Lateral Line – Cowgirls etc…

A few of the guys that I fish with are really into the “whys” of Musky fishing. Over the years we/they have tried to get their hands on all reports/scientific studies that are out. One of them deals with the lateral line in Muskies. I won’t go into much detail other then they blinded a fish (Get the lynch mob oh my god) and then presented baitfish in the tank with it. It was still able to eat.

Another friend had small muskies in a tank that he fed. When he was to injure a minnow the Muskies would get it immediately.

I bet if I went to the Wet rag..oops I mean Walleye section of this website I would find numerous fishermen that would tell me of the Walleye/Crappie/Smallmouth that was fighting it’s way in and got hammered by a Muskie. My belief is that these fish were not just feeding by sight that they were feeding on the “sound”

To further that thought the success on the Double 10 bucktails (Cowgirls/ Triple X etc…) My personal feeling is that the size of this bait makes no difference (Other than it kills fish but that is another thread) That the reason this lure has had so much success is the disturbance or lateral line stimulation it creates. This same small group of guys has been testing a lure I came up with that gives off even more lateral line stimulation with very good results so far. Hopefully this continues…

Anyways As I think about pounder Bulldawgs and the noise they make..(they make alot of noise) Top water lures… Large twitch baits…. All lateral line stuff… What have you noticed about sound and fish response?

Steve

P.S. Sorry to those that think this is way to technical, but after 12 hours without a follow sometimes you start to think too much… S-

As long as Black Betty is on loud, the muskies show themselves…Bam Da Lam

I’m no muskie veteran by any means but I can share a pair of thoughts that would support your post…

#1 – just about every time I anchor on a reef fishing smallies during a hot bite a muskie will show up right below the surface to investigate all the fuss. This will usually happen after 4 – 6 smallies have been fought back to the boat. The smallies always seem to bite best when the conditions are flat calm and right during the middle of the day. The muskies that come to the boat never seem all that active but they sure seem to feel the need to come in and investigate all the vibrations given off by those bass.

#2 – under those same calm conditions with the sun high over head muskies are easy to spot on shallow reefs. I’ve caught fish under those conditions but I’ve certainly had better success with more wind. Anyway… there’s a couple unmarked reefs on mille lacs that always seem to hold numbers of huge ‘skis in shallow water that are easy to spot but it is often nearly impossible to get any of these fish to react positively under those conditions. The one lure that will always seem to get a half-hearted follow is a topwater worked rediculously fast, throwing up as much water and making as much noise as possible. When other baits are completely ignored the vibration and commotion of the topwater will tap into the muskie’s instinct to investigate that type of sound / vibration.

There’s no doubt in my mind that muskies rely heavily on their lateral lines to detect potential prey and the unique vibrations given off by a smaller, struggling fish bring those top shelf predators in instinctively for a closer look.

I’d certainly never second guess you guys, but….

But I’ve always looked at Muskies as being at the top of the food chain in most lakes. They’re Grizzly Bears. Swimming over to see what’s going on is their perogative and doesn’t necessarily mean they will bite or be induced to bite. Under algae bloom conditions I’ve had Muskies stick their heads up out of the water and stare at me like an alligator. That’s a little unnerving.

The vast majority of shallow water Muskies I’ve spotted were in very negative moods. I’ve literally run into these fish with my lures and gotten little if any response. On the other had, fish seem to rocket up out of the deep with blood in their eye and frequently will at least chase a few figure 8’s. I guess I subscribe to the theory that shallow fish are sunning themselves because they’ve already eaten their fill. Hunting fish are out deeper.

I wonder what a big Colorado blade whirling around or a Reef Hawg rattling away sounds (or feels) like to a fish.

Rootski

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A few of the guys that I fish with are really into the “whys” of Musky fishing. Over the years we/they have tried to get their hands on all reports/scientific studies that are out. One of them deals with the lateral line in Muskies. I won’t go into much detail other then they blinded a fish (Get the lynch mob oh my god) and then presented baitfish in the tank with it. It was still able to eat.

Another friend had small muskies in a tank that he fed. When he was to injure a minnow the Muskies would get it immediately.

I bet if I went to the Wet rag..oops I mean Walleye section of this website I would find numerous fishermen that would tell me of the Walleye/Crappie/Smallmouth that was fighting it’s way in and got hammered by a Muskie. My belief is that these fish were not just feeding by sight that they were feeding on the “sound”

To further that thought the success on the Double 10 bucktails (Cowgirls/ Triple X etc…) My personal feeling is that the size of this bait makes no difference (Other than it kills fish but that is another thread) That the reason this lure has had so much success is the disturbance or lateral line stimulation it creates. This same small group of guys has been testing a lure I came up with that gives off even more lateral line stimulation with very good results so far. Hopefully this continues…

Anyways As I think about pounder Bulldawgs and the noise they make..(they make alot of noise) Top water lures… Large twitch baits…. All lateral line stuff… What have you noticed about sound and fish response?

Steve

P.S. Sorry to those that think this is way to technical, but after 12 hours without a follow sometimes you start to think too much… S-

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To further that thought the success on the Double 10 bucktails (Cowgirls/ Triple X etc…) My personal feeling is that the size of this bait makes no difference (Other than it kills fish but that is another thread)

Mr. Cady, can you explain a little more on this part of your post. What do you mean by the part (other than it kills fish) thanks

Another example I can think of ties in with studies of stomach contents of muskies… basically what they eat most often. In this study walleyes were rarely found in the stomach of a walleye. But I think many of us have had a muskie or pike attack a hooked walleye as it was reeled to the boat. That to me would be an example of the lateral line over-riding the visual information being processed by the muskie.

As for shallow fish not being feeding fish… I think that is too much of a generalization. Most all of the muskies I’ve ever caught have been taken in less than 8′ of water. Most (again, I’m not an accomplished muskie guy here like Steve, Dan and others) were taken early and late in the day with some wind on those shallow areas. I’ve caught fish without wind in shallow water but those instances are much more isolated.

Rootski,

I don’t think you are second guessing at all! In fact with what you say i agree. If you have ever fished the north end of the aquarium (Mille Lacs) when the fish are up on the sand… those stupid things will look at very little if anything. But when I have had success (and others I know) it has been with top water or large bladed bucktails BURNED as quick as possible. Both of these lures create sound/vibration.

Same goes with the zoo (Big V)you can go view the nice pretty fishes sitting up on the rocks. Hit them in the head with something and they won’t eat. But make a ruckus and….

As far as the deeper “feeding” fish they are just too easy! kidding but I believe the same to be true. If you have ever seen any of the Badfish Outdoors boys in Muskie Tournaments or in the videos they are fishing countdown Depth raiders and Bulldawgs deep. But the difference is they are working the heck out of the baits. To see them on the water you wonder if you need to call 911 cause it looks like they are having fits! But in a state that supposedly doesn’t have any big fish these guys are not only putting up huge numbers of fish but multiple fish over 50″ each year. Why? Again in my opinion the sounds/vibration of how they are working the lures they throw.

On pressured fish such as the Mille Lacs fish where you have thousands of the same lure going overhead time after time I think muskies just get used to it. I have a hard time saying conditioned because I don’t think they are that smart.. But add in the same profile but change the sound and they WILL explore. Getting them to eat… see the triggering thread….yelling always works…

Rollin,

Another thread I like this one too much to take it negative. Give me a day or two as I need to get some work done!

S-

I feel the response to “chaos” can vary with the size of the fish and the water you’re fishing as well. What the first part points at is frequency. It’s amazing to me how many times a slight change in blade style or size, lure size, action, or speed can suddenly show all the fish that have been hanging in your area! At any given moment, the right ingredients can lead to an increased heart rate. I think a particular frequency might be more attractive to a larger fish and another to a smaller fish. It would be interesting to see if your friend’s minnow eaters would respond differently to something that would be difficult to eat. Part of this idea is consideration towards survival instincts. If a large predator is chasing down a large meal, does a smaller fish want to be anywhere near that? I don’t know……..

Secondly, I’ve seen all too often that what’s hot on one lake is dead on another. I have no idea whether or not this gets into water conditions or a specie’s strain variables……. or whatever! All I know is there is a LOT of 36-42″ fish on my regular water and a Dbl Bld CowGirl hasn’t moved anything yet! What a lousy investment! (Just kidding! ) Bull Dawgs seem slow in their results too. Very few anglers on this lake are reporting any action with the Dawgs. However, regular bucktails, spinnerbaits, and double tail plastics continue to be choice options during daylight and something like a Hawg Wobbler after dark. But, I’ve focused hard on 1 body of water this year. I know when I change waters, I’m bound to see differences and I’ll continue to ask myself “why?” this is and “How?” I can stay one step ahead in my calculations.

Thanks for the info Steve! I can’t say that I’m seeing things any clearer regarding lat line determinationss but it is certainly noteworthy because it has plenty of support among many anglers on many waters.

Thinking about a few fish this year, and the above ideas/comments. We had a few fish come up this year, that were following baits covered in weeds. We were ripping big lipped baits, grandmans, salmo skinners through the cabbage and coontail. These fish came up very hot, even with the baits all fouled up with weeds. The pull pause has been great for getting fish up to the boat, the ones that ate were almost always on the pause. Rip it through the weeds, and the fish was there. Causing a disturbance I think was key, and the fact that the bait hangs in the strike zone is also a major factor. Grinders have also been a great bait this year. Slow rolling a grinder in the thick stuff. The big blades on the grinder also generates a lot of disturbance in that lateral line. I agree 100%. Same to be said for top waters too Big V….we must be fishing the same rock piles with those big lazy fish sitting on them. Frustrating, but fun to see those big ones. Working over them last fall, we threw all kinds of baits at them, and the only thing we could move fish on was prop baits, and big ones. It’s funny that muskies make us think this much, for they really are not that smart, just stubborn

One other thought that comes to mind. In the last few years, I have become very fond of hucking bulldawgs. When they foul on the cast, and they do from time to time get tangled up in the leader. When they hit the water, my normal routine is to put the rod tip high and crank like a mad man to keep them on the surface, they are a tank if you reel them in sub-surface, fun on the arms . Anyway, I have had a large number of follows come in behind the fouled dawg on the surface. That disturbance on the surface always seems to get their attention.

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Rollin,

Another thread I like this one too much to take it negative. Give me a day or two as I need to get some work done!

S-

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I think i know what your getting at (based on experience), am looking forward to your post, let me know when u post

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As for shallow fish not being feeding fish… I think that is too much of a generalization. Most all of the muskies I’ve ever caught have been taken in less than 8′ of water.

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You’re right…let me be a little more specific. I’m referring to fish that are shallow enough to be seen, and it depends on the season. I haven’t had any luck getting these shallow fish to bite in the Spring and Summer. My PB came off an inside weedline in 2 feet of water, but that was a dark windy day in October.
My normal routine has always been to sit off stucture in 8-12 feet of water. Two casts towards the shallower water, and then turn all the way around and throw a couple out into the “middle of the lake”. I see as many fish come in from the deep as from the shallows.
I’ve also seen hot lures get very cold. There is a lake I used to fish in Wisconsin….if you weren’t throwing a sucker colored Reef Hawg you weren’t fishing. That lasted for about 2 years. By the third year you’d see fish come in very hot, you’d see their mouth open…and then when they were a foot away they’d slam on the brakes and disappear. I saw that happen a lot. You could come back later and sometimes catch these fish on other baits but the good old reliable Reef Hawg was done. They may not be very smart but they learned to avoid Reef Hawgs.

Interesting thread guys !

Rootski

I haven’t had much luck on the cowgirls. Cady,is there a certain way to fish them to get fish to strike them more? Burning or reeling slow? Let them sink deeper, or pauses, pulls? What about color, daytime (sunny, cloudy), or night time? I have done really good on topwater lures, but not this year. I like the Bulldawgs as well. You would think the chatter bait would screw with a muskie’s lateral line.

Mallard,

Honestly I don’t fish them. The guys that I know that fish them use a ABU 7000 and crank them as fast as they can. That’s too much like work for me….

Funny i was just reading a study on lateral line and hearing and certain sounds scare fish away, certain sounds attract. I have never fished a chatterbait and other than some southern spring fish I haven’t heard of anything caught on them. Same goes for the big Rat L Traps…. Only n the spring in the south. Can’t imagine throwing one out on a super clear lake…But on the dark water of the south… bouncing a Rattle bait off someone’s old washer works I guess.

Google: Lateral Line Muskies

For the record, the muskies in my tank WOULD NOT eat the injured ones. I’ll be writing an article about that experience and what I believe they are triggered on when we think they’re going for “injured baitfish”.

I personally believe that it’s not the noise of a DC that triggers fish so much as it’s the “water profile” they create (here comes a BST along with a term that could be a Bucherism). By water profile I mean how much water the bait displaces/pushes.

Try 2 things:
1. Throw a DC and then throw an Eagle Tail back to back. You’ll notice that there’s more “thump” with the single bladed ET. Now try it with a single 10 if you can and tell me which should throw the larger lateral line disturbance.

2. Bulge a DC and you’ll notice the wake is HUGE. That’s water being displaced. Now think about how much water a big sucker/baitfish displaces.

I personally think that this large water profile that the DC creates is the draw to that bait. We all talk about muskies wanting to eat fish 1/4-1/3 their size, but we can’t physically fish baits that big effectively. With the DC you are creating that large water profile in a bait that can be fished. Who knows, but it seems logical to me.

BTW Cady, give me a call and we’ll go booze-cruzing on tonka.

Hey Steve, your fishing buddy still wants to go fishing with you–maybe you could take him out next weekend

Mother Nature, in her infinite wisdom, has instilled within each of us a powerful biological instinct to reproduce; this is her way of assuring that the human race, come what may, will never have any disposable income. ~Dave Barry

Want to thank you for this post. I was going to buy a cowgirl since they seem to be liking them on my local lake as of late. Shops here are sold out, but I wad a friend coming to fish with me this weekend had him stop at Thorne Bros and pick me up a DC 10. I love this bait caught me my first leagle as well as my 2nd in the first day out with it. Had I not read this thread and taken a look at the DC I probley wouldnt have chose this lure. I uotfished my partner on his cowgirl and now have to hide the DC from him. Sorry for rambeling just wanted to share.