Just had a quick thought on my way back from the Michigan Musky Show and wanted to share it and see if it made sense to anyone else or if it's old man winter getting to me.
A little info before my thought: I absolutely love throwing gliders in the fall especially in November. One of the main gliders I use is the wabull, but also use Hoosier Handmade baits, Mantas, HRivers, etc and get lots of follows and hits on them. A lot of the time I am fishing pretty shallow water (10' or less) and the bait is only a foot or two below the surface.
Now here is my problem: I always think a weagle/one-eyed-willie would kill it at this time; they are basically gliders just a foot or two higher in the water. I think they should kill it because I can work them slower (huge key in the fall) and make more commotion than a wabull. The problem is I rarely have action on them at this time, but still get tons of action on wabulls. I am not saying weagles don't work late in the year; I'm saying they don't work nearly as well for me as sub-surface gliders at this time.
My thought: Could it be weagles don't work as well because it is so late in the year that most of the birds (ducks or other birds swimming on surface) have already gone south and the muskies know something is wrong with a bait on the surface?? I don't think the 1-2' difference in depth has anything to do with it because the fish are already coming up 4-10' to look at the glider so another 1' shouldn't be a problem for them.
I am most likely over thinking this, but the idea intrigued me.
October to iceup is actually when a majority of ducks aand geese are in michigan. especially divers, as most summer residents are things like mallards. so maybe they are being conditioned to seeing unlikely meals on the surface. so they avoid it… or maybe the influx of diving ducks, also smaller, has them looking subsurface.
Jason, are you throwing the newer ones? The Older Cady Weagles are much heavier and will go sub surface and push up tons more water even fishing them slow. The cadence with the old ones was called the death march because you HAD to work it so slow just to keep them on top. I have several that work great in Late season. I have taken fish with them in every Month of the year. Frigid cold temps included. The Cady models at 4.8 to 5 ounces are right in between a top water and a Wabull. Mike
How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop??…
Jike Jason said, surface gliders do work in the fall, but not as good as sub-surface it seems. I'd generally agree with that too, and I have my own equally unproveable thought: I simply think a noisy, thrashing topwater takes a pretty charged up fish to want a piece of it. Or, at least a fish that can get that charged. The "ceiling" for a warm water fish is higher than that of a cold water fish, so I think that a noisy topwater might be just out of the league of a colder fish, for whatever reason.
Well that is the Beauty of a Cady. Weagle like mine. They go Sub Surface and stop making noise. Mine is almost neutral. Once it goes under you have to stop to get it back on top. Over 60 muskies and two paint jobs later it is by far the best top water lure I have. I can dive mine like a Wabull or get that death march Swoosh on top. Jason, As far as your thoughts on Ducks and geese I think the prop baits more mimic birds swimming. I always do the best with our Ace Scooters when the geese and ducks have young. I think Gliders and side to side walk the dog lures more mimic fish or snakes. There used to be a pretty good musky at Bud Lake that liked Muskrats. I built a double 9 Indiana Blade Buck tail with Black and brown deer hair and a long Brown Gapens rubber tail. That thing looked like a rat under water. We actually bought some Watsons Wrats and tried them on that fish. Michelle and I both caught it on that black and Brown rat Buck tail.
Here you go ha ha ha
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Goofy lure for sure. Mike
"Duke" said:
How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop??…Jike Jason said, surface gliders
do work in the fall, but not as good as sub-surface it seems. I'd generally agree with that too, and I have my own equally unproveable thought: I simply think a noisy, thrashing topwater takes a pretty charged up fish to want a piece of it. Or, at least a fish thatcan get that charged. The "ceiling" for a warm water fish is higher than that of a cold water fish, so I think that a noisy topwater might be just out of the league of a colder fish, for whatever reason.
+1. I think it is more of a fish being willing to charge to the surface to hit a non subtle bait in the colder water temps. Not that they won't, but I believe it is less likely.
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