Musky guide Doug Wegner shares a few helpful tips on lure choice to catch pressured muskies, including a few of his all-time favorite lures for these kinds of conditions.
How to Catch Pressured Muskies (Lures that Actually Work)
Fishing for pressured muskies can be a challenge, but there are a few presentations that you can use to capitalize on these pressured muskies. Most of these baits are overlooked and rarely used which make them the perfect presentations for muskies that see a lot of fishing pressure.
Swimbaits
Swimbaits are a great presentation option to catch pressured muskies. They can be purchased in a variety of different sizes, shapes, and colors. Typically smaller swimbaits tend to produce more bites earlier in the season and larger swimbaits (10-inches or bigger) catch more as the season progresses.
They can be fish in any depth and do a great job imitating large profile baitfish.
Double 13’s
Super Models are bucktails with #13 blades. They are a real workout to throw because they are big and push a lot of water, but they are a fantastic choice for pressured muskies. These giant bucktails give off a vibration that the fish haven’t felt in a while and big blades tend to equal big muskies.
Small Single Blade Bucktails
Small single blade bucktails are another great option to catch pressured muskies. They are easy to throw and their smaller presentation is a great way to trigger fish the commonly see bucktails with double 8’s, 9’s or 10’s. Change the speed of your retrieve and use that as a guide to determine what the fish want.
Topwater Baits
Topwater baits like the Flaptail are a great choice for heavily pressured muskies. The real key to this baits success is in the speed you fish it. You have to fish it slow, painfully slow at times. It is amazing how effect slow moving topwater baits can be for muskies and I highly recommend you give it a shot next time you are fishing a heavily pressured body of water.
Walk-the-Dog style baits are another good topwater option that doesn’t get used as much as it should. Its a great bait for moving fish and really let’s an angler know how many muskies are in the area.
The last topwater bait option for pressured muskies is a buzzbait. Big buzzbaits are a great choice for muskies because they can be fished fast and produce a lot of noise and commotion.
Spinnerbaits
Big spinnerbaits are a great substitute for bucktails and work great for muskies. They often get overlooked by musky anglers, but they are a great option for muskies that consistently see bucktails.
