Best Musky Swimbaits: Tips, Gear, and the Best Swimbait for Muskies
- Steven Paul
- Sep 3
- 3 min read
How to Fish Musky Swimbaits
by: Steven Paul
Swimbaits have been a staple among European pike anglers for decades, but in the musky world they’re still relatively new. For years, musky anglers were hesitant to embrace swimbaits as a primary presentation. That’s changed dramatically in recent seasons, and today swimbaits are firmly established as a must-have in every musky angler’s arsenal.
A big reason for this shift is the rise of forward-facing sonar. More and more anglers recognize the value of having a sinking lure tied on, since it allows them to target muskies spotted on live imaging at any depth. Combine that with the fact that swimbaits are simple to fish, often just a matter of turning the reel handle, and it’s easy to see why they’ve become a go-to tool for catching muskies year-round.
The Best Musky Swimbait
While I may be biased, my choice for the best musky swimbait is the Mustang from Livingston Lures, a lure I designed. The Mustang features an oversized paddle tail that produces a heavy thump and strong presence in the water. Its exaggerated belly roll adds to the lifelike swimming action, and its durable build makes it a reliable choice anywhere, anytime. Compact yet powerful, it’s a swimbait that flat-out catches muskies.
How to Fish Musky Swimbaits
Casting and reeling straight in will catch fish, but a few tweaks can make swimbaits like the Mustang even more effective:
Keep it varied: During a steady retrieve, add short bursts of speed to trigger followers.
Add pauses: Let the bait fall. With the Mustang, a momentary pause sends it gliding down at an angle while the paddle tail keeps working, often the exact move that triggers a strike.
Ripping: Use sweeping rod motions to make the bait surge forward, then let it fall as you pick up slack. Strikes often come on the drop, so keep an eye on your line.
When to Fish Musky Swimbaits
Musky swimbaits work all year, but the key is adjusting speed and depth. In cold-water periods like late fall and winter, adding weight can be a game-changer by keeping your bait deeper in the strike zone. A half-ounce rubber-core sinker attached to the leader is often all it takes to get a Mustang down to fish holding deeper.
Where to Fish Musky Swimbaits
Swimbaits shine in almost any setting, over weeds, through timber, along structure, across open water, or on shallow sand flats. The most important factor is matching the size and profile of your bait to the available forage. Get that right, and you can rely on swimbaits for success nearly year-round.
The Right Gear for Musky Swimbaits
To maximize swimbait performance, I recommend a slower gear-ratio reel. While burning a swimbait can sometimes trigger strikes, more often it’s the steady, pulsing thump of the paddle tail that seals the deal. I prefer a 5.8:1 reel, which retrieves the Mustang at a moderate pace and keeps it running three to four feet deep.
Leaders also matter. Mustangs and other musky swimbaits tend to perform best on flexible leaders like fluorocarbon or multi-strand wire. My go-to is a 130-pound fluorocarbon leader with a swivel. This setup allows the Mustang to swing more freely compared to heavier multi-strand options.
For rods, I like a heavy-action Musky Shop Shield rod. It has enough sensitivity to feel the thump and subtle vibrations of the lure, yet enough backbone to drive hooks home with authority.
A simple tip to increase hookup ratios: bury one point of the treble hook lightly into the lure’s body. This doesn’t hinder action but ensures that when a musky head-shots the bait, the hook is already aligned for a solid connection.
In the Net
In recent years, I’ve nearly phased bucktails out of my musky lineup. Not because they don’t work, as they absolutely do, but because mature muskies across the habitat range have seen endless pressure from bucktails. Swimbaits, on the other hand, provide a fresh look that muskies encounter far less often. On top of that, they give me unmatched versatility: I can fish them high over cover, slow-roll them in deep water, or work them through open-water schools. No matter the season or scenario, I know I can rely on the Mustang, and musky swimbaits to cover any depth, any time of year.
