Thanks for the great advice Jonnie. This board is great!!

You guys are forgetting the most important pieces of tackle you should own. Muskie Baits! I always carry an assortment of these anywhere I go. They are excellent baits when you are looking for that trophy fish. I usually like to throw them way past dark (1 a.m. to about 4 a.m.) or in the middle of the day with blue bird skies. I admit you probably wont catch numbers of fish, but the size is almost always there. Also not to mention the explosions you will have, they will stop your heart.

Here are some of my personal favorites.

Muskie Jitterbug
Suick Muskie Thriller 10 inch
Strike King magnum king spinnerbait
The biggest Bill Lewis trap you can buy
Poes Giant Jackpot
Mepps Muskie Killer
Hellraiser Cherry Twist
Jointed and non jointed Beleiver

Also you will need a rod capible of throwing baits up to 2 oz. Not including the workout this will give you, but in the end if you are consistent then it will pay off. Trust me.

Lunker Dave

Dave,
You absolutely scare the "S" out of me sometimes!!!!
Ukey 28

John- I'm glad to see you posting on the Website. And a dynamite post it was. Keep it up. I owe you one.

Frank- Great comment! Who writes your material?

Seriously, I wonder what the odds are that you'll catch big fish with that arsenal.
Most of us find it hard to get out of the tourney mindset- first, the limit and then the kicker! Because of that, I find that I rarely get a chance to fish for the big guys.

Speaking of big guys, the Danbury News-Times told of a number of big Pike caught a few weeks ago in Bantam, CT River and either Lilly or Zoar. (Maybe Dave was up there.)

Were you, Lunker Dave? Bass Wishes, JoeMo

Joe:

That is one of the reasons why most people dont throw those baits. It is becuase people are in a tournament mindset, and want to try their best to have a limit of keeper fish. Also people are scared to get skunked or outfished by their partner. It is true that all of these things will happen to you when you start to throw these lures.

The main question is that can your self-esteem and confidence in your fishing ability get over the fact you might end up fishless? I have basically gotten over it. It still bugs me sometimes, but for the most part I just dont care. I am out looking for one fish, and wether my partner understands it or not I dont know.

Also do you want to invest the money and effort to buy and throw these baits? I have personally paid big dollars for some of these lures. Not to mention the rod, and I find that most times I just come home tired and worn out. Most of the time with only 1 10 inch fish all day caught on a lure of the same size. Is the end worth the means?

Is it worth it? Yes, and I would not trade the days that I fished this way for nothing. Because like the lotto "hey you never know".

P.S. Unfortunately it was not me with the big Pike, this time.

Lunker Dave

Dave- I can appreciate your going this way. As you said, it can be a very long day/days but there is always that anticipation that this is THE day!

My friend Bill Bartik is what I would call "One of the last of the great Lunker Hunters" He would sit in his boat like California's Bill Murphy and wait for them to move up. 35 years ago, he would describe making multi-angled casts to the same piece of structure until he finally caught that bass. He also was the first person who could tell me how the bass he had caught related to the structure. He had the patience to do it in all kinds of weather also.

I hope you will prove to be as successful as he has. Good luck, JoeMo