Top 20 Muskie Lures

My personal list of top 20 muskie lures.  Although if I were putting together at tackle box with only 20 lures it look more like 3 each of the first 7.

This is a list of lures that you can buy new today.  Some good lures are not made anymore and would have made this list were they still being made today.  Slammer's Loc-A-motive, for example.  There are also some lures that look good.  But I'm not going to spend much more than  $20 on one when I know that I'll still prefer one of these.

17.-20. I can't think of anything else.  Buy one extra of numbers 1-4, and we'll call it 20.

16. Rapala Magnum 18

Deep Diving Rapala

15. Shallow Raider

Shallowraider

14. Reef Runner Ripstick

Reef Runner Ripstick

13. Super Rap

Super Rap

12. Bobbie Bait

Another good jerkbait.

11. Double Cowgirl

Double Cowgirl

10. Rapala Super Shad Rap

Another good crankbait from Rapala.

Rapala Shad Rap

10. Stalker

The original isn't made anymore, but there are some reproductions being made.

Stalker

9.  Windel's Harasser

A bucktail that makes my list because my dad's first two four footers came on a Harasser on consecutive days, a 48" and 52".  And its, generally, a bit bigger than my #1 lure.

Harasser

8.  Cisco Kid

Deep diving crankbait that always works well.  Also an original muskie lure; not a copy of somebody else's design.

7. Woodchopper and Big Game Woodchopper

The only surface bait that I've used in about 3 years.  I once had a 45" muskie fly after it, past and under the boat, so I casted out the other side, it flew under again, and I caught it off the first side on the third cast.  They are really hard to find.

Woodchopper

6.  Slammer

Most Rapalas aren't terribly big, but you can get big Slammers and they work very well.

Slammer

I am buying two new muskie lures in 2012.  A Jointed Rapala and a deep diving Slammer.

5. Jointed Rapala

You can't go wrong with a Rapala.  I've probably caught more fish on one of these than anything else.

Jointed Rapala

4. Bull Dawg

If you're new to musky fishing you can't go wrong with one of these.  Reel it straight in, jerk it, jig it, fast, slow...you can do no wrong with one.

Bull Dawg

Buy several micro dawgs for the spring (a fish or two will destroy one), and big ones for the summer and fall.

3. Rapala Original Floating Minnow

Speaks for itself.

Rapala Original Floating Minnow

2. Suick

One of the original jerkbaits.  Other than live bait, these have probably caught more 50" muskies than any other lure.

Suick

You need to make several hundred casts before you discover if you have a good one.  But when you get one, you'll really like it.

I knew a guide that threw a 10" model every cast for a whole season.

Buy a weighted one.  Check to make sure that the tail is straight before you buy it.

1. Rizzo Wiz (or Whiz, Whizz, Wizz)

My vote for the best muskie lure.

Rizzo Wizzes

There are several varieties, colors, and sizes.  Put a small one on in the spring and a big one on during the summer and fall.  Expect to catch pike and bass too.  I don't think that my dad uses anything else until the end of summer.