retrieve is best for big fish, but there are times when a fast retrieve definitely triggers fish. The depth of the lure is also critical. The more active the fish the more critical lure depth becomes. Muskies are less likely to come up to a lure on lakes that are highly pressured. On a highly pressured lake, you are probably more likely to entice a musky to eat by putting a crank bait down deep and in her face, than you are hoping she will come up to a shallow running bucktail. Under cold front conditions, your odds are probably better slow pumping a large soft plastic lure near the bottom or working a deep diving slow moving jerk bait or crank bait. If the fishing conditions are tough and the muskies are not aggressively chasing, thinking deeper and slower is a good starting point. Downsizing lures under the same condition is also worth a try. Interestingly, there are times when surface baits really excel under these same tough fishing conditions. Speaking of tough fishing conditions, lure contact with the bottom structure can often make all the difference. For some reason, the Rizzo Big-T can be an astonishing cold front lure. This is a sharp diving lure and can be worked by bouncing it off rocks or the bottom with each pull and letting it float back off between them. There is something about all those rattles when bouncing off the bottom that really triggers in active fish. Bouncing the Rizzo Bit-T or a deep diving floating crank bait off sand bottoms is another tactic that works all season long, but comes into its own on the
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