This
year has been tough fishing because of the heat. More so than usual, fish
are seeking the comfort of cooler deeper water as they wait for an easy meal
to enter their attack perimeter.
Over
the years there has been evidence that, during the course of
the Muskie season, relatively few Muskie within a population will venture
shallow during the course of a season. The data collected in the Chippewa Flowage Musky Study (Year – 1) demonstrated
that while most Muskie anglers are fishing in depths of 4 to 6 feet of water,
most Muskie are in depths of around 13.5 feet.
It is also a Muskie truism that, during half of June,
all of July and August, and half of September, the lure of choice is some
version of a bucktail. Typically, bucktails are effective down to about 4 feet
which leaves the depths untouched where Muskies are most likely to be.
Over the years there have been many attempts to modify
the bucktail so that it would run deeper, but little success has ever been
accomplished in that effort. A complicating factor is the matter of "Lure
Confidence". Many of these modified bucktails did not inspire the angler
confidence that would encourage their use and move the Muskie angler from the
traditional shallows.
There is a new approach to bucktail configuration that
may solve the problems of running depth and lure confidence. The bucktail
configuration is a weight forward design. True,
weight forward is not a new concept but the implementation has certainly come
of age.
This Cisco-Spin Lure is, at first glance, a bit unusual
in appearance. A closer look, however, demonstrates an innovative approach to
the bucktail that supports the casting and trolling approaches to Muskie
angling.
The
body, which carries most of the 1½ ounce weight of the lure, is through wire
construction around which is a weight. The weight is covered with a fabric
that emulates scales. The glass eyes attached to the body give an appearance
of realism. The body wrap and eyes are covered with an epoxy coating for
durability.
Unlike
traditional bucktails, the blade is at the back of the body. The single 2/0
treble is dressed in colored feather and is attached to the body with a split
ring. This will allow the angler to easily change dressed hook configurations.
The French blades come in solid copper or nickel colors. For the angler with a
different color preference for the blade, the application of blade tape will
provide the maximum in presentation flexibility.
The weight of the lure makes it easy to count down to a
desired depth; allowing the angler to fish the 12 to 15 foot depths of shelf
drop-offs and main lake areas where the studies indicate most Muskie reside
during the course of the season.
