The preparation for the muskie trip to WCPP last summer was rather an eye opener. The lures and equipment I procured were new and different from anything I had previously used and quite honestly even knew had existed. It is a world unto itself.........but the crossover into other forms of piscatorial pursuits is self evident with a bit of imagination and innovation.

After my initial on-line order a catalog was enclosed........said catalog was my lunch and dinner companion many an afternoon and evening while on the road. You may find the catalog an enjoyable diversion in the reading room  ;)

Something about holding a tangible book instead of digital. Give them a call.........I bet they will send you one, my 2015 came just the other day. I'm eyeballing one of these for walleye trolling........

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I'll probably remove the front set of trebles and replace the rear with the dual hooks I posted earlier. Could be an interesting rig for Mr big gangsta walleye. I really want one over 10 out of a canoe......this might get their interest.

:o At $27 bucks for a single lure they should call it a SUCKER bait :-? :P

solotripper wrote on Feb 10^th, 2015 at 1:31pm:

:o At $27 bucks for a single lure they should call it a SUCKER bait :-? :P

No question the muskie baits are pricey.........The larger Legend bait did very nicely for me in WCPP and I think I dropped $40 for that bait. To each their own........some guys think nothing of dropping that sum in the bar on a weekend or shooting ammo at the range. And of course money is relative.........some guys think $10 bucks is a lot of money and some spend it on a few cups of coffee at Starbucks and don't think twice (Hmmm, tasty).  

MT, I meant to ask you about those double hooks.  They seem to be very large and only applicable for Musky lures.  Is that true or do they come in smaller sizes that could be used for jerk baits in the 4" inch range?

Kerry wrote on Feb 10^th, 2015 at 8:15pm:

MT, I meant to ask you about those double hooks.  They seem to be very large and only applicable for Musky lures.  Is that true or do they come in smaller sizes that could be used for jerk baits in the 4" inch range?

Greeting from sunny south Florida Mr Kerry......going to get chilly tonight with lows in the upper 30's.........Brrrrrr!! But should be up into the 60's by noon or so.

Where were we? Oh yes, the double hooks.........the whole point with the double hooks is to replace the menacing mean 8/0 trebles, which are a disaster waiting to happen (regardless the precautions taken) with something a wee bit more friendly.

I'm sold on running the big lures, especially later in the year. I have very little interest in catching 18" walleyes, thats not why I go north. Fish snob? Not really, I just like the challenge of bigger fish. So out comes the big stuff and consequently the nasty trebles that go along with them........enter in the frog/toad hooks which seem to fit the bill for a replacement hook in a most admirable way. Safety is my chief concern and after having almost been impaled twice this past summer  with lures that were 8" long and sported 3 sets of 8/0 treble hooks I knew I needed to make a serious change. It was not like I was ill-equipped either........boga grip, lindy glove and shimano 8" needle nose pliers all came into play and yet I was still almost nailed. Unacceptable, period.

So........I don't see using the frog hooks on smaller stuff quite honestly, what is the point other than to have a weedless type presentation? But to answer your question both Owner and Gamakatsu have the frog hooks in 3/0, 4/0 and 5/0. 

Thanks for clarifying.  I don't have any intention of running musky lures so I'll drop the frog hooks from my to-buy list.  Geez, things get slow in the winter!

Kerry wrote on Feb 11^th, 2015 at 1:59pm:

Geez, things get slow in the winter!

Totally the opposite for me.......

I had picked up the Expedition Canoe some 3 years ago with the intention of tripping in the Everglades national park which is a spectacular environment with ever-changing scenery (due to the tide), lots of critter activity and fishing which can be off the chart. But alas, I am swamped with various time demands and the responsible me is fairly dominant so I have yet to make a single trip even though I have done much preparation.

If I ever get this Everglades thing wired I would be inclined to invite some QJ folk down for a trip.
Your on the short list Kerry (Lucky you! ;D ::) ).

BTW........I was looking at running the 3/0 frog hooks on the larger Taildancer. Looks about right........ditch the front trebles and just run a larger tail hook. Super safe. I'm sick of handling 30" northerns with sets of treble hooks and 3 days from help. I like my hands, they do well for me 8-)

Kerry wrote on Feb 11^th, 2015 at 1:59pm:

Thanks for clarifying.  I don't have any intention of running musky lures

I was turning this statement around in my mind and have further comment. Allow me to provide an illustration which will help make my point.

I have already mentioned this event some years ago but it bears repeating. I found myself camped on the portage trail at Kennebas falls (where the falls chain dumps into Kawanipi) and naturally before pushing off in the morning I decided to try my luck. The lure of choice was a shad rap and I tossed it for about 10 minutes without a strike. I found that odd and surmised a big pike may have staked the area out so I put on a Super Shad Rap (a lure which many would look at as a potential musky lure). My first cast resulted in a 6lb walleye and a few casts later one in the 4lb range came up. A few minutes later while I was bumping bottom I thought I was hung and gently pulled up only to have the rod practically yanked out of my hands. I would of liked to have seen that fish.........

Point being that sometimes they want it big. The catalog I am suggesting has lots of interesting possibilities for lures in the 6 and 7 inch class which I would readily employ for walleye, pike and lake trout. A little rapala or shad rap might not trigger Mr big to move a muscle since the energy expended might be more than the meal is worth........

This should do the trick. The "Lure Holder" comes extra. ;)

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On the other hand maybe that's the lure that catches the lure holder.

Steady lads.......that lure has some perilous looking hooks!

("can't I have just a little bit of peril")

MT, I could probably find this on here somewhere, but: what rod / reel / line combo were you trolling these things with?

Hmmmm.........I will only sheepishly admit my extravagance and will justify my excessive and over the top expenditure by doing what every man has done since the beggining of time.......I will rationalize :D

Yes the reel did make throwing the big stuff all day long a breeze, actually enjoyable. But more importantly the reel will see quite a bit of duty as my "go to" rod and reel for grouper and tuna jigging.

The reel I speak of is called a shimano Tranx. And at close to 5 bills it is a pricey reel indeed. The rod is a st croix muskie mojo which will fit the bill nicely as a grouper stick. The tranx handled 100 lb braid perfectly with zero problems (except my first anxious cast where I lived up to my moniker of Mastertangler)

And it's heavy...at least compared to what most paddlers fish with....not a reel for typical canoe country. Garcia makes another reel which is smaller, less expensive but still a low profile baitcaster with a solid reputation on the Muskie forums.....it is called a Revo. I will probably get one sooner or later to handle fishing my bigger lures in canoe country. I believe a big fish will move a considerable distance to eat a big meal where the same fish might not move at all to eat a "snack". But that's just my opinion based on limited experience and a good dose of conjecture.

I didn't realize that you were casting. For whatever reason I assumed you were trolling. For casting the big lure in Ontario seems to be a Bulldog, black with blaze orange tail.

On the big lakes we use Shimano Tekota line counters for muskie, I believe they're 500 series, with 50# test line. But we troll 100% of the time.

The Revo's are great reels. I have a Revo-S that I use a lot, but it doesn't go to Quetico.

It was probably 50/50 trolling and casting Ranger. Trolling if the conditions weren't optimal for casting. If I smelled a fishy spot I would fish it hard by casting, or if the wind would blow me along at a decent clip in the right direction I would cast. I like casting, feeling that thump on the other end.

The Tekotas are super sweet. I have the smallest reel in the series and it goes to canoe country as my primary trolling rod.