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10:41 pm
April 29, 2007
Offline
What's everyones preference on weighted vs. un-weighted suicks? I haven't got into using suicks much but would like to, I just ordered a weighted 10 in. black suick from R&H.
Thanks,
Tim
Team MTF
10:58 pm
Moderators
March 5, 2007
Offline
Hey Tim,
Great color choice! IMO I really like the weighted personally, gets a little deeper, obviously. Good on emergent weeds, early summer weeds, deep weed edges, sheer walls, reefs. Like the unweighted for weeds close to the surface, shallow reefs & fish that are beached, (tight to shore) or parked on top of reefs. Shallow & weighted both come through the weeds relatively well. Can be worked w/long pulls & pauses or short snaps w/pauses.
Silvia
"The Wrecking Crew"
3:09 pm
March 22, 2004
Offline
Silvia,
Thanks for the heads up on what types of cover to use those things on. I was just talking to a couple of the guys about them the other day and was complaining that I never had any luck with them. They, along with other glide baits, are tough to get a handle on how, when and where to fish them.
DL
DL
1:49 am
April 29, 2007
Offline
Great info Silvia, thanks! I will probably stick with the weighted ones.
I tried the weighted suick out this past weekend. Worked it for a while and tweeked it, but it kept rolling to the right on me after long pulls. I want the lure to go perfectly straight on pulls, still have some tuning to do I guess. It has a good looking rise and stays parallel to the surface. No fish or follows but it felt good to be out on the water chasing muskies again ;D
Team MTF
2:00 pm
Moderators
March 5, 2007
Offline
So Tim, are you using a floro or wire leader? Some other tuning options are to upsize the hooks by one size, will add a little more weight & slow the rise down. Also can sand the belly to bare wood & soak in water for a couple of days. Sodering wire wrapped on the front hook. Any of these or a combo of any will make the bait rise slower or you can achieve almost neutral bouyance. Non weighted models can also be weighted w/a fudallys' weight system. Drilled out behind the front hook & lead poured in. Many ways to tune a suick. Some ideas to play with.
Silvia
"The Wrecking Crew"
4:03 pm
June 29, 2005
Offline
A Suick is not designed to go exactly straight on the pulls, so you probably won't be successful in getting it to do so. In fact, many would say that the more side-to-side action they get, the better the lure produces. If you have a lure that always goes to one side, that's not good. You can usually tune it by bending the tail fin on the opposite side down slightly. It shouldn't take much.
In my experience, no weighting will fix this problem unless the lure is unbalanced to begin with If this is true and your lure always goes to the left, weight the right side (only slightly). This may take as little as a BB Shot or a thumb tack.
You may want to consider working some short jerks in between long pulls. Sometimes that will get the lure pointed in a different direction, before the long pull.
The Suick has been around so long because Muskies like to eat it, so don't give up on it.
If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got.
10:55 pm
April 29, 2007
Offline
Great info, I'm not giving up on the suick just have to put some more time in using them. This particular one was rolling to right even on short pulls. I was using 130# flouro leader, maybe 174# wire would work better? Kind of like with a glider, the sponginess (is that a word?) of the flouro affects the action.
Also, is all the tuning done by bending the tail, or does bending the screw eye that the leader is attached to help?
Obviously, I know I can't learn how to work a suick on the internet ;D, but it's good hear other folks input. They are great lures and certainly time tested proven fish catchers!
Team MTF
3:07 pm
June 29, 2005
Offline
130 flouro or 170 wire is very heavy stuff and could affect lure action on many lures. You may want to try 105lb single strand. Plenty strong and thin.
You mostly want to play with the tail. I've seen Suicks where the screw eye is not centered, causing problems. I wouldn't bend the screw eye. I'd put it in a different position further up the lure. Pre-drill the hole with a small pilot and dip the screw in epoxy before you put it in.
Most "one side" issues are caused by the angle improperly weighting the bait. Most of them run pretty well out of the box.
Good Luck!
If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got.
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