Joe Bucher topraider

Ive been fishing muskies for 5 years now and I have never caught a muskie on them. I mostly fish rivers tho. Does anybody have luck with them?

No way, Dancing Raiders are soon to be extinct? I gotta grab a few more then!

I have a Poe's Giant Packpot and that thing doesn't get hit, while that Dancin' Raider just gets crushed. Hookup % is pretty good too. Just don't set the hook until you feel the weight of the fish.

Same goes for any other topwater bait. Gotta wait to set the hook. WIth all the commotion on the surface, that second seems like an eternity.

I totally agree with you Ken K on the Dancin' Raider. Don't use it that often but when I do I usually catch something on it. That's unfortunate that there going to stop producing them. I have some top-raiders but I have yet to catch any Musky's on them. I guess with any lure you purchase you have to put the time in to actually see the results. Anyway, hat's off to Joe Bucher........ one of his lures landed me a real nice Musky last year on LOTW, on our last day(last lure chosen as the "closer"). Hilarious, I actually screamed his name while I was reeling the beast in.

Good Luck with the Musky Hunt!

I love TopRaiders!! One of my most consistant performers!! My biggest is a 47 incher on Red-winged Blackbird!

I love that DancinRaider too!! I think Joe has stopped the production of them. Snatch up what you can before they are all gone.

I've got two Topraiders that get thrown often. Never been hit, though. Going on about five years on those baits now.

I have better luck with Gooch's Tallywacker. Same basic bait, same basic color, it just seems that the fish on the lakes where I go prefer the Wacker.

That dancin' raider, though, is pure money! That thing gets drilled!

One of my favorite lures. Black and the baby loon have both been very productive. Just bought an orange/chrome and had a small northern nail it. Should be a good combination for a top water evening.

I will be on Big St. over the 4th, will the Top Raider work at this time of year ? or should I stick to the Depth Raider ?

I prefer more black on my top raiders. Now if I could get them about 2" shorter for bass I would be a happy camper.

Heres another question..whats your guys favorite color topraider?

Their are quite a few fish where he fishes I know this because he's alway in my boat, and we ran into a couple of really good spots last year that we were able to put some real good fish in the boat on tallywackers. I've only got 5-6 years under my belt also (usually chasing eyes) but man is that awesome when you can get a fish to blow up a topwater! I've asked some fisherman about topraiders and they say alot of what I read here, must be something to it! We'll heed your advise.

I'll second what Ulbian said. Each lake somewhat has its lure preferences, and fish in certain locations are more succeptible to certain presentations. Either way, you've got to have a willing participant present to catch a fish.

For me, topwaters work best in cover under 10', or in water over 25'. I mostly work them in weeds and around wood. But have also caught fish on them over 50+' of open water. The key being, I don't think fish come from a super long way away, "usually," to nail topraiders. If you're fishing a steep break that goes from 6' to 35'.................. I'd be tossing something else because the fish are prolly hanging lower in the water column. I think they're a cover bait.

If my blackbird topraider could talk..........

For the most part, I really like to fish them slow... however, there are times when I vary my retrieve speed. Maybe 1 out of 10 casts, I'll burn it then slow it down then medium then burn, etc, etc.

Not only do they come in every color of the rainbow, but you can cast them a country mile.

Ulbian hit the bullseye when he talked about slowing down and "precision" fishing pieces of structure. You've really got to pick apart that downed tree and put that bait where the musky can grab it with minimal effort on its part. Topraiders and pacemakers are some of my favorites for river fishing. Keep after them and good luck!

I caught my first fish on a top raider memorial day weekend. I think the time of year, time of day, and weather directly help or hurt when you use it. I would recommend using it right before sunset, after sunset and during a rain storm.

Are there muskies present where you are throwing them? Sounds silly but you can't catch them if they aren't there. I see and hear guys talking about "magic" baits all the time but it's a self fulfilling prophecy. First and foremost you need to cast areas that hold muskies. The bait you use the most theoretically will catch more fish than baits you don't throw as much, but the presence of fish is necessary.

As for fishing rivers the biggest mistake I see and have been guilty of myself is that people fish them way too fast. Rivers tend to have a higher biomass than lakes do so that "box" that a muskie will feed in is much much smaller on a river. They won't go cruising around looking for food as readily as they will on a lake. An incredibly successful muskie angler I know very well cut his teeth on the WI River. This guy will camp for 3-4 hours making cast after cast around the same downed tree and he'll usually catch 2-3 muskies every time out off the same tree.

I've caught several muskies between 25 and 30 lbs on topraiders over the years. For me, it is number 3 in terms of my favorite/most consistent surface lure producer of larger fish.