Muskie setups?

I decided to give muskie fishing a try a couple years ago and ended up with a poor setup for fishing on the river. I plan on fishing the upper Croix and miss with a trip up to the big fork this summer. What do you guys suggest for rod and reel dedicated to using on the river? My Abu 6500 does not cut it on the river in the current.

It kind of depends on how much you want to spend. I have had good luck with Revo Toros and Nacl reels for just about everything. For really big baits like mag medusas and pounders I use a Daiwa Saltist 20, they are bullet proof. Shimano guys will swear by the Calcutta D and the Tranx and are also very solid.

As far as rods, high end St.Croixs and custom jobs are not necessary as far as I’m concerned. Tackle Industries, Tooth Tamer and Okuma EVX rods in 8’6″ XH are hard to beat in the $150 range. My $.o2

I was always told if you’re gonna do something do it right, and buy the Very best you can afford

Remember quality doesn’t cost, it pays

I love my St. Croix LT Muskie Rods, best sticks on the market next to a predator

If you don’t want to pay retail, there are online forums where you can pick up a very nice used one at a great discount

As far as reels go, I had a Tranx and I hated it. The handle caused the reel to engage on the cast, so I started stripping out gears My go to reels are my Shimano Calcutta 400TE’s and Abu Revo Toro Winch’s

I love my Tooth Tamer rods, great quality at a good price point. I have a Calcutta D paired up with an 8’6″ Heavy and use that rod for jerks/gliders, buck tails up to double 8’s, small to medium cranks, top waters, and rubber up to mag dawgs. I just purchased a Revo Toro Nacl and can’t wait to use it for double 10’s and even big rubber.

There are a lot of good rods around that $150 price point, but if I were you I would invest a little extra money in a good quality reel because they last much longer than the cheaper/inexpensive reels

I have a Scheels 7’6″ (they range from 6’6″ to 8’6″) Heavy action Muskie Series rod and I love it. For $100 or so and an unlimited lifetime guarantee and warranty you can’t beat that price. I paired it up with an Abu Garcia 6500 C3 which was $90 back in 2012. My step-dad has two Gander Mtn Muskie Series rods in the same length and action with the same reels. He bought the reels in the late 80’s and they are still kickin’. He now uses a 6500 C4 he paired up to the Fenwick rod I got him in 2013 for $150 at Scheels.

Any of these options are wonderful and they work for catfish and sturgeon as well. I even use mine on the beaches of Florida when I go there on vacation. Just clean them up and put new oil and grease on the parts as needed.

I love the Shimano 400b. I swear by them! If you like a little lower profile, the 300 Curado EJ is a great set up too. You really get what you pay for in the muskie world, reels take an absolute beating, along with yourself after a few hours with a bad reel and a supermodel. The Tranx is awesome if you want to drop the cash, they are the creme of the creme.

Rod wise, you can’t go wrong with St. Croix. I use an 8’6″ XH Tooth Tamer and the 8’jaw breaker for heavy rubber. Those two rods pretty much do 90 percent of my business.

Add one more to the Shimano bandwagon. I have a number of 400B’s and 400TE’s. One of the TE’s is getting fixed right now, but it’s been in my starting lineup for 6 years. Out of 4 of them it’s the first that I had to send off to get fixed. I have a shoe box full of 5600C3’s that probably only lasted me 1-2 years. I do have one Revo Winch that I really like though. It casts very smooth and is more comfortable to fish with all day than a 400B.

As for rods, I really like the Legend Tournaments.

If you are going to skimp on one or the other to save money, get a cheaper rod. You really need a quality reel for all the big baits now days. I have a few St. Croix Mojo Muskie rods and they work just fine. 8’6H or XH. 179.99 for an 8’6″ rod is not bad. I think the Tooth Tamers are right in there as well, but I haven’t used one.

Just my two cents!

Shimano B and Saltist 20 for me. I would buy either again as they have both been very good, and I use them a lot. For Rods, I have Tackle Industries, which do fine. If you can get a St. Croix I would.

I decided to hold off on picking up a new reel and using what I have for now. We hit the upper St Croix Friday night and setup camp. Within the first 30 minutes the worm gear? stripped on my abu 6500 leaving me to smallie fish the rest of the weekend. I am fine with paying for quality but at this point I can’t say that muskie fishing is something I will get into. So for now I would like to keep the price down and upgrade if it is something I plan on dedicating more time to.