The Story of the Super Magnum Meat Head

Adapted from Capt. John King's article "Introducing the 2007 Super Magnum Meat Head," written late 2006 on MichiganSportsman.com. Read the original.

Capt. John's switch: once his Rip Teezers™ artificial herring strips went on sale in 2021, John stopped buying meat strips. Rip Teezers™ (Regular, Glow and XG Extended Glow) fit both Magnum and Super Magnum meat heads with zero tuning, need no brine or thawing, and last for seasons. See Rip Teezers Use and Care.

Twenty years to get it right

John first tried whole herring around 1988, using the heads on the market at the time. "Frankly, my initial attempts with whole Herring on the Great Lakes were totally futile, and a fast trip to Skunk City." His first consistent results came with cut strips, which led to his strip-based Magnum Meat Head in 2005.

"Knowing what I know now, I should have made the Super Magnum Meat Heads in the first place."

Why a whole-bait head

  • Pre-cut strips were often in short supply during the season, and quality varied.
  • A head that takes whole herring frees anglers from depending on one or two strip makers.
  • Whole herring is "100% the reel-thing" on both sides, turning negative fish into biters.

Development

  • Research: summer 2006, including the August 23, 2006 prototype test.
  • Computer design: late September 2006.
  • Tooling: early March 2007. On sale: mid-April 2007.

Bait size

Every King over 30 lb that John's customers caught from 1983 to 2003 took a 4–5" bait. "Do not labor under the false interpretation that running the largest size will equate to larger fish." He felt Red and Green Label herring best matched Lake Michigan's baitfish.

Today: Super Magnum heads are for all forms of bait: cut or whole bait, meat strips and Rip Teezers™. Green Label (6" to 7") or Red Label (5" to 6") whole herring is the perfect fit, along with prepared strips and homemade hand-cuts. The larger Blue Label (7" to 8") whole herring also works. The smaller Orange Label (4" to 5") whole herring goes in the Magnum head.

John's feature list

  1. Flared head helps spin whole herring.
  2. Every head spins consistently.
  3. No tuning, ever.
  4. Takes three sizes of herring straight from the package: Red, Green and Blue Label.
  5. Works fine with strips; the flared opening digs into a wider, looping roll.
  6. Not speed sensitive.
  7. X-Glow versions glow about 4 hours (conservative estimate).
  8. Made of Lexan, the material in bulletproof windows, with UV stabilizers and fluorescent colorants that gather light like rifle sights.

For how to rig it, see Rigging Whole Bait in a Super Mag Meat Head and the Fit Guide.

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