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Page 8—SUSQUEHANNA TIMES
_ Nick Sissley column
STATE
Downtown Columbia
684-2273
starts Thurs.
THE
BRINK'S JOB
SHOWTIMES
Thurs. X Sun. at 7
Fri. & Sat. at 7 & 9
How to catch a musky
This column is brought to
you through the courtesy of
The Orvis Company in
Manchester, VT, Hunting,
Fishing specialists. Write
for free catalog.
by Nick Sissley
Maybe this will be the
spring you boat your first
musky. That is it’ll be your
first unless you’ve already
enjoyed the satisfaction of
hefting a musky of your very
own with a huge net.
Whether you have or not,
I'd like to suggest a
relatively new method of
fishing for them, one that
I've found to be extremely
productive. Phil Thomas,
the fishing dentist of
Stoneboro, Pa., must get all
the credit for teaching me
this musky taking technique
—jerk baits.
The plugs are massive—
maybe eight to twelve
inches long! They’re funny
shaped, too, not much like
the outsize Rapalas and
huge Creek Chubs most
musky buffs are accustomed
to casting and trolling. Jerk
baits come in different
configurations, but they're
made to literally jerk
through the water. Musky
plugs of yesteryear don’t
lend themselves well to
jerking, so you have to go
out and buy yourself half a
tackle box full of new lures.
And they won’t be cheap
either—if you can find
’'em—which won't be easy.
A few of the brand names of
is open . .
You can save a lot of
gasoline—and a lot of
money — if you use the phone
before you use your car.
By calling ahead, you
can be sure-the restaurant
. the store has
what you want . .
friend you want to visit is
home — before you waste
time, gas and money on an
unnecessary trip. On the.
average, you waste about
a dollar’s worth of gas on
every unnecessary trip —
. or the
and just two wasted trips
a week can cost you more
than $100 worth of gas
a year.
Saving energy is easier
than you think, and with the
rising energy costs we're
facing today, it’s never
been more important. So
the next time you pick up
your car keys and head for
the door, ask yourself
whether a phone call could
save you the trip —and
the wasted gas.
U.S. Department of Energy
Name
For a free booklet with
more easy energy-saving
tips, write “Energy,” Box 62,
Oak Ridge, TN 37830.
Address
City
State
ENERGY.
We can’t aff
to waste it.
TAT at iT ETAT A
ERE AE AEE RSS SORES
NLA TEER
May 16, 1979
these jerk baits are the
Suick, the Teddy Bait, the
Reef Hog and the Flap
Shiner. Expect a good
selection to set you back a C
note. Don’t complain. Look
how much time, effort and
loot you've invested in
trying to catch that first
musky already.
Find yourself a weed bed
in a lake that you know
contains muskies, and don’t
wait around until mid-sum-
mer to get started. Now's
the time to experience the
best action—right through
the end of June. Cut the
boat's motor upwind of the
weed bed, then drift across
it, casting that long and
heavy jerk bait as you make
your drift. Try to cast so that
you're not retrieving in the
same direction the boat is
drifting. If you get a strike
it'll be toe tough to set the
hook.
The retrieve is the key.
Make long sweeps of the rod
so that jerk bait responds
with just the right action. It
will vary with each type of
lure. Some require two foot
sweeps of the rod tip, others
longer eight foot sweeps.
Spin the reel handles as fast
as possible. This keeps slack
out of the line and the lure
moving as fast as possible.
Muskies seldom sock a bait
that isn’t racing like its
trying to escape.
Some jerk baits dive
deeper than others. Few dip
much more than five or six
feet. The idea is to use the
jerk lure that dives right to
the top of the weed bed
you're fishing. Muskies are
hiding in those weeds, ready
to attack—if you present the
bait properly. On most
occasions the toothy and
moody prey will be lurking
right along the edge of the
weed line. Concentrate your
casts in this area as you
make the drift. But some-
times muskies move right
into the middle of a weed
patch, so keep casting as the
wind blows you over what
might be a productive lair.
Jerk baits give muskies a
new lure type to look at.
That’s why they're partial to
them. I heaved all manner of
musky lures for about 400
hours before 1 caught my
first one, but since I've been
slinging jerk baits, my
success has skyrocketed.
Yours will, too, if you try
jerk baits for muskies and
follow these suggestions.