Muskie Rod ???

I am looking to pick up a new rod for muskie fishing.
But I know nothing about muskie fishing!
I have an extra spinning reel that I will use but dont know what to get for a rod.
What do I want for sensitivity and length?
What would you suggest for line?

Family just bought a resort in northern Wis. and I plan on giving it a whirl..

Thanks for your help!!

nix any ideas of using a spinning reel…..

try a St Croix Premier series 7′ MHF casting rod with any solid casting reel. 80# superbraid. I prefer Cortland products.

Whats the down side of the spinning reel?

I’d have to agree with SteveO, with a Medium, or pref at least a MH action 7′ -7 1/2′ casting rod and reel.
Jack..

B Sander,
saw you added a question about spinning reels. biggest thing is probably day in day out Musky fishing a spinning reel just won’t hold up. Not in the actual hooking and landing a fish. But with the constant casting after cast of very heavy lures. It really is a lot of work (esp for the equipment), and I just don’t think most spinning reels would hold up to that much heavy pressure.
Jack.. good luck.

Thanks for the help..

So your telling me I have to learn how to toss one of those rat nest makeing funky reels!! Whats a good one?

B Sander,
tighten the spool friction knob on the side, so the reel still turns in free spool, but not easily. when you are casting 1 1/2 to over 2oz lures, you are not going to bird’s nest.
Jack..

If you don’t want to spend too much buy a Gander Mountain 7-8 foot rod with a Abu Garcia C3 6500 reel. If you’ve got some money to spend then the options increase exponentially.

a baitcaster will work better. when you hook a musky(or when starting a figure 8) you can go to free spool and thumb the line. it’s kinda hard to do that with a spinning reel. i prefer a mh rod that’s at least 7′. I’m also new to musky fishing and I’m trying several different lines. So far I like tuff line, 80# fireline, power pro, spiderwire stealth.

If you don’t want to break the bank, I think a real good combo would be a Shimano Compre 6’6″ or 7foot, and an Abu Garcia 6500. I personally don’t really like the Abu’s, but a lot of people do. I use a Shimano Calcutta 400, but those are $200 each just for the reel. What I listed above you can get for under $200 for rod and reel.
P.S. Spend more on the reel (to prevent ratsnests) and good a better reel, than waste money on a high end rod!!

I would agree with schrump. Get a Gander muskie rod and a Abu Garcia. I like the 7’6 MH rod.
You could try a Bass Pro Shops Pete Maina Signature Series Baitcast Rod and Reel Combo. I have not used one but it should work for you. They are only $150 at Bass Pro.
http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catalog.TextId?hvarTextId=45034&hvarDept=100&hvarEvent=&hvarClassCode=3&hvarSubCode=1&hvarTarget=browse

Also, here is a post about muskie reels but it also mentions rods and other equipment. I found this thread very helpful.
http://www.in-depthangling.com/forum/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/166417/page/0/view/collapsed/sb/5/o/93/fpart/1/vc/1

Thanks for all the help guys!!

As happy as I am with the two St Croix rods I’ve picked up in the last few years Im really leaning on getting another.

I have a few more?’s
The more I read and research this muskie fishing the more I hear CATCH AND RELEASE.. Well I dont eat much fish anyway so I plan on releaseing everything/muskiewise. But are there any tricks to netting these monsters.
Ive seen these strecher type deals instead of nets, is that because they didnt have a big enough net or is it easy to hurt these fish?

Oh yeah, and leaders how long? I plan on just pitching for now.

Thanks again!

Welcome to the sickness, before you worry about what reel/rod to buy I would make sure you have a quality large hoop net with a fin saver bag (Frabill Big Kahuna/Beckman Magnum Musky), quality hook cutters for badly hooked fish (Knipex cutter), 11″ needle nose pliers and a jaw spreader. Without these things in the boat I wouldn’t even bother leaving the dock. Oh, stay away from the cradle…can’t use it if you’re by yourself and are just a pain in the butt, not to mention dangerous for the guy holding them as you’re leading a fish into it. Get the big net.

When you net a fish don’t drag it into the boat, leave the bag hanging over the side so the fish is still in the water, especially the head. Then use the long pliers to remove the hooks, if the fish is hooked badly don’t even bother trying to wrench them out, just cut them, hooks are cheap. The long pliers will give you enough distance from the hooks when a fish decides to thrash when you have your hand in the net. You’ll want a quality set of hook cutters like Knipex so if you do get hooked to a thrashing fish you can cut yourself free, no one thinks it’ll happen to them but I’ve seen guys who have caught hundreds of Musky slip up and get stung…OUCH!

After the fish is unhooked leave it in the net while your buddy gets the camera ready. The big nets act like a livewell and the fish will just relax in it. When you’re ready pick the fish out of the net supporting it’s belly (not holding the fish vertically) snap a photo or two and slip her back in the water. Hold the fish upright by the tail till you feel her strength come back and when she wants to go you’ll know. Great feeling watching those fish swim off strong.

As far as a spinning rod, I use one for jig fishing and once and a while small bucktails. I actually have a combo I would probably sell you…7’H St. Croix Premier w/ Shimano Sahara 400. PM me if interested. The more you get into Musky fishing the more you’ll want to throw the cool new baits and just lot’s of different stuff that a spinning combo won’t be able to handle. I would really consider a baitcasting combo. There are lots of good rods and reels out there. My main set ups are Thorne Bros rods with Diawa Lunas but St. Croix makes a good rod in the Avid series or the Premier is a functional stick. Fig Rig make a nice stick as well as Shimano.For reels I would go with Shimano or Diawa..or Abu if you want to save a few bucks but you’ll have to replace them a bit more often.

Hope that helps.

Agentesox,
Great post

Ron

Good reply Jason. Can’t add much more.

As for cradles……I’ll never use them. I’m not interested in having a guy “drag” his fish into the cradle, towards me with a bunch of treble hooks coming my way. If the fish throws the bait, while under load of the rod, that muskie lure is heading right for your face…..Get the big net.

Lastly;
With my own personal experience, I would stay away from Bass Pro Rods. They are reasonably priced and VERY sensitive. However, their manufacturing makes them subject to easy breakage. I have broken 4 out of the 9 I have……Being the lack of warrenty, I will no longer buy them.

i’m starting to think that muskie fishing is for yuppies whose underpants are too tight.

Well i will have to say the tight under pants might be a good idea. I had a few follows were if they would have hit I would have needed something tight to hold the crap in my pants!!

why are yous guys so down on the 6500 reels??? for someone just starting out, buying their first muskie rod and reel, the 6500 is the only way to go! i have been using them for ever. yes i have replaced a few pawls and drag washers along the way, but tossing 1oz to 6oz baits and trolling same baits will take its toll on any equipment. buy a gander muskie rod, a 6500 spool it up with a good no strech line and take the money you saved by not going top notch and put it in your gas tank. there is no finess in throwing a bull dawg or a 12 inch jake. i bought a $20 muskie rod at meleen’s last fall, reeds had 6500’s on sale for $50. i used it this spring sturgeon fishing. i got 2 mid 50 inch fish on that setup. i really put the screws to the rod to see what it could handle. the only thing that i noticed was that the handle was smaller in diameter than the high end rods…… tom fellegy