ESOX HUNTER
My Versatile Go To Lure
Gordy Johnson          May 8, 2010

"A Selection of fish catchers"

I have been fishing for muskies and pike for over fifty years.   Wow, has it really been that long?   In thinking about it I guess it has!   During that period of time I have collected/tried a lot of different fishing lures.   Early on favorites were the Mepps #5 red and yellow bead body, Pikie Minnow, Shannon Twin Spinner, Musky Hound just to name a few.   If you have been around, for awhile, you probably remember some of them.   I still have several of those baits, but I haven't fished with them for a number of years.   They have been relegated to more of a collector fishing tackle box.   These lures did serve me well and I am sure are quite capable of still catching more than their share of fish; however I continued to buy baits as if the answer to catching fish was just sitting on the shelf waiting for me to just buy it.

If you are a fisherman of any sorts, you know exactly what I am talking about.   Every year without fail I still go out and buy several new baits in hopes of finding that magic lure.   My head knows better, but in the middle of winter or when I stop at Gander Mountain on the way to Canada, I always buy some new baits to try.   Seven large tackle boxes later, and a half a box of components that I have stripped for parts from old lures, I am starting to come around.   I still can't resist the urge to buy a new bait every now and again, but I have definitely cut back.

I have been paying particular attention to the baits that I typically use and I can say that 90% of the time I am fishing, I probably use at most ten baits, in a variety of colors and sizes, but ten baits.   Over the years I have found that I will fish with a seven inch Suick maybe 30-50% of the time.                  Some of the Suicks The remaining percentage is made of of using the Dancin Raider, Reef Hawg, Eagle Tail, Jake and Bull Dawg.   So why do I typically start out with a seven inch Suick?   That's easy, because it works!   The seven inch Suick, especially in Chartreuse and Black, has worked for me in most situations, in most seasons, for a whole lot of years.

Liking the Suick because it works is the easy answer, but there is more to it than that. Why do I like the 7 inch version verses the 9 inch or 12 inch versions?   The 7 inch Suick literally works all year long.  In the spring, fish generally like smaller offerings and I have found that the 7 inch model generally fills the bill by being small enough to be considered edible, but large enough to be worthy of some effort.   By the time fall rolls around the 7 inch Suick still works it magic, this is especially true on those cold front days when it is tough to get a bite or just after the turnover.

The 7 inch model also offers something I have really appreciated as my years have advanced, that being castability.   While it is tough to admit, I am not 60 any more!   Throwing a large piece of lumber and then jerking it back in all day isn't something that I can physically do or enjoy any more.  The 7 inch model is heavy enough to cast, but light enough where you can cast it and jerk over the course of a day without killing yourself in the process.   The other element that is directly related to size is speed.   My son, Mark, also favors the 7 inch Suick; he fishes it with quick rapid jerks emulating a spooked or darting bait fish.                  My son, Mark, with a 45" This has proven to be very effective for him in putting muskies in the boat.   I will use this same technique, but not as consistently or long as my son.   It may have something to do with that age thing again, but I like to vary my retrieve looking for what works.

There is another reason that I prefer the 7 inch model and that goes to hook-ups and the landing of a fish.   If you have ever had a big fish on and watched them fight, they all do head shakes, sometimes doing them in conjunction with a leap out of the water.   You don't have to be a physicist to understand that a fish hooked say on the rear hook with the a large bait hanging out of her mouth can generate a lot of leverage on the hooks in her jaw by throwing a heavy, long, bait back and forth.   The thrashing and shaking can throw the bait completely on a lightly hooked fish or it can elongate the holes the hook made when they went in, making it easier to shake the hooks out given just the slightest bit of slack in the line.   With a smaller, lighter size, they don't have the weight of the bait working with them during the fight.   The smaller size also means that the bait is often taken completely into the mouth, again providing for a better hookup.

Suicks as a general statement don't appear to be very impressive out of the box.   I remember the first time many, many years ago that I was introduced to a Suick by my uncle.   I looked at the Suick and said, "That bait is really stupid.   It is nothing but a stick with a piece of tin sticking off the back; that can't catch anything." My uncle chuckled a bit and then said, "So you don't want to buy one?   I said, "No" as I laid my hard earned $3.25 down for a Heddon's Crazy Crawler (which is a great bait too, by the way").   I was to learn later just how wrong I was.

Suicks are some of the most versatile lures you will ever find.   They offer versatility right of the box and even more with a little work.   That "little piece of tin" as I called it provides the first level of versatility.   For openers, I have found having the tail straight back to maybe 30 degress bent downward is the adjustment area.   Bending it more causes problems with the bait on the retrieve. When the tail is straight back the bait rides shallower on the retrieve as the water resistance on the tail is minimized.   When the tail is bent downward, water resistence is increased on the tail ineffect pushing the tail toward the surface and angling the head of the bait downward.   This allows the bait to be fished deeper when the bait is jerked.   When fishing weeds that aren't quit making it to the surface, I will straighten the tail and throw the bait closer to the boat than normal.   By almost pulling the bait, rather than jerking, you can get over some very high weeds.   With a good pair of polarized sunglasses you can see weed pockets in the weeds.   When the bait comes to a pocket, I will give the bait a jerk which causes it to dive into the pocket.   Depending on the size of the pocket, you might make several jerks or you let it rise back to the surface.   Don't be surprised if it gets hit in the process.

When fishing more open water, you can bend the tail downward as I stated earlier.   You can jerk, relax (allows the bait rise), and then jerk again.   The more extreme and frequent the jerk, the deeper the bait typically goes.   That statement is a relative term, as the Suick is not a deep diver.   I would say you can probably get the bait down four to six feet.   Also, the longer between pulls, the higher the bait will rise before the next jerk.   I have found it doesn't work for me to have the bait actually come to the surface when fishing in non-weedy situations, although I don't know why.

Weighted Suicks are easily made or can be bought that way from the factory.   I usually make my own as I like to change the weighting (larger Suicks, 9" - 12"), so I employ a screw on weight system so that I can quickly change the how weighted my Suick is.   I am sure that a weighting system could be devised for the 7 inch variety, but the body on these smaller versions are much thinner than the larger ones.                  Weighted, egg method, screw in method When I am going to weight a Suick, I will typically float the Suick in some water and then set the receiver piece (the thread mounting point that will get the weights screwed into it) ontop of the Suick.   I will move the receiver back and forth down the length of the Suick looking for the spot where the weight doesn't dramatically effect the baits balance in the water, however you can do that too.   Once the spot is found, I mark the spot and then on the bottom of the bait, under the place you marked, drill the whole to appropriate size for the receiver and then screw it it.   You can put a drop of two of epoxy on the threads of the receiver prior to screwing it in, but it will work in either case; Suicks are still made of wood.   It should also be noted that you can drill the Suick and glue/tap in an egg sinker to weight it.   The position on the Suick is determined exactly as was done with the receiver mentioned above.   Obviously, this method doesn't allow for varying the weight.

Weighted Suicks make it easier to get the bait down on a jerk, and then take longer to rise.   I want my bait to look level and natural in the water that is why I like the neutral point to put the weight.   Obviously if you put the weight in a different location you will start to take on some of the traits of when you move the tail up and down.   A weight more forward will cause the bait to dive deeper while the weight further back will cause the bait to rise more on a jerk.   The weighting system is designed to make it easier on the fisherman to keep the bait where he wants it to be; say just above the height of submergent weeds.

One comment on the tail, is if you see your Suick retrieving what I would call "funny", it maybe that one side of the tail is bent either higher or lower than the otherside.   You can try experimenting and see the results yourself.

Another change that can be made, is changing the screw-eye position on the head of the Suick.   Moving the screw-eye a little further back will cause the bait to dive deeper and conversely moving it forward toward the nose will cause the bait not to dive so deep.   If you opt to do this, remember you don't have to move it much to get different results.                  Author with a Suick caught musky Make sure that screw-eye is centered as well, as it can cause problems on the retrieve.

The Suick generally fishes relatively well, except for one exception. That exception is that the rear hook likes to hookup over the tail.   This definitely ruins the action on the bait and wastes a cast.    You can change the hooks to either long shank hooks or short shank hooks to help eleviate the problem.   I have seen some guys move the hooks a bit forward as well.   I don't like punching a bunch of holes in my Suick and I find it does effect the balance, but each to his own.

I should mention that last year my wife recommended to a 10 year old boy at our resort that he should buy a 7 inch Suick, when he asked her what bait he should buy.   After the boy bought the Suick, he made several visits to our cabin with pictures of the fish he caught on it.   His dad and grandpa were both up and were walleye fisherman only.   The boy almost burst with pride when he showed us a picture of a 43 inch musky he caught on it.   We came out of cabin one morning, after the boy's family left the night before and my wife found a note stuck to our door, where the boy told her how grateful he was that she had recommended the Suick.   We were both glad that we had recommended something that will have such a lasting effect on him.   If you haven't fished with one, give it a try.   BTW: I am not paid by Suick and receive no benefit from mentioning the product.   It is just one great bait.

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           Last updated on ...May 8, 2010