Fishing Articles & Pro Fishing Tips

Over the span of his professional fishing career, Author and Outdoor Educator Joel DeBoer has authored many, many top-notch articles on the "How To's" of becoming a better angler. On this page you will find just a sampling of some of his articles and tips - we hope you enjoy!

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"Fab 5" Musky Lures for Spring!
Fishing Articles & Pro Fishing Tips >>

Confidence baits.  Money lures.  Call them what you will, every seasoned angler has a few select offerings in the ol’ tackle box that seem to produce when the going gets rough.  Wisconsin’s musky season in the Northern Zone (inland waters North of Hwy. 10) opens this Saturday after what has been a below average (temperature) spring, and conditions facing musky hunter should be a bit more challenging than in some recent Memorial weekends due to the subsequent lower water surface temperatures.  Does this mean the muskies are uncatchable?  Absolutely not!

While I’m sure my wife does not always agree with me on this point, in my opinion, one can never have too many musky lures.  That being said, like any hardcore musky hunter, I have specific favorites based on time of year, water and weather conditions, and body of water.   I present to you, in no particular order, the “Fab 5” - a collection of lures that perform as all-stars, especially when facing cooler spring-like water conditions on an opening weekend.

Mepps Musky Killer: In this age of giant double-bladed behemoth bucktails, smaller baits like the Musky Killer are often over-looked and under-utilized.  While I religiously use “big hair” a good portion of the season, it’s the smaller statured Mepps Musky Killer that is so dynamite for me during a cool early summer.  On the Wisconsin River system, a gold or copper blade and black or brown squirrel tail is a solid producer on darker cloudier days, while a hot orange/orange or hot chartreuse/chartreuse combination is deadly during brighter conditions.  I always attach a “hitchhiker” to my bucktails and screw on a Mister Twister Double Tail or Split Double Tail grub to act as a trailer, ultimately eliciting more strikes.  Although smaller than a good portion of the bucktails I throw most of the season, Mepps Musky Killers will cast almost effortlessly with a 7’-8’ MH St. Croix musky rod.  Lastly, large deep figure-eights are always a must when musky fishing, but especially so this time of year – discipline yourself to do so after EVERY cast!

Musky Innovations Bulldawg: Although relatively newer on the timeline of the musky annals than some of the other all-time producers, the Bulldawg has already confirmed itself as a legendary musky producer.  As with bucktails, I am a big baits=big fish kind of guy.  I thoroughly enjoy tossing the largest lures my St. Croix rods can handle, which include “pounders”; however, when conditions dictate a smaller more subtle approach, it’s tough to beat a regular-sized Bulldawg.  ‘Dawgs work excellent when twitched and jerked over newly emerging weed beds, down weed edges, and around other structural elements, including those man-made – be sure and vary your cadence and let the fish tell you what retrieve they want.  One of the keys to being successful with catching fish on Bulldawgs is to realize that strikes are frequently not of the bone-jarring variety.  A basic rule of thumb when fishing with ‘Dawgs is this:  if it feels different, even only a “bump”, set the hook!

Musky Armor Krave Jr.: Smaller crankbaits/twitchbaits are not only incredibly versatile, but deadly on muskies.  At “only” 7”, the Krave Jr. falls on the smaller end of the spectrum when it comes to big gamefish lures, making it the perfect size for early-season muskies.  The Krave Jr.’s highly buoyant body allows angler’s to effectively fish shallow cover, and with its incredible action and natural profile, muskies absolutely gobble it up!  While I have had excellent success on the standard color patterns, I am absolutely thrilled about the additions for the 2011 musky opener.  New for this season is the Natural Series – finishes so realistic no gamefish will be able to tell the difference.  Not only will the Krave Jr. catch fish casting, it’s a terrific trolling lure as well.  Weedy shallow flats, the mouths of dark-bottomed bays, and the points and saddles amongst islands are prefect places to troll Krave Jr.’s for early summer muskies with great results.

Rapala Husky Jerk: A popular lure amongst bass, pike, and walleye fishermen, the Husky Jerk is often overlooked by folks in the musky circle as legitimate musky bait.  The lure, a suspending crankbait available in natural, metallic, and glass patterns, is a bona fide musky producer in the cooler water temperatures of early summer.  While Husky Jerks will catch fish on a straight retrieve, they are at their most deadly when worked with a retrieve incorporating both jerks and pauses.  Husky Jerk’s are available in 5 sizes, with the HJ14 (5½”) being of the dimensions best suited for musky hunting.  What is different about the Husky Jerk is the fact that on the pause the lure suspends instead of floating upwards towards the surface.  What makes this a valuable quality on an early-season musky lure is the lure literally “hangs” in the face of its quarry; more often than not a musky (or other gamefish for the matter) just can’t resist, and ultimately ends up grabbing the lure.  For the ardent musky angler this means one thing – success!

Mister Twister TUBO:  A “bass lure” on the list?!  Indeed.  The TUBO is a 5” salt-impregnated plastic tube molded to mimic a waterdog, complete with red gills.  While more and more musky hunters are recognizing and utilizing plastics to score on the king of freshwater, the bulk of musky plastics are typically much larger than the TUBO.  I discovered the TUBO as a musky lure by accident while fishing for smallmouth bass on a local body of water a few years ago; that day, several bite-offs and a few muskies in the net later, I realized I had found something special.  Since then it has become a staple in my early-season musky fishing – simple to use and downright effective.  The TUBO will catch muskies on a jigging retrieve to the boat, as a “cast-back” lure on a following musky, or as a swim bait.  When fishing the TUBO on a straight retrieve, rig it on a Mustad Power Lock Plus swim bait hook and use the reel handle itself to impart an erratic darting pulsating action by randomly cranking every four to eight cranks with a hard, fast, aggressive motion.   When using a jigging retrieve, the Mustad KVD Grip-Pin is the perfect complement and rigging accessory, and will handle even a monster musky if played carefully.

There you have it – a “Fab 5” of lures for fishing the musky opener.  While there are no guarantees in fishing, especially musky fishing, heading out on the water this opener equipped with the afore-mentioned baits will put the odds in your favor - and THAT I do guarantee!  I’ll see you on the water…  

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