handy knife work developed into one of the all-time classic jerkbaits, the Suick Muskie Thriller. His new Thriller lure accomplished what he wanted it to, by simply allowing fisherman to set the hook as soon as the fish hit. This concept came from observing trout feeding in of one the many ponds at a hatchery he owned. He noted that the only time trout would attack was when it's prey was sick, injured, or off-guard. When trying to dip-net a sick or injured trout, he noticed that it would dive down 18 to 20 inches to escape the net and then come back to the surface almost immediately. When the attempted netting was repeated, the diving trout attracted others that noticed its weakness. Soon this floundering fish was attacked by larger fish. It is ironic that the principle of the Suick evolved from watching the feeding habits of trout. Trout are the prey of musky in many of our deep, cold-water lakes. When whittling out an early prototype, Frank's knife slipped and cut off part of the cedar tail. This accident soon led to the development of an adjustable, stainless-steel tail which allowed the lure to be tuned to run at different depths. The earliest color combination had a gray back with a white belly and red gill markings. The stainless tail also produced a flash which improved it's attractiveness. These original prototypes ran from 12 to 18 inches below the surface, the same as they do today. When Suick began testing his lure on Pelican Lake, it quickly became apparent that he had a winner. Soon he had caught and
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