The Case for Big Baits

Musky Mayhem Double Cowgirl

When for Big Lures

We still don’t know exactly when and where big lures are the best choice. Generally, they’ve proven to be surprisingly versatile and seem to be particularly well-suited to fish at opposite ends of the activity scale.

The bigger vibration patterns and increased water displacement of big lures, especially large inline spinners like the Double Cowgirl and similar double-bladed baits, make them attractive to active muskies, sometimes from incredible distances.

Pike & Muskie Guide contributor Jack Burns told me of an experiment last season with big lures on a mid-summer trip to the Canadian Shield. Burns and his partners kept at least one Double Cowgirl in the water at all times for an entire day, while the other two anglers (both exceptional fishermen) fished traditional baits.

“By the end of the day, we had 7 muskies in the boat,” Burns says. “All of them—every single one—hit the Cowgirl. Didn’t make any difference if the lure was getting first water from the front of the boat or seeing used water in the back. The fish were aggressive and the commotion from those big blades got their attention and they hunted them down. It was like fishing with a vacuum cleaner—it overwhelmed anything else in the water at the same time.”

At the other end of the spectrum, the mass and vibration of big lures has proven to be at times a triggering tool for muskies turned off by cold fronts, or jaded by standard lures because of intense fishing pressure. Popping a Magnum Bull Dawg through a deep weededge has accounted for many post-frontal muskies. Slow-rolling, double-bladed inline spinners or spinnerbaits like the Esox Viper have also proven effective. These lures are surprisingly resistant to fouling in sparse to moderate weeds, too, as the double blades push weeds out of the way.

Between these extremes are a range of applications; we’re only beginning to explore. Fishing at night? Bigger lures are a natural to help fish find and strike. Fishing in darker water? Same thinking applies. And, if you can find a population of large fish in areas where other anglers aren’t fishing, big lures should apply.

Into the Future

The recent run of success with larger lures probably is in part a matter of how new and appealing they are. But in waters where big lures have dominated in recent years, anglers are seeing more following fish, instead of fish striking at a distance. In other words, fish are becoming conditioned to these bigger lures.

It seems unlikely, however, that bigger options are a passing fancy, like the short-term productivity of a hot color. Big baits aren’t just a novelty. They fit a niche in a range of presentation variables that includes speed, action, depth—and now, a broader range of size—than ever before.

It’s likely the productivity of larger lures will continue headlong for several seasons, at least on some waters. After that, they’re destined to become standard issue options that, like all the other proven presentations out there, work in the right place at the right time.

*Rob Kimm is a frequent contributor to In-Fisherman magazine and also serves as editor of Esox Angler magazine.