Do any of you pack these and have you seen bass hit the smaller sizes. I am starting to downsize some of my lures but I also want to throw something different because of the heavy pressure on the bass where I live. I am thinking of getting a couple of small ‘Baby Girl” size lures below but still targeting bass locations. Good Idea or a waste of money??? Let me know what you think.
Oh I use them ALL THE TIME. They are currently the hottest baits in the Musky world. The best are the double cowgirls. These are all BIG, BIG baits. I have not seen a baby girl but I’ll bet you it’s 2-3 times the size of a number 5 Mepps. Personally I’d say even a baby girl is too big for all but the biggest of the big bass. In fact, it’s really impossible to throw most of these with a bass rod. I use a 8’6” St Croix “Slingblade” to throw the cowgirls….Slingblades are $370 !!! You’d be exhausted in 2-3 casts if you tried it with a bass rod. My Slingblade is super, super stiff….to handle those boat- side strikes. These really are NOT bass baits.
The Showgirls are also really great Musky baits…..the flash from the “Flashaboo” skirts draws Muskies like a magnet.
At $25-$28 each, double cowgirls get expensive fast. But they work…..especially in fall when the big, big (50” +) Muskies hit .
To give you a size comparison, hold up a standard sheet of notebook paper. That’s about how long a cowgirl is (maybe a bit longer ! A Babygirl is probably 2/3 of that size.
I was hoping you would comment. I use a 7’ MH fast Baitcaster for everything. I have a buddy who uses the 8’ st croix setup for musky only and I have watched aggressive bass flash at a white cowgirl and then turn tail.
If the rod and the fisherman are both up to the task, do you think the ‘baby girl’ would be a flop with the big bass or should I just save it for the muskies?
Great question…..If I could figure out these fishies I’d have it all set. Nothing is known till we try I guess so I’d give one a shot. I have never had a largemouth hit a number 5 Mepps BUT I have had smallmouth do it so it can be done. The cowgirls are big though, and generally have very heavy duty hooks and getting a good hookset may be tough too unless you use good braid or similar.
Now I never tout myself as a LM Bass expert….far from it. It is my “weakest” species. But if you want to try an in-line spinner, I’d look first at maybe a Mepps #5 or even a Mepps Musky Killer which is somewhat bigger. You won’t have problems throwing those with your bass gear and they give the same flash and action as the Cowgirls (at a fraction of the price I might add !!)
Oh…one more thing….do not try to throw these Cowgirl type blades for a long period with your standard issue bass reels. You will tear the gears to bits. I always use my Shimano Calcutta TE for this. Standard gears in a regular low profile Shimano, Quantum, or similar baitcaster will die a fast death tossing a cowgirl.
I throw #5 Mepps Black Fury spinners for bass when I’m able to in the spring & fall, not so much in the summer when the weeds pretty much rule it out. I caught my personal best(6ish) & one that was barely bigger than the spinner, among many others. Largemouths will definitely hit them & usually hit them hard.
Great question…..If I could figure out these fishies I’d have it all set. Nothing is known till we try I guess so I’d give one a shot. I have never had a largemouth hit a number 5 Mepps BUT I have had smallmouth do it so it can be done. The cowgirls are big though, and generally have very heavy duty hooks and getting a good hookset may be tough too unless you use good braid or similar.
Now I never tout myself as a LM Bass expert….far from it. It is my “weakest” species. But if you want to try an in-line spinner, I’d look first at maybe a Mepps #5 or even a Mepps Musky Killer which is somewhat bigger. You won’t have problems throwing those with your bass gear and they give the same flash and action as the Cowgirls (at a fraction of the price I might add !!)
Oh…one more thing….do not try to throw these Cowgirl type blades for a long period with your standard issue bass reels. You will tear the gears to bits. I always use my Shimano Calcutta TE for this. Standard gears in a regular low profile Shimano, Quantum, or similar baitcaster will die a fast death tossing a cowgirl.
Sure hope to hear how you do !
How do those mepps musky killers work on northerns?
BBK - I find the northers prefer the willow blades better than the colorado’s. I don’t know if AA has had a different experience, but I catch northerns on 3 lures with regularity…a lipless sexy shad, a buzz bait, and willow leaf spinners. Here is what my last northern did to my lipless SS
So I go and get ‘Baby Girl’ and take it to the lake for a spin and the Lake looks like it had been herbicided a day or so earlier. ARGHHH!! Anyway, it runs nicely and it is just a little heavier than the super spook I throw in the fall so I am pretty happy with the weight. It does not plunge straight to the bottom like the bigger sizes and it snaps and rips real nicely too. After cast #5 a pike swirled and took a snap at it, but no hook up. Once some of the vegitation comes back up, I will see how this works in the morning along weed lines. One last thing…DO NOT GO IN THE WEEDS WITH THIS LURE!!!
ANYTHING works for Northerns Put a hook in your wallet, toss it in, and make it move. A Northern will slam it.
My favorite fun bait for Pike is a buzz bait. man on a good day there will be so many explosions you will be laughing your butt off. The best is to toss it in next to some stick-ups and bring her back fast. The Pike will try to hammer it. About 60% of the time they miss. I had one hit it so hard , the bait flew about 5’ in the air when the Pike missed it. Great fun.
AA - I have lost all of my buzz baits to Northerns. I was thinking of getting some for this trip since no one has caught a northern in the lake we are going to… I am not going to press my luck though.
Speaking of catching em with anything, I have a friend who is a musky guide and he has a buddy who trolls for musky with an 8” long 2x4 and some 5/0 hooks in eye bolts and he has caught many 50” fish using this wabbling 2x4. When they are hungry…look out. But if you are on a tight budget, you can’t beat a scrap piece of 2x4…LOL
If you are fishing a pressured lake and want to ccatch a muskie.. downsize. You wont beleive me but in the last 2 years I have LANDED 4 muskies over 40 in on 8lb floro and a 1/8oz 3in tube. I was talking to a big time muskie guide and he has caught alot of big 5lb+ bass both largemouth and smallies on big jakes, bulldogs and cowgirls. So I guess if you put a lure in front of a hungry fish it will eat
If you are fishing a pressured lake and want to ccatch a muskie.. downsize. You wont beleive me but in the last 2 years I have LANDED 4 muskies over 40 in on 8lb floro and a 1/8oz 3in tube. I was talking to a big time muskie guide and he has caught alot of big 5lb+ bass both largemouth and smallies on big jakes, bulldogs and cowgirls. So I guess if you put a lure in front of a hungry fish it will eat
I agree with downsizing all year EXCEPT in fall. The Muskies are lots bigger and in search of BIG baits in fall. Lately during the summer, I have been throwing #5 Mepps Black Fury and catching them like crazy.
I am headed to Lake of the Woods for some Musky action in 2 weeks, and I went out and bought 10 Mepps #5 baits in 3 colors (10 of each).....Black Fury (Orange), Black Fury (Green), and the Lake of the Woods best of the best….Silver with purple bucktail.
My “over / under” for Muskies over 40” this trip is 6 1/2.
I always use my Shimano Calcutta TE for this. Standard gears in a regular low profile Shimano, Quantum, or similar baitcaster will die a fast death tossing a cowgirl. 
Put a hook in your wallet, toss it in, and make it move. A Northern will slam it.
