HOT YEAR ROUND MUSKIE TECHNIQUES

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Mid October, and all I could see was a huge toothy mouth breaking the surface, and shaking side to side to free the number 14 Shad colored Husky Jerk that hung cross way's in her mouth. The slow twitched Rapala made this 46 inch beauty think she had an easy meal just for the taking. I find this is true on most of the fish caught on this bait. It seems that the fish do not make the smashing strikes you would get on a fast moving buck tail. I'm sure that the slow presentation is the main factor in the fish just moving up slowly, and eating the bait. After a quick, careful release, she will be there to catch again.

On one of my trips to Canada, I loaned one of my modified Husky Jerks to a teenager who was fishing with his dad on the Winnipeg River System. He had medium weight tackle, was small framed and wanted to catch a Muskie. The Husky Jerk was a perfect match. The second day fishing this bait was a charm for him, with a beautiful 50 inch fish netted, photo'd, and released. "Another Believer". The reason I mentioned the small frame, is that this bait can be fished all day without the fatigue that would normally show up after a long day's fishing. The Husky Jerk can be fished very easily by the smallest to the largest person in the boat, and I don't know if there is a wrong way to fish it. This bait will catch fish from opening day to ice up, and from Canada to South America.

Late November, some of our lakes had already iced over. We had ice in some areas of the lake we were fishing, and the fishing was "Hot, Hot, Hot". My experienced fishing partner that day, Bill Jacobs from Eagle River, WI., was finally a convert. When I met him early Saturday morning, his tackle consisted of a medium weight twitching rod, one converted Husky Jerk, minus the soda he forgot in his truck. He vowed, "one bait all day", now that's confidence, The morning started slow. Casting, and drifting, with two sucker swimming off the back of the boat. About 12:30 a lower 40 inch fish followed the slow walking Husky Jerk to the boat, and dropped off. Five minutes later, a nice fish ate my bait, but was lost at the boat. Then the afternoon really got exciting. We caught six fish total, lost three at the boat, and the early 40 inch follow. Oh, I forgot to mention that there was no interest at all in the suckers drifting by the boat. They were pulled shortly after we had our second fish. The largest fish of the afternoon was a Tiger, that was just short of 40 inches. I finished the 2002 season with 14 Muskies caught and released in the last two weekends. The best part is that they were all caught slowwww twitching the Husky Jerk. Multiple fish days are a reality. You know, that most late season fishermen would shy away from these baits, as they are considered early season minnow baits, but an easy meal for a Muskie is just something they can't resist. What a blast - Huskie Jerks out fishing suckers.

Why do these baits work so well? Ask yourself "What do fish eat year round?". Why would late season Muskies pass up an easy sucker meal, and just pound our slowly twitched minnow baits? The answer is that they duplicate the primary forage in waters throughout the country. The forage may be shad, minnows, young of the year game fish, bluegills, and even small muskies. This bait emulates what they eat, year round.

Areas to fish are only limited by your presentation. This bait can be fished over weeds, at weed edge, rocks, breaks in the lake bottom, or for suspended fish. NOTE: this is not a floating bait, and will fish to ten or twelve foot deep with the correct line and leaders. When fishing weeds, keep the tip up, when the bait breaks the weed edge, drop the rod tip and work the bait to the boat. You should have reached a depth of three to four feet by the time your ready for the figure eight. Watch, Watch, Watch - many of these fish will eat the bait at the boat. In clear deep water allow the bait to reach the depth you want to fish, and work it back slowly. A bonus when you are fishing the Husky Jerk is the variety of fish you will catch. Trophy Bass, Walleye, Crappies, Northern Pike, and the ultimate freshwater predator - Muskies.

"De'ja Vu" - WOW! It's a good thing I didn't send this article in sooner. I guess everyone has heard the expression "Lightning Striking Twice". I was fishing a beautiful opening day in Northern Wisconsin with my partner for the day, home builder, Jeff Miller of Eagle River WI.. My bait choice for today was a modified number 14 Huskie Jerk in an orange kind of color. The day started with a bang. Shortly after leaving the landing a nice 37 ¼ inch fish pounded my #14 Huskie Jerk. A quick photo/release, and back in the lake. Ten minutes later a brilliant metallic green 35 ½ incher meets the same fate. The lake was crystal clear, and what an awesome sight to watch these fish come up and eat the bait. We started fishing at 8:00am, and quit about 4:00pm. By quitting time six fish were CPR'd, with two lost at the boat. I'm sorry to say "we did not get anything over 40 inches". The smallest was 27 inches, and the largest 37 ½, but what a day, all fish were caught on the modified "Husky Jerk".

The crawdad colored Huskie Jerk I mentioned earlier has accounted for well over 100 fish in the last three years, and is still my go to bait. I have dreams of catching one over 50 inches on my modified Rapala's. Perhaps this is the year. My largest Muskie to date caught on the Rapala "Huskie Jerk" is 46 inches, with many over the 40 inch mark.

Good friend, and also a local guide, Gary Myshak and I were fishing an area Muskie tournament. By 9:00am we had already registered a 43 ¼ inch beauty. Gare see's a nice fish surface over a nearby weed flat, and we decide to try for it. Out comes the modified Huskie Jerk. Twitching the bait over the weeds produces a follow to the boat. I proceed to go into my figure eight, and the fish drops off. I don't know why, but I continued the figure eight close to twenty times, when the fish appeared from under the boat and engulfed the bait. What a rush, my longest figure eight ever, a fish in the boat, and now we were leading the tournament. No we didn't win the tournament. Got beat in the last hour by one point, and had to settle for second.

The tackle used for this type of fishing is quite simple. Size 14 Rapala Huskie Jerk in color of choice. Remove all original split rings and hooks. Cut the center hook hanger off with your side cutters, and file smooth with your hook sharpener. Replace the split rings with a size larger than what was on the bait in a stronger version. I have had the originals elongated to the point the hooks fell off. Use two number two (2) short shank, wide gap hooks on the front and rear of the bait. Please remember No. 2 and not 2/0. The purpose is to keep the weight of the new and old hooks/rings as close as possible to the original. When fished, it is important to have a rod that does not over power the bait. I use a fast tip, medium weight 7 foot rod. The high speed Garcia reel (6.3x1) is spooled with 50/60 lb Berkley Whiplash, or Power Pro. The leader is "JinKai" saltwater mono (80lb) (preferred), or any good hard mono from 50 to 80 pound test. Length of leader is from two to three foot long. The working end of the leader gets a lightweight snap with no swivel. I prefer the newer "StayLok" snaps in the 110lb range. A Berkley Cross Lock works well also. "Keep it Light". The hard mono is attached to the line with an "Albright Knot". Please see enclosed pictures for bait modification and leaders.

Fishing is accomplished with long cast's, then snapping the tip of the rod to make the "Husky Jerk" "Rock & Roll". A high rod will allow you to fish this slow sinking bait over the weed tops, or drop the tip, and the bait will work 5 to 8 foot deep. A pause is used between snap's, while using the high speed reel to take up the slack line. This is when the bait gets eaten most often. Slow or fast, this presentation/combination just rock's. These baits when fished late in the year must suspend, and twitch when retrieved. You cannot over twitch these baits. Twitch, pickup the slack, and twitch again, then "Hang On". Oh, my 50+ inch Muskie was finally caught on a Huskie Jerk. Had the fish up on a bucktail, and the HJ was my throw back bait. It seems this fish had grown one inch in a year. We're sure this was the 50 inch fish my partner Brian Widule had caught the previous year.

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