksetting is a must.
In choosing good live baits (we'll focus on suckers since
they are the predominate live bait used for pike and muskies)
for quickstrike use, baits ranging in size from 13 to
17 inches are the easiest to manage when it comes to handling
the bait and installing the rigging. They provide a good-sized
target that will attract a large size range of esox, including
those of exceptional size. Smaller baits can work too
though, as can larger. And, sometimes you are left without
a choice due to availability.
There are several different types of quickstrike rigs
on the market these days. It still seems that the majority
of these incorporate a leader system on which there is
an adjustable front hook (either treble or single) to
be attached to the front of the bait (usually the lip)
and then a stinger hook or hooks in the rear. There are
also a couple of rigs that have a rubber band system that
eliminates any necessity for a front hook. A rubber band
system provides more built-in safety for the fish and
better hooking percentages.
The rubber band system was originally brought to use
with muskie rigs by Steve Herbeck (pretty smart move there,
Herbie). Herbeck is the designer of the other well-known
rig on the market, the "Herbie Rig." Rubber band rigs
like the Herbie Rig or Lift-Off provide for livelier baits
by not obstructing breathing, as well as better hooking
percentages. The key to quickstrike rig effectiveness
is in the whole rig breaking free cleanly from the bait,
and then into the mouth of the fish.
When the leader runs through the front hook attached
to bait's head and through to stingers as on more traditional
quickstrike rigs, there are potential problems tha can
really lower hooking percentages.The main leader is against
the bait's body, and, depending on the angle, it often
results in the stinger hooks literally being pulled from
the bait, but then driven right back into it again. Upon
the hookset, the sucker gets hooked (again) but not the
fish. The rubber band system provides for a totally different
angle, since the entire rig is attached to the very top
of the bait (see illustrations). Upon hookset, the rubber
band stretches up, and by the time it breaks, the stinger
hook angle is well away from the bait. It results in better
hooking percentages.
More importantly, for the good of the fish, these rigs
are the safest. Actually, I hadn't really thought of it
exactly that way until it was pointed out to me by our
Tech editor, John Myhre. While setting immediately provides
for the best hooking percentages, some folks that are
new to quickstrikes, after missing several fish (usually
because of rigging issues), decide that waiting for the
fish to take it a while may increase hooking percentages.
Some folks who supposedly know what they are doing actually
promote a wait. In some cases too, folks may not detect
a strike right away.
Contrary to some popular belief, muskies will often swallow
a bait in a matter of seconds. They very seldom wait long.
A quickstrike rig is not a release rig at all if the front
hook gets to the gullet. Wait just a little and it can
happen, and happen quickly. When using the rubber band
system, if folks wait until the fish turns the bait and
starts to swallow, there is no front hook in the head
of the bait to enter the gullet. Most of the time, the
stinger hooks (in the back of the bait), since they are
now point-in, will catch on the fish's jaw or inside the
mouth on the way in. Odds are, even when there is a wait
period for whatever reason, the fish still won't get any
hooks to its gullet or stomach. Keep in mind, that there
is absolutely no guarantee of this ? and that I don't
recommend waiting at all. It's just a safer rig should
it occur.
Call it mere marketing if you want (keep in mind that
you can make your own at home though, if you choose),
but rubber band rigs hook a better percentage of fish
and are much safer for the fish, period. Strictly speaking
as a fisherman, please use these.
Rigging is really quite simple. It sounds awful complicated,
but it's not. With a little practice, you can quickly
rig baits. The illustrations provided show the Lift Off
rig, but the process is the same for the Herbie Rig, though
the stinger hook is attached in a slightly different manner.
What I find works very well for me in the rigging process,
after I run the bait needle through the nasal passages,
is to pinch the live bait between my knees. Sounds a little
gross, and looks a little shady, but while cinching the
rubber band system to the bait's head and attaching the
stinger hooks, holding the bait between the knees leaving
both hands free works great. Remember, when installing
the stingers, you want to just use enough skin to hold
the hook so it will easily rip free on the hookset. This
is explained in directions that come with the rigs.
Once the critter has been rigged, there are lots of ways
to present baits. They can be vertically presented over
the side of the boat, which works very well on breaklines
and for any deeper situations. They can also be suspended
below a float (bobber) to run over vegetation or other
shallow structure. Concentrate on edges with live bait
though, since this truly seems to be where it is most
effective.
Finally, hooksets are very important for success with
these rigs. Heavy tackle is a must. You must have enough
force and snap to break the rig free from the bait and
drive the hooks into the fish. Use a quality, low-stretch
super braid line in a minimum of 80 pound test. Set the
hook hard-with snap-as soon as you can.
Most of the time the fish will be angling away after
taking the bait. Set immediately! Odds are much better,
for obvious reasons, when the fish is angling away. If
you are not certain and the fish is close, just put very
heavy, steady pressure on the fish. In seconds, the fish
will turn away from the pressure-set the hook. If the
fish is a distance from the boat for some reason (more
than 25 feet), what works great for me is to start the
outboard, and immediately drive to the fish, parking right
on top of them. This will make them move away, and you
can then set the hooks in the opposite direction.
Using these rigs, with proper rigging and setting the
hook as outlined, it is possible to hook well over 80
percent of the fish that take, and they'll be totally
releasable. If you set immediately, hooks will always
be in the mouth. It can work when other methods don't,
and it's fun too. Do it right and it's a neat method.
Do it wrong though, and you kill fish.
