Joe Bucher - The Key to Fishing Weeds Effectively with Crankbaits

Topwater fishing for muskies is without question the most exciting method in all of freshwater fishing sports. Nothing else even comes close to the thrills and knee shakes experienced when a live four foot torpedo pushes a wake behind your topwater bait as it sputters and dances across the lake surface, only to explode in a fury as it attempts to engulf its hapless prey. The very thought of this experience is enough to wake one from a dead sleep, not to mention make him drive 500 miles just to get a single strike. It’s just that much fun!

I have spent countless hours fishing various surface baits for muskies, pike, bass and saltwater fish in an effort to learn more about how to fish these fun and exciting lures, as well as try to figure out when specific topwater plugs are best. Along this route, I’ve also learned some interesting tricks that I’d like to share with you. I am certain that these tips will indeed help you catch more and bigger muskies, as well as give you some insights into when, where, and how to fish various styles of topwater plugs depending upon a number of situations.

A few years back, I began developing some very special unique prototype topwater lures in an effort to solve some of the problems associated with many of the standbys of the past. While most of these lure are certainly still good fish catchers, I wanted to take my own personal lures to another level. Specifically, I wanted a selection of topwater tools that would hold up much longer under the tremendous abuse that both angling hours and mad toothy fish had on conventional surface baits. I was tired of water logging, sinking lures from tooth punctures, chipping paint finishes, and faulty hardware. First and foremost, I wanted a lure that would stand up to the pounding that both angler and fish had on such baits.

The first in this series of new generation topwater musky plugs was the now legendary TopRaider. As stories began to emerge of my success with this unique topwater plug, the demand to make this product available to the market became overwhelming. When the TopRaider finally hit retail stores in the early summer of 1999, anglers still had no real idea what kind of an impact it was going to have on musky catches, but it didn’t take long for the word to get out in a BIG way. Within a few short months, boat loads of muskies 50 inches or better fell to storm of this new surface bait. Hundreds of muskies in the 38 to 49 inch range were also victims of the TopRaider tornado. In just one short summer season, this newcomer to the market had set a new standard in big fish catches as well as design. My new TopRaider was suddenly the talk of the industry. This bait not only triggered more muskies to strike, it also held up. It didn’t water log over time. It didn’t loose it’s paint job. It didn’t go out of tune. It also never rolled on the retrieve, and never fouled on the cast. It was also noticeably louder than comparable tail rotator surface baits.

The tail piece was pretuned and hardened. The lure body was molded out of tooth resistance, impact proof ABS plastic. The paint finishes chemically bonded to the plastic itself. The hook hardware was integrally molded into the lure. A counterbore tail piece stopped grass collection on the tail rotation. An internal counterbalancing keel weight solved the rolling problem. An oversized rear treble anchored by shrink tubing greatly improved hookups with big fish while totally eliminating tail/hook foul ups. Suddenly anglers had a workhorse topwater plug that could be fished hour after hour, day after day, week after week, with no problems. And all it did was catch fish after fish. And it will continue to catch lots and lots of big fish. Period.

It was important to tell this story before discussing tips because it helps give you the reader (and angler) some valuable insights as to how I came up with this lure, and what I was trying to accomplish with a lure design as well as his approach to fishing a surface bait in any one given situation. It’s important to note that there should always be a solid reason why you should fish a certain lure at any given time. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the first basic concept to understand when choosing a topwater plug — Speed Vs. Finesse.

SPEED VS. FINESSE

While some might argue that all musky topwater lures fall into one general category, nothing could actually be further from the truth. Some topwater lures, or surface baits as they are also generally called, are built for speed and therefore compliment a much faster “run and gun” style presentation, while others can only be fished effectively in a slow finesse style. However, it should be understood that both categories are equal as fish catchers. You just need to know the difference between the two, and then choose the right topwater bait to fit the situation at hand.

Speed (surface) baits generally have props or some other form of a rotating tail or spinner blade arrangement.     Any topwater lure built for speed is, of course, an ideal choice for a “run and gun” casting style. This is suitable any time an angler is attempting to cover as much water and as many spots as possible in the shortest amount of time. The TopRaider is definitely a prime selection in this lure category.

I particularly like speed (surface) baits like the TopRaider whenever I’m fishing an area fresh; for the first time. My whole philosophy with fresh, first time spots is to cover as much water as possible in the shortest amount of time in an effort to locate, and hopefully catch, a hot fish. Any fresh spot, that has not been pounded by other anglers, has the potential to hold a hot active fish; one that will respond quickly and positively to the first lure run through its neighborhood. These are chasers – fish that will actually rise up and run down a fast moving target. While a slower surface bait might also catch such a fish, it is most often not necessary to use the slower approach in order to trigger a strike. In fact, a slower approach here might not serve as well here over the long haul since it can not be presented across enough spots and to enough potential fish inside the same time frame. If a faster lure will get the job done equally, why not fish the faster plug?

My whole premise here is to get that lure over as many muskies as possible inside a limited time frame such as a typical summer evening on your favorite lake. While this might seem like an exaggeration to some, I think that the understanding of this concept alone is vital. It all comes down to a simple matter of time management. Choosing a quality speed (surface) bait can make the difference between one and three muskies or more in a single evening.   Over the course of a week long trip, it could mean boating only a handful of muskies versus a couple dozen. If you believe that by simply boating more total numbers of fish you’re odds of catching a big one go up — you’re right!   You’re more apt to tag a trophy as your overall catch rate goes up. That is why it is important to grasp the concept of speed fishing for maximum coverage and efficiency.

Do slower finesse’ style lures have any place in musky fishing? You bet they do and I’d sure like to point out a few distinct situations where the finesse’ style bait is totally superior. Once you’ve had a big fish follow or short strike a speed (surface) bait, your chances of triggering that same fish again at that particular time on a speed bait are almost nil. This is the key time to pull a switcheroo – casting back to that follower or short striker with a slow finesse topwater plug. I’ve had great success in this instance going in a complete opposite mode with a a topwater lure that has lots of action at snail paced speed.

I’d highly recommend switching to such notable classics as the Creeper, Jitterbug, Hawg Wobbler, Flaptail, and his own new creation, the Dancin’ Raider in this situation. You now know exactly where that fish is from your visual on the follow or short strike. The fish has already refused your speed bait, and will likely refuse it again and again. Nothing is accomplished by repeated casting with a speed (surface) bait over such fish other than to turn ‘em off.   A strong percentage of these followers and short strikers can be triggered by the sudden change-up presentation that features a teasing, taunting action over speed.

I will immediately put down my speed bait after a blow up or even a follow, and grab my rod with the Dancin’ Raider on it. I’ll then make one to three casts in that immediate area with the new lure working it as slow, but as teasingly as I can. The Dancin’ Raider has that distinct walk-the-dawg, side to side, zig zag action. It also has rattle in it that activates best when allowed to wobble and roll in waves at a slow speeds. I actually force myself to work the bait with more slack line in order to accentuate the side to side movement, and I keep thinking S L O W. I’m trying to tick the fish off. It works often enough that I keep trying it on any follower or short striker.

Another situation where I’ve had superior success with quieter zig zag action topwater lures like the Dancin’ Raider is in any area that has been over fished with prop baits. Everyone is now fishing speed topwater lures, and this often creates a negative effect on the response from the fish. It’s no longer a new sound. It no longer has that element of surprise to it. Whenever I fish waters that are being pounded by a lot of anglers in this day and age, I’m immediately suspect to over-fishing with prop baits. That’s when I’ll go over those same high percentage musky spots with a low-noise spook action bait like the Dancin’ Raider. If the water is clear, these lures are particularly deadly in this instance. They’ve wised up to that fast moving prop bait, but they’ll still be a sucker for the more natural walk-the-dawg approach.

As you can see now, there are distinctly different topwater lures to choose from depending upon the situation.   There are speed (surface) baits and finesse (surface) baits. Each has its time and place. Knowing when to choose one over the other can make a big difference in both numbers and big fish caught.

TOPWATER TACKLE

The right rod, reel, line and leader can definitely make a significant difference in any topwater lure’s performance, as well as its fish catchability. Here are some good general guidelines to follow.

While some old traditionalists still prefer very short, pool-cue action musky rods of 5 to 6 feet in length for all musky fishing situations, most of the younger breed are making the switch to longer rods of 7 feet or more. However, I feel that there’s a happy medium here. The short pool-cues offer quick response, easy casting with larger plugs and a faster reaction on hooksets. They also provide a much more positive reaction at the lure which is critical with jerk-like actions such as walk-the-dawg baits. However, they really falter after the hook has been set and the battle ensues. This is when you need steady pressure and a rod bending forgiveness.

So what’s the answer? I actually recommend two completely different rods depending upon the lures being used. Speed baits like the TopRaider don’t require any fancy rod manipulations. But they do perform best when all of the line is up off the water’s surface. A longer rod definitely works best here. I really like a 7' to 7' 2" MH (medium heavy) action rod here. The longer rod sweeps the line off the water for better prop bait performance. Yet I am not a fan of the 7' 6" rod for such applications. While I really like a 7 ½ footer for bucktails and some small crankbaits, most of the longer 7 ½ footers on the market today are either a beefed up flippin stick, with a softer tip, or they’re these overly heavy actions that I hate. The softer tip actions don’t have enough backbone for long cast hooksets, and the big heavy action 7 ½ footers are too slow and heavy. They’ll also wear your butt out quick. Actually, they’ll wear out your arms, hands and shoulders. A shorter fast action 7 footer is the perfect compromise in my book.

But this same rod does not cut it for zig zag action finesse’ baits. A walk-the-dawg, zig zag bait like the Dancin’ Raider needs a shorter, stiffer action lure along with a no stretch line for best action. Try to work a bait like this with a long rod and a mono line and you’ll give up after a half an hour. You need stiffness and quickness, but you also want a little length and tip after a fish has taken the lure. That’s why I like a 6 ½ to 6' 9" Heavy action for these lures.

As far as reels go, the choice is begrudgingly universal here. Large saltwater version baitcasters like St. Croix’s AC300 are the perfect and only true choice here. You need line capacity for heavy diameter super lines in the 65 to 80 lb. range. Strong gears and fast retrieve ratios. All topwater reels need to be high speed. All topwater reels need line capacity for long casts with heavy lines. I’ve used a lot of big baitcasters over the years, and they all do the job, but there’s no doubt in my mind that St. Croix’s AC300 is the best.

However, when the subject is line for big topwater baits and muskies, there are many great choices. Competition in this side of the market place has really benefited the big game angler. I’m a big fan of both the heavy duty saltwater grade monofilaments as well as some of the new Spectra and MicroDynema super braids. I’ve caught lots of fish on both of them. For speed baits like the TopRaider I’ve had equal success on both line styles. I’ve used 50 lb. Low-vis green saltwater mono for years with great success. The big advantage of thick diameter, heavy duty grade mono is durability and buoyancy. And, you’re never going to break 50 lb. Mono. It just isn’t going to happen. Knot strength with this line is also unequalled, and you have almost no line wear problems at all. Stretch is minimal once a mono reaches that diameter, so this also isn’t much of an issue. It’s a great line for speed baits. But, the new super lines are equally good and offer low stretch advantages that the mono simply doesn’t have. Stren’s new SuperBraid is a dynamite choice here. I use 80 lb. Test green colored SuperBraid.

Zig zag finesse baits lie the Dancin’ Raider definitely require a no stretch, high tech super braid. Lines like this were simply tailor made for this style of fishing. You want a small flick of your wrist to make that bait respond. A line with any amount of stretch at all ruins this effect. I’ll use a super braid of at least 65 lb. Test for this style of fishing.

Wire leaders are a necessary evil in the musky fishing arsenal. While they tend to inhibit the action on some lures, they are a must in order to prevent bite offs from the razor sharp teeth of large pike and muskies. My choice here is a simple one here – I generally use a single piece of heavy duty, bronze coated piano wire with no snaps, no swivels, at least 10 inches long. Large swivels tend to weight down the nose of the lure, while snaps of any kind just spell potential failure. I hate snaps for muskies and gave up using them years ago after loosing the biggest fish I ever hooked. The snap opened during battle. I’ll never use a snap again. I split ring my leader directly to my lure with one of the new heavy duty 200 pound test models. A stiff piano wire also seems to compliment the action of zig zag baits, and prevents hook foul on most lures. Plus they are the most durable. I will tie a Power Knot to all leaders; a knot I invented in the mid 1970's.

HOW TO WORK A TOPRAIDER

One of the reasons the TopRaider surface bait has been so successful is that its virtually impossible to fish it wrong. There’s almost nothing you can do wrong with this bait short of not fishing it. This is the easiest bait in the world to fish and that’s why it has taken so many big ones for so many anglers in such a short time. However, there are some things that I do with the bait that seem to make it work better.

I vary the length of my cast with the TopRaider depending upon the cover being fished, but I generally like to make long casts with it. This is one of those lure that you can cast a country mile, and it allows the fish plenty of time to follow before running out of line at boatside. The only problem with extra long casts is a lack of control on strikes. When you have that much line out on the water, line drag becomes a problem and it destroys both your hookset speed and power. You’ll have a tendency to miss a few fish if you cast too far simply because you can’t generate enough hookset power with that much line out. However, you’ll also trigger a lot more strikes. It’s a catch twenty-two.

I’d also suggests cranking extra fast as soon as the bait hits the water. I like to make that bait really churn when it first starts which I think is an added attractant, but I’m also trying to eliminate line drag. By cranking extra hard on as big baitcaster along with generating an upwards movement on the rod, you are able to lift the line off the water. Crank and lift when you start; especially if you cast a long bomb. Get that line off the water; you’ll get far better action out of the lure and more solid hooksets if you do this. Then hold your rod at around 10 o’clock throughout most of the retrieve.

As the lure nears the boat slowly lower your rod tip, eventually pointing it right at the lure itself. When the lure gets to boatside I’ll plunge the TopRaider lure and rod tip under water for the figure 8. I’ll figure 8 that lure after every retrieve with that silly underwater figure 8.

Bucher has found that underwater figure 8's are far more effective at triggering boatside hits with topwater lures than surface ones. “I’ve taken multiple 50 inchers with this crazy technique and these boatside explosions have convinced me that this is the way to go. They usually inhale the entire lure when they hit these underwater figure 8's at boatside, too. In fact, they’ll literally try to yank you out of the boat!”

Surface figure 8's can also be effective, but they need to be very big. If you are the bow angler, a good technique is to draw the lure in a super large circular pattern on the surface around the entire bow area utilizing as much space as you can. Make the surface figure 8 as large as you can. Actually moving your body and walking the lure around the bow and then back again is very effective. Just be prepared for an incredible explosion. Often times, a big musky will seem to disappear momentarily only to suddenly appear like a bolt of lightning and engulf the lure in a mayhem of exploding water.

The relative speed I’d suggests fishing a TopRaider varies with the mood of the fish. If you fish this lure for any length of time you’ll notice that sometimes they want you to just burn it, and if you don’t you won’t get a response. However, I’ve also taken some really big ones with a slower crank speed that just makes a good gurgle. More often than not, this is what the big fish want.

I’d also suggests cranking the bait faster in waves than in calm conditions. This one particular topwater lure that works equally well in heavy chop as well as calm conditions, but you need to pick the speed a bit when working it in a chop. Let your ears and the fish themselves tell you if you are working the bait fast enough. If you can’t hear the bait (in a chop) pick up the speed a bit. When that bait is splashing, thrashing and sputtering over waves, it seems to really crank ‘em up.

My very first 50 incher on a TopRaider hit in just this manner, but waited for boatside to make its appearance. I hadn’t boated a fish in a couple of days, and my partner and I had been fishing in straight east winds with no success. Suddenly the wind switched to the northwest and the front was clearing. The new moon was also setting; a dynamite combination for big fish potential. The clearing front cranked up the wind; it was really howling, creating some white caps in this island narrows we were about to fish. The water so rough that I couldn’t see much beneath the surface anyway so spotting follows was difficult if not impossible.

I was just finishing a retrieve over big white capped waves, submerging my rod tip and the solid black TopRaider.   As I began to lift the lure out for another cast, it was suddenly pulled downward like I’d hooked into a runaway freight train. Moments later, the water erupted as a 51 ½ inch giant with the TopRaider totally engulfed tried to pull me out of the boat. Here I was hooked up to a totally green 50 inch fish with no line out. What mayhem. I was lucky to stay in the boat; not to mention catch that fish!

The scorecard this lure has accumulated in its short existence speak volumes about its potential to trigger strikes. You really can’t fish this bait wrong short of not fishing it. If muskies or big pike are shallow, they are potential victim of the TopRaider tornado.

HOW TO FISH THE DANCIN’ RAIDER

While the TopRaider is all about speed, noise, and covering water, the Dancin’ Raider is more about action and finesse. Furthermore, while the TopRaider is all about a high rod tip, a tight line, and picking the line up off the water, the Dancin’ Raider demands the opposite – a low rod tip, slack line, and the line itself staying on the water.   These are completely different topwater lures requiring different tackle and an entirely different presentational approach.

The Dancin’ Raider is also a great lure to work on long casts, but again, you always run the risk of a lack of control on any long line strike. I’d suggest gauging the length of the cast to the cover present. Always shorten up your casts whenever you’re faced with heavy weed cover, or any kind of woody stuff. The thicker the cover, the shorter the cast. You’ll waste more casts with foul ups in weeds when you cast too far in weedy cover, and you don’t have the control. Save the long bombs for clean cover spots.

I prefer a heavy, stout action 6' 9" rod coupled with a super braid line in the 65 to 80 lb. range for this lure. This lure casts extremely accurately, which can really help when you’re trying to drop it in small weed pockets or lanes. It also slithers thru emergent weeds far better than a prop bait.

If I’m casting blindly (not to a follower), I’ll cast a fairly long distance depending upon the cover, and work the bait fairly fast. The basic retrieve goes something like this: point the rod directly at the lure, pick up all the slack line and pull the rod tip downward and a bit to the side with a very short, but pronounced jerk. I’ll develop a rhythmic jerking action that is always followed by a small amount of slack line between jerks. The slack line excentuates the side to side action. Don’t keep the line too tight or you’ll reduce the amount of side roll you get on the lure. The slack line also allows the Dancin’ Raider to wobble and rattle in between jerks.

However, I’ll works the bait a bit different on a cast-back to a follower or short striker. I always keep a Dancin’ Raider rigged and ready for a follower or a short striker from another lure. As soon as either occurs, I’ll immediately put that other lure/rod down, grab the Dancer rod and softly pitch a cast right back in that general direction where I think the fish came from. Then, I’ll begin that low rod jerking action again combined with a slack line pause. The whole retrieve now is much slower, though. I’m trying to get the maximum action, the maximum wobble, the maximum zig and zag out of the lure at the slowest possible speed. I want to tease, tantalize and tick that fish off. I want to give that fish as much time as I can to hit it, too. This seems to work. It even works later on in the fall.

Interestingly, while I’ve had success with the TopRaider and similar speed (surface baits) well into September, the Dancin’ Raider seems to work much later into the cold water periods of the fall. Because you can work this bait slow, it becomes virtually an all season pitch back bait. Anytime I get a follow, no matter how cold it is, no matter what the season, I’ll give that fish a shot with the Dancer. As long as that fish is up in the shallows, it will potentially take this lure.

Another unique triggering aspect of this lure seems to be its ability to trigger fish after multiple casts. While most speed baits like bucktails, crankbaits and prop style topwater plugs are usually at their best on the first time through, the Dancin’ Raider often triggers fish after three to five casts around the same area. They don’t seem to wise up to this style of lure as quickly as they do the speed bait, and sometimes get more interested in it after it’s been around awhile. That’s why I’ll usually make at least three to five casts in an area with this lure after a follow to make certain the fish has had a chance to see it.

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