TIPS & TRICKS
Weagle Tips by Joel Michel
There are quite a few ways that you can use a Weagle aside from just a walk the dog bait. I’m sure there are as many techniques as there are fisherman, but here are a couple that have worked for me. I began using them as a throw back bait, as initially it takes some time to get used to throwing this bait for long periods of time. The other way I use it, now that I’ve developed a back for it, is a primary bait on a spot I know is holding fish.
As a throw back bait, I use the Weagle in a very defined aggressive movement. What I mean by this, is that I throw the bait out, let it sit for a few seconds, then begin what has been dubbed “The Death March”. I work the bait with fairly hard, downward snaps of the rod. I don’t move the rod too much (6" snaps), but work the bait hard. What this does is create a lot of water movement, but little forward movement. I do this 4-5 times and let the bait sit for a few moments after each series. I then repeat this all the way back to the boat. It takes a long time to do this, but again, this approach is done when I’ve just had a follow from what I think is a catchable fish. Most often in this situation, I’ve had the fish absolutely destroy the bait as it sits on the pause. Make sure to have plenty of 3/0 round bend Mustads on hand as you’ll be cutting a lot of hooks after they eat. This has been one of my go to presentations for following fish for the past few years now. Try this on your local following fatty that looks like catchable. You won’t be disappointed.
The other technique is using the Weagle as a primary bait on spots you know are holding fish. There are many times during the summer when we have a good pattern established. We know where the fish are holding, and when they are holding on these spots. This is when I will use a Weagle as a primary bait in the progression. I have great confidence in the hooking abilities of this bait, and so I will throw it over a bucktail as I initially work the spot. When I use this bait, again, I use its size and weight to my advantage. The amount of movement and water the Weagle pushes calls fish in from a long distance. This means that if there are active fish on the spot, I will get their attention.
I use a similar approach as I do on following fish, but I don’t use the pauses. I will snap the rod with short downward movements as I work it back to the boat. The difference is I will work the bait slightly faster than I do with a following fish. What this does is it creates a big disturbance for the fish to zero in on. The biggest thing with this approach is to vary your speeds. If you are working slow and the fish are following try speeding up just a bit. If they are blowing up and not eating the bait you may need to slow down.
The Weagle is a bait I use spring through fall. I have gotten fish between the 40’s (in terms of water temperature) every year since I’ve been using that. As in any situation, you need to stay flexible and adapt to the fish. Perhaps you need more speed, or less. You need less commotion, or more. If you give these few tips a try this season I guarantee that you score more fish on Weagles.
The Baby Wabull by Norm Wild
At first glance, the Baby Wabull looks much like its bigger brother the Wabull. There are many unique circumstances that makes this little dynamo shine when its bigger brother would barely get a second glance. The top three uses for this smaller version of the original are spring, coldfronts, and periods of high angler pressure.
First lets go over how to properly work the baby wabull. If you wanted to, you could use a slow rhythmic tap, tap, tap retrieve and make this bait swing side to side all the way back to the boat. I prefer a much more erratic retrieve, more of a taptaptap, taptap followed by an extended pause. A retrieve like this will give the bait a much more erratic motion, sending the bait not only left and right, but also up and down. The extended pause is usually the point that irritates Ms. Musky beyond belief and triggers the strike. Not only does the pause trigger following muskies, it also gives them a stationary target resulting in much higher percentage of hookups.
When should you use the baby instead of his beefier brother? The first and most obvious time is early in the season. I know there are countless examples of fish eating full size baits right away in the spring, but smaller baits are still the smart bet. Spring fish also seem to like more erratic moving baits in the spring with a slower straight-line speed. Most of the Baby Wabull’s speed is side to side or up and down resulting in an illusion of speed that still easily stays in the fish’s strike zone for an extended period. Not only does the bait stay in the strike zone, it also has countless triggering abilities including the fleeing action and a bunch of belly roll. All of these factors make for an ideal choice for early season fish.
The second condition that I would reach for the Baby first is summer cold fronts. Again, fish tend to respond better to smaller erratic baits with very little straight-line speed during cold fronts. You are trying to coax fish into eating during a cold front, and the Baby Wabull has all the twist and jukes to coax even the most unwilling fish into opening its mouth for a snack.
A third time to snap on the Baby Wabull is during periods of high angler pressure. If you are the eighth boat to fish down your favorite weedline on a Saturday in July, what are the odds that the fish sitting there is going to respond favorably to the eighth silver and black bucktail it has seen? These fish in high pressure situations have seen every typical presentation musky fisherman can throw at them, usually all in one weekend. They probably have not seen a bait quite like the Baby Wabull since early season. Sometimes downsizing and getting erratic can make all the difference in high pressure situations.
Next time your boat is on the water and you are faced with any of these situations, snap on the Baby Wabull. Just make sure your camera is ready!