Anyone who has spent time on the water fishing for Musky has heard it. The slap of the tail of a fish in distress against the water surface…the slap of the wings of a young water fowl as it exercises to try to obtain flight…the slap against the water of a swimming mammal as it moves along the shore. For years, Musky anglers who have a puncheon for surface lures, have sought to emulate nature’s water slap in the belief that this natural sound would entice the interest of Mr. Musky.

Many Musky anglers are familiar with lures like Gooch’s Tallywacker and the Poe’s Awaker. Both of these lures seek to ‘mach the slap’ using a metal prop in a rotating sagging tail. The placement and shape of the tail prop may vary, but the intended lure performance is the same.

Another configuration, most notably the Original Frenchy Water Thumper, takes a little different approach. As you can see from the Kaiser water thumper (pictured), this approach uses a solid shaft that eliminates the sagging tail but maintains the same premise…’match the slap’.

Another variation is the Water Walker (pictured). This approach eliminates the separate spinning tail and incorporates the prop into the body of the lure. The complete body rotates as the lure is retrieved causing the prop to slap the water. The real difference here is the use of a tail hook arrangement that allows for the addition of a dressed bucktail as a trailer hook or a single hook equipped with a twister tail.

There is another approach to tail dragging, but first we should discuss presentation. All of the lures discussed so far develop their characteristic sound through the use of a moderate to fast retrieve.

The Original RyLure Tap Dancer, (pictured), develops its performance characteristic using a slow to moderate retrieve. The first striking difference between this lure and the others discussed is the tail spinning configuration. Notice that the spinning tail is much smaller than the other models and the prop is a bit larger. Notice also that the hook in the center of the lure body has one of the trebles removed. The intended performance during retrieve is to have the tail prop, as it rotates against the water, also make a ticking sound as it encounters the modified lure body hook. In this application, the ‘slap’ is secondary to the metal on metal sound.

NOTE: You will see ‘knock offs’ of this lure but they do not have the attention to detail and consistent performance of the Original Rylure. Fake RyLure versions tend to roll as they are retrieved or ride too low in the water or do not actually have the prop encounter the body treble.

Dragging your tail on the water can be a very productive presentation. The tail slapping lure is typically used throughout the day, from early morning to just before dark. The RyLure, because of its slower retrieve, can also be effective as an evening lure.

Regardless which of these lures you use or when you decide to use it, the tail slapping lure should be part of your daily plan of attack.

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