Hiya folks,

One of the most exciting ways to fish for big muskies and big Northern Pike is throwing them a rat-type bait, a topwater bait, anything up on the surface. But topwaters for big predators, they come with their own set of baggage.

One of the problems, when you throw a topwater bait, is you tend to look at your bait—they’re almost mesmerizing. And that’s a huge mistake. When you’re throwing topwaters you should always look behind the bait and below it. You want to spot those followers long before they actually come toward the boat.

The other thing is when you do see a follower on a topwater bait the natural reaction is to slow down and make it easier for the fish. Don’t do that. Do the very opposite. You actually want to speed up just a little bit, and then it’s as though that rat or that topwater is panicking and it’s trying to get away. That’s the key.

Happy Fish’n,Gord “The Doc” Pyzer