I’m looking for info on what rod, reel, line, leaders for skis. I don’t fish for them often but when I do I want a setup that’ll handle it. I used one of my heavier (eye) trolling rigs last year and it worked but I couldn’t imagine hooking up with piggy with that setup. I’ll only use this setup 4-5 times a year so it doesn’t have to be “top of the line”, infact keeping the price down would be in my best interest if ya know what I mean 
. Any heads up is much appreciated!! 
BIRDDOG
I fish muskies A LOT and I have an inexpesive yet durable set up.For rods you can go for The Ugly stik Catfish or the Berkly Big game series (7’6″) baitcasting .The ugly stik runs 40 bucks but wally world sells the Berkly for 25.Don’t skimp on the line or the reel.Go with Abu Garcias,maybe the Ambassader 6500C4 or the red 5600,55-80 bucks and 80 lb Tuff Line. Gander mountain sells the Guide series 8ft rod (good bucktail rod) for about 85 dollars.Hope this helps .KD
I have a uncle that fishes muskies all the time. He only uses 25lb test powerpro. Why do others feel they need 50 to 80 test ??? An abu baitcaster and a good rod are a definate and not extremly that expensive. Consider what you would pay for a good walleye rod and reel and would you do the same for a musky one. FISHINFOOL
Your best value is a Gracia 5500 or 6500 C3. Don’t get a c4 … they have a higher (6.3:1) gear ratio that isn’t appropriate for all baits and wears out much faster.
There are a lot of decent rods out there. Something in the 7′ range with a MH to H weight and a fast action would throw most baits OK. Avoid the short pool cue stuff. Anything shorter than 6’8″ or so is too short for fighting big fish.
80# line is a must. The lower weights don’t wear as well, dig into the spool on hooksets, and can’t handle the shock of a backlash/sudden stop with a 3-4oz. lure. 
Steel leaders are best. Avoid titanium and just replace the steel leader when it wears out. Palomar knots work best/clich knots tend to slip out.
Thorne Bros. in Fridley (7500 University, I think) is a great place to go shopping for this stuff.
Hope that helps!
Oh, and if you’re looking for a strictly trolling setup just get a Okuma Magda, put 80# on it, and get a 8’+ heavy cat rod or something.
My best all around musky combo would be an Abu Garcia 6500 C3 on my 6’9″ St Croix heavy fast rod (1-5 oz). Works for well for everything in my tackle box except for my magnum Bulldogs which is the heaviest bait that I have.
This year St. Croix changed their entire Premier Musky rod lineup. The 6’9″ is now rated for 3-8 oz lures which would work great on those heavy Bulldogs but not so good on lighter lures. If you can get your hands on a 2004 or older 6’9″ PM69HF rod (or something that is roughly the same length and lure weight) it should work very well for you.
Regarding the use of 80# Tuff line…When you have 48 inches of fish doing cartwheels 10 feet away from your rod tip, it’s nice to have line that can handle huge amounts of stress. The new lines are thin and easy to cast with, so why not have the extra insurance.
Good luck next season!
Rootski
The Pete Mania series rods from Bass Pro are great rods to and relativly cheap ( $90 ) Shimano Compres seem to do ok to as well as my Femwick HMX rods. For reels I run Shimano Corsairs and Cardifs buy most mine on E Bay for half price.
I see many favor the Abu’s I also run a 6600 for trolling but its way to heavy to cast all day compared to the Shimanos, Just wondering what advantages the Abu’s have over Shimanos besides being cheaper ( I can buy Abus for under $30 and still prefer the Shimanos for all day casting)
Pete,
I agree completely. I have the same set up myself.
fishinfool
the reason for heavy line is to get the fish to the boat as soon as possible. shorter fights=less stress on a fish. it gives the fish a better chance to live.
stick ’em, get ’em to the boat and c.p.r.
Good advice all!
Pete is my Musky Guru…He knows his stuff! 
Thanks guys!! You’ve given me a good starting point. Looking forward to a few casts on ML!! 
BIRDDOG
I am a reletive newbie to this sport as well. When I started a couple years ago I got the Gander Mountain MH 7′ guide series baitcaster. I have been using a shimano calcutta with 50# tuffline. The reel is more expensive than I needed but I worked for GM at the time and got it for about the same as a abu. I have got one smaller fish in the boat so far and a much larger fish next to the boat. Everything worked great so far, I just need to learn to set the damn hook!
My grandsons got me onto muskie fishing a few years ago. I was always a walleye kind of guy but, after going after muskies it’s hard to go back. I started out with a Abu Garcia and loved it. I had an ugly stick for a rod it worked out great. I still use the Ambassador reels and have upgraded my rod since. I asked my grandsons to “pool” in their money and get grandpa a Calcuta reel. (I think that’s how you spell it?) Good luck but be prepaired to get “hooked” on fishing these creatures!
Quote:
I fish muskies A LOT and I have an inexpesive yet durable set up.For rods you can go for The Ugly stik Catfish or the Berkly Big game series (7’6″) baitcasting .The ugly stik runs 40 bucks but wally world sells the Berkly for 25.Don’t skimp on the line or the reel.Go with Abu Garcias,maybe the Ambassader 6500C4 or the red 5600,55-80 bucks and 80 lb Tuff Line. Gander mountain sells the Guide series 8ft rod (good bucktail rod) for about 85 dollars.Hope this helps .KD
Well said!!!!!!
Stick with the 80lb, maybe even 65lb tuff line……..You need the thicker line to handle the abuse of from the lures, rod, and reel…….Not the fish……
I love Gander Mountain rods. It is a GREAT rod for the money. Very strong and durable. I got many years on a couple of them and they are as good today, as the day I bought them.
The reel…..I got many years on 2 C3 6500s and 1 C4 5500. I use the C4 for jerkbaits. Nice and simple and short reeling for jerking. I don’t know what others are doing to abuse their C3 and C4s……But keeping them well oiled and maintained has given me close to 8 years performance on one specific C3…..With no repairs…..Just got to take care of your equipment!
Leaders……..Don’t skimp out here, or your heart will be broken. Stay away from Titanium too. Titanium is so strong, that it doesn’t crimp well, causing failure. I’m quite sure that “today” they have improved the manufacturing. However, I’ve personally seen 2 titanium leaders fall apart on the boat floor…….Just fall apart into pieces……….Because of that, I will never buy them. Get good quality, strong leaders.
For bucktails, I prefer 18″, I might (say might quite great hesitance) go down to a 12″, but don’t like it……..Not comfortable with it…
Jerks. Got to run the 9″ or 12″ straight steel leaders here. This is critical for lure performance, for the length of the leader should idealy match up with the length of the lure. This will give you optimal lure performance on the twitching…
Rod length and action.
Buctails: I love my 7’6″……..People keep asking me still today why so short……Many folks are going to 8′ and even 9′ rods.
Top water……I guess I’m old school guys…….I love my 6′ pool cue……My lure performance can’t be beat by anybody……I can make a viper dance without moving forward. That 6′ rod allows me to manipulate and control my topwater dog walking. This is somthing that can’t be done “as easily” with a 7′ rod.
Jerking: With Phantoms and Suicks, I prefer a 6’10 rod. Again, pool cue action to control the lure. There is no room for a soft rod tip with jerking heavy lures. You loose action.
Cranks: I prefer the straight 7′ rods. Again, action not as soft as a bucktail rod, but softer than a jerk rod.
With all this said;
I recommend you purchase 2 rods.
1 7’6″ bucktail rod (you can use this for cranks too).
1 6′ or even a 6’6″ rod for top water and jerks.
Gary, are you using a super-line on the pool cue? No-stretch line + no-bend rod = lots of lost fish, especially for fishermen with less experience with muskies.
Pool cue rods were designed for mono and dacron, and are obsolete now that we’ve got stretch-free line. I use a fairly stiff but moderate action 7′ rod for jerkbaits and topwater most of the time and it’s a great setup because once the rod loads up under the weight of a fish it bends half-way down the blank and keeps good pressure on the fish so they can’t get slack line during big headshakes.
Just my experience and opinon…
By the way, I think Pete (above) is right on track with his all-around combo!
Print this up and hang it on the wall. Once again Gary gives us some great advice. Thanks !
Rootski
Depends on what you classify a “pool cue”. I’m using a 6′ St. Croix Premier and a 6″ Gander Mountain IM8. Both are rated at 1 to 5 oz I believe.
The rod bends under load.
They both have X-Fast tips.
Set your drag right, and you won’t loose fish!
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
