Bucking tradition for fall muskie

By Gord Ellis

In the muskie-fishing world bucktail spinners are synonymous with summer. When water temperatures reach into the high 70s F, bucktails are simply the best presentation for active fish. It's chuck-and-grind fishing, with the emphasis on speed over finesse. But when fall comes and water temperatures start to plummet, most muskie anglers put the bucktails away. They turn to jerkbaits, cranks, and creature jigs, partially due to the slowing metabolism of the muskie and partially due to tradition. Mountains of articles have been written about trolling cranks in autumn and nearly as many about fishing large jerkbaits over deep reefs. Yet, bucktails don't lose fish appeal just because the leaves are gone and the water is cold. Quite the contrary. They might, in fact, be the great forgotten fall muskie bait.

In many Ontario waters herring and whitefish make up an important part of the muskie's fall diet. In late October and November, these soft-rayed fish are drawn to streams, narrows, and reefs where they spawn in large numbers. Many minnow species rely on the eggs of the herring and whitefish for food, and, of course, muskie are right there with them, cashing in on the easy pickings. Nailing a whitefish or herring in shallow water is easier for a muskie because there are fewer escape routes for the forage.

While cranks, jerkbaits, and spoons do a good job of imitating baitfish, I've concluded that spinners best imitate silvery baitfish. It's in the way the rotating spinner blade moves water and how its glint creates the flash that silver fish make when they're in trouble. A 1 1/2-ounce spinner with a silver blade and a white or black bucktail acts and feels like a baitfish to muskie. The mesmerizing effect a spinner has on a muskie is not lost in the cooler water of fall.

The trick with bucktails is to fish them slowly in the fall. Muskie are no longer willing to chase a bait burned across the surface. They might take a stab at it, but moving all that weight around is just too difficult for sluggish fish. Fall muskie want easy and big.

For the caster, this means working bucktails slow and deep over prime trophy water. Casting huge bucktails over large rock reefs in mid- to late October and retrieving them at a leisurely speed are the keys. The reef should be surrounded partially by deep water, have a variety of fish, and have shallow-water access. Some incredible late-season catches at places like Lac Seul, Georgian Bay, and Eagle Lake can be attributed to working bucktails on reefs. Other key fall casting spots include large sandy or gravel flats adjacent to deep water, neckdowns, and current areas.

Muskie might be shallow at times in fall, but usually they are associated with deep water. The best locations have a sharp drop-off with remaining weed cover. Finding pockets of baitfish near these areas almost ensures that muskie will be around.

Look for flocks of gulls, loons, mergansers, and other fish-eating waterfowl that are never too far from schools of baitfish. On Lake of the Woods and Rainy Lake, bald eagles are a common sight near the most popular baitfish spawning areas. They pick off whitefish and herring that go too shallow or have been wounded by marauding pike, muskie, and otters. I always feel more confident when an eagle is standing guard in a big shoreline pine. Confidence is a good thing in the muskie game.

A prime fall muskie bucktail will have a blade that spins at a slow speed, coupled with weight and bulk. Bucktails like the 11-inch 1 3/4-ounce Eagletail spinner are perfect for this type of slow, deep fishing. The combination of bulk and heft, plus the ability to turn at slow speeds, really ignites the chewing instinct in late-season muskie. Other good spinner choices include the original Buchertail, Beaver Lures Bucktail, Northland Bionic Bucktail, Grim Reaper 1100, Mepps Giant Killer Tandem, Blue Fox Super Vibrax, and Worden's Muskie Tail. They're all large, well made, and have big-fish potential.

Make sure spinners you buy have the best components and hooks fitted on them. Fall is trophy-fish time, and you don't want to have any problems when the big one hits. Check to see that the bucktail is well tied, the split rings are solid, and that the in-line wire is thick and straight.

When muskie are feeding on soft-rayed silver fish, the best bucktail spinner colours "match the hatch." In clear water, a silver blade/black bucktail, gold blade/black bucktail, silver blade/white bucktail, or gold blade/skunk bucktail are tough to beat.

In dark-water lakes, where fall muskie key in on perch, walleye, suckers, and smallmouth, go with bucktails that have a bit more colour. In stained water, a red blade/black bucktail is hard to beat, but I've also had good luck with a chartreuse blade/green bucktail, firetiger blade/yellow bucktail, and orange blade/red bucktail.

Choices of bucktail blade shapes include the round Colorado style, which gives off the most vibration and has more resistance to the water. This allows it to be retrieved more slowly and keep spinning, an advantage in cold water. Oblong Indiana blades are also found on many popular spinners, but require a bit more speed to turn consistently. The elongated willowleaf blade is a favourite of deep-water bucktail casters, as it sinks well and spins tightly, although at a higher speed. In early fall they work well and are fine when trolling. However, I feel that willowleafs do not work as well when slow-rolling flats and reefs in late fall. Just the same, don't be afraid to experiment with blades shapes and sizes. In muskie fishing, rules are meant to be broken.

Bucktails work in all conditions, but sunny, late-fall days a prime time to pull one through cabbage and over drop-offs. Make sure you watch carefully when you cast in the fall. Because of the general lethargy of late-season muskie, follows are common. Wear a quality pair of polarizing sunglasses and watch for muskie shadowing the bait. Make sure to do a figure-8 or L-shaped turn in the water before you complete each retrieve. I've pulled bucktails away from fall muskie that were preparing to nail the bait near the boat. The change in speed provided by a figure-8 seems to trigger muskie more often in fall than it does in summer.

When casting big bucktails my favourite stick is a 7 1/2-foot heavy-action one-piece baitcasting rod with a large-capacity baitcasting reel. My preferred line is 36-pound dacron. It's tough and has good knot strength. However, I've come to appreciate the thin diameter and lack of water absorption fused and super-braid lines offer. I'm not a big fan of mono when casting for big fish, due to line stretch, but have used 30-pound-test when throwing smaller spinners like the Mepps Musky Killer or Fudally's Muskie Candy. Try various lines and see what you prefer.

Keep hooks sharp as a razor. Fall muskie, as discussed, are often rock and reef oriented, and you'll get your bucktails hung up. Keep a hone handy and buff up those hooks. Big muskie have a hard mouth and you really have to nail them when they strike.

Muskie fishing is always a challenge, and the cool water of fall adds an interesting wrinkle to the patience-testing game. But muskie are on the bite, and the flash of a slow-rolling bucktail is usually more than they can resist. This fall, ignore tradition and break out the bucktails. Muskie love surprises.