3 must-have lures that catch fish almost anywhere in Canada

#1  BENT-LIPPED CRANKBAITS

No modest-sized bait punches outside of its weight class more than the bent-lipped crankbait, such as Rapala’s Super Shad Rap (above). It performs like a scrawny featherweight boxer getting into the ring against the heavyweight champion and knocking him out in the first round. During this past open-water season alone, I’ve used these cranks to catch eight- to 10-pound walleye, 20-pound-plus pike and near 30-pound muskies.

My string of victories with bent-lips has stretched over 30 years, so when I have a newcomer step into my boat—or even an experienced pro—it’s the first lure I put into their hands if we’re muskie fishing. One seasoned muskie hunter even caught his personal best muskie on his third or fourth cast while fishing from my boat.

What’s likely to leave you scratching your head about these lures is that they aren’t flashy, they don’t bang their heads and they only dive down six or seven feet. However, they have an incredibly subtle sweet-spot wobble that you can feel when you retrieve them at just the right speed. It simply hypnotizes big fish.

My favourite spot to fish a bent-lipped crankbait is along weedlines adjacent to deep water. I’ll cast it up and over the grassy edge, reel it down until I feel it tick the tops of the weeds, then let it rise up a foot before swimming it out, over and down the edge. It’s just a matter of time before I get a hit.