musky reel for cowgirls

im looking for a good reel specificlly for throwing double cowgirls and larger baits. abu – big games or shimano calcutta possibly? any feedback would be nice

Shimano Trinidad is the one you want You can really burn the girls with it. Very exspensive though. You can get by with most quality reels, just put a power handle on, and start doing arm curls now. Good luck

Joe Bucher was promoting the Abu Garcia Revo Toro 60 today for the big double blade bucktails. It looked like it was retrieving the baits really easily and the Toro probably weighs less than most large round reels. He caught a 54 incher on the show and I think they repeat the same one on Wednesday afternoons if you want to check out the reel.

Dan

Shimano Trinadad 16N.

Enjoy!

Dog

I run the Toro 60 and is fine for slow-med retrives but not what you want to burn with. Salstist or Trinidad get the vote for all around blade reel. Good quality balanced rod fitted to either with the tip needed to cast easily and backbone to figure 8 and you got it made.

I have read several posts elsewhere that say the Team Daiwa Zillion Coastal Casting Reel is awesome for burning large musky baits. It’s got a 7.3:1 retrieve and is large enough to hold a bunch of line. I would suggest taking a look at that, too.

Diawa Saltist here! Comes with levelwind also!

Line pick up not high speed is whats needed to burn 10-13 or bigger blades. My Curado has speed and line capacity but wont burn big blades.

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I run the Toro 60 and is fine for slow-med retrives but not what you want to burn with. Salstist or Trinidad get the vote for all around blade reel. Good quality balanced rod fitted to either with the tip needed to cast easily and backbone to figure 8 and you got it made.

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Shaley

The Toro comes in two gear ratios. A 5.4 and a 6.4. If you have the 5.4 for slow to medium retrieves, the 6.4 would be an option for “burning.” Unless that’s what you have and it isn’t fast enough?

Dan

Speed isn’t what burns these muskie blades, line pick up is. My 300 DSV Curado is 6:3:1 you can burn a DCG in 1-2 times unless your Popeye. I run the 5:3 Toro since I already have the 300 Curado. You want a reel that will pick up 40″ of line per turn or better. I’m talking burning to where you bury 2-3′ of rod in the water and your still bulging the surface

Glad to see so many muskie heads on this site was starting to get bored with all the bait fish anglers the Trinnidad picks up 48 inches per revolution. Great reel but I will slow roll a Cow girl With 6500 with the best of them.

I use a Calcutta 400TE LJV for DCG’s and Super Models.

The 6.4 Toro retrieves 30.9″ per turn, and the only 300 series Curado currently listed on Shimano’s site retrieves 28″ per turn.

I’ve NEVER heard of a 40″ per turn reel. Even the fastest Calcutta 700 comes in at 31″ and it weighs 19 oz.

Edit: Guess I’m wrong – I see the Trinidad’s really fly, but they weigh a TON.

Dan

The Saltist 40 is around 46″

I use a 200 opti

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I use a 200 opti

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I suppose I never thought of that one, but I’m sure it would work though

I had a Saltist, but I wasn’t a huge fan of it so I picked up a Trinidad 16 DC, and was absolutely amazed at how well it worked, so that’s got my vote

How the heck do you guys use the Trinidads without a levelwind?? Are they easier to cast? How do you keep the line level on the reel?

I use a Saltist 30 and think it works pretty well.

With non Levelwind reels its important to have a large dim line that’s round I like 100lb sufix. The line stacks itself on the spool if it’s round. I use my Trinidad for everything with no problems with that said I do love my saltist ha40lw and at $190 it’s easier on the check book than a Trinidad $410-750. Once you go Trinidad you’ll olny notice how unsmooth your other reels are. IMHO the olny reels that can handle dbl10 & dbl13 type batis are the Trinidad and saltist. I tore up a 400b & 400te calcuttas a abu revo toro60 ha abu big games and the olny ones that are still going strong are the trinidad and the saltist.

I would like to give one a try but that is a little too spending for me. I will picking up a second Saltist here pretty soon.

B Curtis I’ll sell you my Saltist 40 Lw I need to get another Trinidad But olny if I can sell the saltist

IMHO I think it’s easier to throw the nonlevel wind rather than the level wind, simply because if you get a backlash with the nonlevel wind, it comes out very easily b/c you don’t have to contend with the level wind levelwind

Like Tim said Trinidad all the way baby

Last year Tim was gracious enough to let me take his new 16 DC for a spin

Holy cow that reel is like the rolex of reels

I honestly thought we may have to go to blows in order for him to get it back

I’m on my second Saltist. My first was the 40 size w/o levelwind and I struggled mightily with backlashes. I sold that one and moved into a LW model size 30. THe 40 is pretty darned big, so I went with the 30. It still has a 6.1 retrieve instead of the 6.4 retrieve of the 40, but still burns ’em in like mad. IMO the size difference is not worth the extra three-tenths. I like the level wind model much better although casting into the wind can be troublesome with backlashes. You really have to have the spool tension and braking system set properly. I’d like to try a trinidad someday, but I haven’t the bucks for it. Used a revo toro over the summer and really liked it but if speed is what you are after, the Saltist or Trinidads seem to be the go-to products.
Best Luck,
Rick

abu garcia ammbassaduer record

Considering $300-700 reels just ain’t gonna happen on my disposable income, I’ve gotten by with Garcia’s 65-6600 series reels, started with two of them and two Diawa 6HS millionare series reels back in the early 80’s.

I still have the two Garcia’s btw.

Not so sure I can see any reason to spend anymore money when what I have works just fine now.
imho

Al

Since I hit both the Musky expo and Thorne Bro’s grand reopening, I’ve picked up a few pointers, seem the new Garcia’s are not made in Sweeden anymore and now china.

To bad, I really liked them reels.

Now am the owner of a couple of Shimano CDF-400A Cardif reels.
At just over a $100 they compete with the 6600 series and have to admit, they feel smoother than the newer 6600 I have.

Haven’t got them out to try yet, but I think I have found a new reel.

Al

I get the impression there’s a lot of baitcaster talk going on in here, but I’d never use anything but my Shimano Triton 4500b. Yeah, yeah, it’s a spinning reel… I’ve used it for pike up north and it pulled a 4# fish in like it was barely there, but it has a line retrieve of 37″ per turn.

I fish more cats and live bait than anything, but with an 8′ Shimano Talora rod I can throw a 3 oz weight at least 70 yards, and on the retrieve I can put a 6 oz no-roll sinker pulling a 24″ leader and a half a sucker minnow on plane.

I’ll put it up against anything here in terms of retrieve and I’ll bet it beats any spinning reel for distance.

Jared,
There is a reason there is alot of talk about baitcasters in this forum, its the Muskie and Pike forum.

I’ve never used a Shimano Triton, but back to the topic of this specific thread…. have you tried your spinning reel throwing Size 10 or bigger Double Cow Girls? Throwing them is the easy part. Reeling them in is where the fun starts.

Heh, to be fair… no. But I have used it to horse in an angry 7# channel cat. I’ve also used it to burn in a Radtke Minnow, which may not be as big as your #10 cowgirl, but I’ll wager it’s heavier.

Tell ya what. Name the place and time, bring 2 of these monstrous baits and your best reel and we’ll go toe-to-toe for casting distance and retrieval speed/effort. A case of good beer to the winner?

Jared I hate to take your beer but you asked for it. Tell me what lake is close to you in the metro and I’ll bring my Trinidad and smoke your spinning reel. I’ll tell you one thing it won’t even be close. Trinidad 47″per turn I’d also go as far to offer to take you out Muskie fishing for a day and after about 2hrs with your reel you’d be begging for mine.

Jarad,
Thanks, but I will pass on the pizzing match. Instead, take the money you would have spent on buying me the case of “good” beer and buy a Super Cow Girl (size 12 blades). I have no doubt your spinning reel will cast it further than a bait caster. You may even retrieve it faster than a bait caster. Do it more than a couple times and you will realize why not many other muskie anglers use spinning reels.

Not trying to change the topic of this thread, but if you are feeling real brave (and have money burning a hole in your pocket) pick up a bull dawg (either the pounder or 2 pounder – doesn’t matter) and try hucking that with your spinning reel. There is a big difference between a 3 oz bait and a 16 – 32 oz bait. Good luck though.