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Posts: 49
| For 4 years i have been one of those grungy Catfishermen. But for the past 3 months i have become very interested in Muskie fishing. I also live in Southwest Virginia, for what its worth. I haven't been having any luck, but now i think i have the appropriate tools(But still have a ways to go.) Originally, i went muskie fishing with my two Catfish rods and reels, but noticed my 6500 C3's struggled with the constant casting and retrieving. Maybe they're better suited for the style of Catfishing, but not for Muskie. So today i picked up my new St. Croix Triumph Muskie rod, and my new Abu Garcia MaxToro, along with 30 pound braid. I also went ahead and bought 3 BullDawgs, and two WhopperPlopper 190's. I love the feel of the MaxToro, and feel that i can comfortably cast it all day, unlike my 6500's. I have my net ready, my long needle nose pliers, jaw spreader, wire cutters/crimper(for cutting a hook if need be), and gloves. Is there anything else i may be missing? How well do you think the Triumph Muskie rod and the MaxToro will be for Muskie? And HOW do i target these fish better? I'm sure they operate completely different that Catfish? I fish 95% river and 5% lake. | |
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Posts: 333
Location: SE Wisc | My best advice would be to make sure you’re fishing a body of water that has a “fishable” population of muskies. This will cut your learning curve and give you a bit of confidence. You maybe fishing the right spots already but if there are no muskies there you will never catch em. Check with your state’s fisheries department and look at stocking data, population surveys,etc so you’re not wasting your time out there. Good luck! | |
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Posts: 318
| Your rod and reel combo will work just fine. Seems like you are on the right track. Good advice given above! | |
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Posts: 49
| So should i target them the same way i might a Catfish? And the area of the New River I live near is pretty pro muskie from what i understand. VDGIF made this company who was replacing a bridge stop construction from August to November for Muskie spawning season. | |
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Posts: 20263
Location: oswego, il | 30lb braid is way too light. If you backlash a musky bait with it, that line will snap instantly. C3 reels have been used for muskies forever, what line do you have on them? Go with 65lb braid. Get some good quality leaders as well. | |
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Posts: 1000
| agreed on it being too light. i'd go 80-100lb braid.
pick up a bucktail or two. they're extremely efficient baits with excellent hooking percentages. if I had to put a musky in the net, I'd reach for a black/nickel jr cowgirl. | |
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Posts: 343
| Muskies spawn in the spring, not the fall. The New River up near Claytor Lake has a decent population of muskies. In the winter months, glider style jerkbaits (Hellhounds, Phantoms{especially softtails}, Mantas, and several West Virginia produced gliders) , twitching cranks, and jigs are my go to bait types.. I've fished the New before and had several friends fish it, and it is similar to but bigger than the Collins River in Tennessee, a river I have fished a lot in the winter. Look for eddys, and deep slow moving pools. The muskies often hang close to but not in high current areas waiting for food to pass by. Fish your gliders fairlly slow as the muskies usually aren't into chasing fast moving baits when the water is cold. Once in awhile a slow rolled heavy duty spinnerbait will move fish also. Make sure to use a heavy duty leader as muskies are quite capable of cutting off heavy braid. A pair of high quality polorized sunglasses are a must as you can sometimes spot muskies in the lower, clearer water that happens during the winter. Handle the fish carefully as muskies are a lot more fragile than they look. Unhook the fish in the net while keeping it in the water. Hold the fish horizontally if you need a photo, but keep air exposure to a minimum. Good luck with your fishing. In Tennessee the fish try to spawn in March, so fishing is often very tough that time of year. | |
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Posts: 49
| That's very insightful, never would have thought about that. What should i use in terms of leaders? | |
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Posts: 49
| true tiger tamer - 1/2/2018 8:35 PM
Muskies spawn in the spring, not the fall. The New River up near Claytor Lake has a decent population of muskies. In the winter months, glider style jerkbaits (Hellhounds, Phantoms{especially softtails}, Mantas, and several West Virginia produced gliders) , twitching cranks, and jigs are my go to bait types.. I've fished the New before and had several friends fish it, and it is similar to but bigger than the Collins River in Tennessee, a river I have fished a lot in the winter. Look for eddys, and deep slow moving pools. The muskies often hang close to but not in high current areas waiting for food to pass by. Fish your gliders fairlly slow as the muskies usually aren't into chasing fast moving baits when the water is cold. Once in awhile a slow rolled heavy duty spinnerbait will move fish also. Make sure to use a heavy duty leader as muskies are quite capable of cutting off heavy braid. A pair of high quality polorized sunglasses are a must as you can sometimes spot muskies in the lower, clearer water that happens during the winter. Handle the fish carefully as muskies are a lot more fragile than they look. Unhook the fish in the net while keeping it in the water. Hold the fish horizontally if you need a photo, but keep air exposure to a minimum. Good luck with your fishing. In Tennessee the fish try to spawn in March, so fishing is often very tough that time of year.
See, that's what i get for listening to idiots, lol. I actually thought VDGiF stopped an entire construction site for Muskie spawn, lol. The locations you suggested to fish would be nearly the same places i would fish for Channel or Flathead during the winter months. I guess i just was overthinking. What do you mean by a leader? In catfishing, iwould tie on a three-way swivel with the sinker line being 5 pound mono, then the hook like would be between 12-18 inches. That way crawfish dont eat your bait, or if you get hung up, you only lose your sinker line. So how would you use a leader for muskie? | |
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Posts: 343
| Gliders usually work best with solid wire leader (they don't foul as much), other baits work well with braided wire leader or heavy Floro, If you use braided wire I prefer titanium as it doesn't kink like steel leaders, floro needs to be 100 lb test or stronger and even then a huge fish may bite through it if the fish takes the bait deep or at a bad angle. Check you leader for nicks and with titanium broken wires at the bends. | |
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Posts: 49
| For the 6500 C3's, i would keep the line that i would use for catfish. So that would be 25 pound mono, lol. Now that i mention, the moon would probably stretch back and forth due to the heavy lures, right? Might explain why i ruined my pawl. | |
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Posts: 49
| I'm having a terrible time imagine the titanium leaders. Would i have to respool my reel even with the leader? That's not a big deal, i can stop and buy more line at Dick's tomorrow. | |
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Posts: 403
Location: WI | Can't go wrong using 130# Stealth fluorocarbon leaders. | |
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Posts: 333
Location: SE Wisc | Most muskie leaders run between 6-18”. You tie them to the end of main line- do not reel them through your rod guides! You should probably watch some YouTube videos on anything related to Muskie Fishing, also page through musky shop.com and become familiar with the tackle and tools. In the description it usually explains what it’s used for. You can also “Search” at the top of this page for any info mentioned in past threads. | |
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Posts: 49
| Ciscokid82 - 1/3/2018 6:56 AM
Most muskie leaders run between 6-18”. You tie them to the end of main line- do not reel them through your rod guides! You should probably watch some YouTube videos on anything related to Muskie Fishing, also page through musky shop.com and become familiar with the tackle and tools. In the description it usually explains what it’s used for. You can also “Search” at the top of this page for any info mentioned in past threads.
Okay, so could i hypothetically buy a spool of 130 pound flouro and eliminate the need for a leader(unless I'm using a steel leader)? I noticed from some videos I watch that the people seem to be using 120-130 pound flouro leaders. So if you just used an entire spool of flour on your reel, would you still need to attach a leader if it's flouro? Or in that case, only if I'm using a steel leader? | |
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Posts: 16632
Location: The desert | I think you'll be disappointed in your reel after a short time, isn't the maxtoro a bass reel? Your C3 is likely a much better reel.
Definitely upgrade your line. A bad backlash and you'll watch $20 sail through the air.
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Posts: 16632
Location: The desert | bbmogul - 1/3/2018 7:52 AM
Ciscokid82 - 1/3/2018 6:56 AM
Most muskie leaders run between 6-18”. You tie them to the end of main line- do not reel them through your rod guides! You should probably watch some YouTube videos on anything related to Muskie Fishing, also page through musky shop.com and become familiar with the tackle and tools. In the description it usually explains what it’s used for. You can also “Search” at the top of this page for any info mentioned in past threads.
Okay, so could i hypothetically buy a spool of 130 pound flouro and eliminate the need for a leader (unless I'm using a steel leader )? I noticed from some videos I watch that the people seem to be using 120-130 pound flouro leaders. So if you just used an entire spool of flour on your reel, would you still need to attach a leader if it's flouro? Or in that case, only if I'm using a steel leader?
You'll be wasting a ton of fluoro and be unable to put much line your reel. Go get 80 lb braid and a couple leaders. I'd go with steel, straight and braided. | |
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Posts: 251
| I would hire a guide or go with an established musky fisherman. That way you will get hands on experience and greatly shorten your learning curve and you will see what they are using and how they are using it. | |
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Posts: 49
| Pointerpride102 - 1/3/2018 7:58 AM
bbmogul - 1/3/2018 7:52 AM
Ciscokid82 - 1/3/2018 6:56 AM
Most muskie leaders run between 6-18”. You tie them to the end of main line- do not reel them through your rod guides! You should probably watch some YouTube videos on anything related to Muskie Fishing, also page through musky shop.com and become familiar with the tackle and tools. In the description it usually explains what it’s used for. You can also “Search” at the top of this page for any info mentioned in past threads.
Okay, so could i hypothetically buy a spool of 130 pound flouro and eliminate the need for a leader (unless I'm using a steel leader )? I noticed from some videos I watch that the people seem to be using 120-130 pound flouro leaders. So if you just used an entire spool of flour on your reel, would you still need to attach a leader if it's flouro? Or in that case, only if I'm using a steel leader?
You'll be wasting a ton of fluoro and be unable to put much line your reel. Go get 80 lb braid and a couple leaders. I'd go with steel, straight and braided.
I will do exactly that, man. Thanks | |
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Posts: 49
| kdebell - 1/3/2018 9:15 AM
I would hire a guide or go with an established musky fisherman. That way you will get hands on experience and greatly shorten your learning curve and you will see what they are using and how they are using it.
I'm going to mainly be fishing with a couple people i work with. But i just couldn't swallow my pride enough to ask them or advice without already having a little knowledge. Lots different than Catfish lol. | |
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Posts: 983
| Yes you need65-100lb braid on the Maxtoro. The maxtoro is a Muskie reel you are fine....back the reel with about 50yds or so of 14-20lb mono line then tie blood knot with mono to the braid and finish lining the reel..once you have the reel line go buy a few flouro leaders 12-24inches long in 130lb test....attach the 130# flouro leader to the end of your braid then attach lure to the flouro leader....use titanium leader or wire when fishing jerk baits....good luck | |
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Posts: 255
| take a look at some youtube videos on the basic line, gear for muskie fishing, specifically about spooling, backing, tying line, leaders(terminal tackle). It is essential that you are geared up right or you'll lose gear and have a tough start. You have to be ready for any size fish the first day casting, like if a 30lber chomps, it will test your gear quickly. | |
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Posts: 49
| muskidiem - 1/3/2018 10:30 AM
take a look at some youtube videos on the basic line, gear for muskie fishing, specifically about spooling, backing, tying line, leaders(terminal tackle). It is essential that you are geared up right or you'll lose gear and have a tough start. You have to be ready for any size fish the first day casting, like if a 30lber chomps, it will test your gear quickly.
It's so crazy going from a different species of fish, to another. Fishing for Smallmouth? Don't expect much over 5 pounds. Channel and Flathead? Don't be surprised if you yank one in the 12-20 pound range. Yet Muskie are such larger fish. It's crazy what the "norm" is. How does a Muskie fight compared to a Catfish? | |
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Posts: 255
| skis will jump, make runs, gator roll, head shake, stay deep. very unpredictable. Never fished cats. Skis have quick energy, meaning they stalk, then burst at prey; maybe like a jaguar. So they expend their energy to get free violently. If you withstand that you might net them. the tackle seems over the top strong, but it has to be to put up with the whipping casts, and the fight antics. Teeth are sharp too. Learn what you can off the water, because on the water lessons are painfully regretful. Good God, is it only early January in WI? | |
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Posts: 49
| muskidiem - 1/3/2018 12:21 PM
skis will jump, make runs, gator roll, head shake, stay deep. very unpredictable. Never fished cats. Skis have quick energy, meaning they stalk, then burst at prey; maybe like a jaguar. So they expend their energy to get free violently. If you withstand that you might net them. the tackle seems over the top strong, but it has to be to put up with the whipping casts, and the fight antics. Teeth are sharp too. Learn what you can off the water, because on the water lessons are painfully regretful. Good God, is it only early January in WI?
Lol, it's 18 degrees in Virginia. I can only imagine in Wisconsin. | |
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Posts: 1120
Location: West Chester, OH | Muskies in the New River, downstream from Mouth of Wilson, VA & there is an NC guide service fishing them. | |
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Posts: 8844
| Best advice I can give is to always do a good figure 8 after every cast. You may cast all day and not even see a fish, but when one shows up you need to be ready. | |
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Posts: 49
| esoxaddict - 1/3/2018 3:02 PM
Best advice I can give is to always do a good figure 8 after every cast. You may cast all day and not even see a fish, but when one shows up you need to be ready.
Couldn't fine 100# braid, so i went with 80#. Bought two Fluorocarbon leaders, two metal rod leaders, and a pack of regular steel leaders! | |
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Posts: 667
Location: Wisconsin | esoxaddict - 1/3/2018 3:02 PM
Best advice I can give is to always do a good figure 8 after every cast. You may cast all day and not even see a fish, but when one shows up you need to be ready.
So True, and great advise!! Have had quite a few days seeing nothing all day, and had a unseen fish hit on the eight.
Worse yet is on that kind of day, not doing an 8, and the only fish you see all day shows up as you pull your lure out of the water on the one cast you did all day without doing the figure eight. Man, I'm still kicking myself for doing that on my last outing in Vilas. | |
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Posts: 1084
Location: Aurora | bbmogul - 1/3/2018 11:47 AM
It's so crazy going from a different species of fish, to another. Fishing for Smallmouth? Don't expect much over 5 pounds. Channel and Flathead? Don't be surprised if you yank one in the 12-20 pound range. Yet Muskie are such larger fish. It's crazy what the "norm" is. How does a Muskie fight compared to a Catfish?
Tied tail to tail a 10 to 12 pound cat would drag most muskies to their death. They rarely take line and it's short lived when they do. The long stiff rods that could lift a car battery, large reels designed for tuna fishing, and 80-100lb braid are mainly for casting heavy baits that can pull hard on the retrieve also.
There's still time to get away before the addiction sets in and you find yourself broke, broken, and alone.
Musky Hunter S. Thompson said it best
"Musky fishing is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long high impact plastic hallway with several rattle chambers, where mass marketing and major brands run free, and vintage Crestliners start to break apart in 5 foot rollers. There's also a negative side."
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Posts: 333
Location: SE Wisc | I’m taking back what I said early in this thread. My best advise is to not get involved with these fish. It will save you thousands of dollars, stress, and time you could have used elsewhere! | |
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Posts: 49
| Ciscokid82 - 1/3/2018 7:21 PM
I’m taking back what I said early in this thread. My best advise is to not get involved with these fish. It will save you thousands of dollars, stress, and time you could have used elsewhere!
I'm a single man and usually go fishing 3-4 nights a week, lol. And I've blown loads of money in my pursuit to thoroughly enjoy this hobby Smallmouth bore me, I still love Catfishing, but Striper and Muskie is my new pursuit. My two fishing buddies Catfish with me some, but their main species of target is ironically Striper and Muskie. I must, there seems to be something fun to pursuing these fish. Muskie fisherman might fish 4-5 days straight and not have so much as a follow, and yet they're still passionate about going back out there and fishing another 4-5 days and wont get disheartened if they don't catch a fish then, either. If a Catfisherman fished 4-5 nights in a row and didn't get so much as a nibble, it would be very easy for them to not be interested anymore. Catfishing can be very, very, boring, lol. | |
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Posts: 51
| Agree with 80 lb or better quality braid.
Put the reel onto the rod and run it thru all of the guides and tip. Fill reel almost full with the braid then fill completely with about 14 -20 ft of mono, yes, this will all be on backwards.
Tie the end of the mono now to something to hold it, post, clump of weeds, tent stake, etc, then take a walk toward a solid object like a tree or post while the reel empties. out. With your now empty reel go back to the mono end and tie it onto your empty reel's arbor.
Now with a very good bend in the rod, repeat very hard bend, reel it all back onto the reel.
Sounds like extra work but packing the line on hard now will keep the line from digging in later, Think backlashes etc...
The mono on first will also keep every thing tied tightly to the arbor so it won't slip under the spooled line which would feel like the drag slipping.
Enjoy your new sport and remember it's not just the fish we're out there for.
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Posts: 1425
Location: St. Lawrence River | Most of us dont fish your water. Your gonna have to learn as you go. Your rods fine, reels fine, 65-80lb braid, steel leader, a double 8 bucktail, a 7-8" crankbait, youve got a topwater and a jerkbait.. just go fish | |
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Posts: 49
| JakeStCroixSkis - 1/4/2018 12:05 PM
Most of us dont fish your water. Your gonna have to learn as you go. Your rods fine, reels fine, 65-80lb braid, steel leader, a double 8 bucktail, a 7-8" crankbait, youve got a topwater and a jerkbait.. just go fish
I'm itching to, but in Virginia its supposed to be negative 10 for the next few days :(. But as soon as this negative temperature goes away, I'm hitting the river. Only difficult thing about fishing in temperatures below freezing is the ice that builds up on your rod eyes | |
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Posts: 4269
Location: Ashland WI | bbmogul - 1/4/2018 12:40 PM
JakeStCroixSkis - 1/4/2018 12:05 PM
Most of us dont fish your water. Your gonna have to learn as you go. Your rods fine, reels fine, 65-80lb braid, steel leader, a double 8 bucktail, a 7-8" crankbait, youve got a topwater and a jerkbait.. just go fish
I'm itching to, but in Virginia its supposed to be negative 10 for the next few days : (. But as soon as this negative temperature goes away, I'm hitting the river. Only difficult thing about fishing in temperatures below freezing is the ice that builds up on your rod eyes
Thats the only difficult thing....??.....  | |
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Posts: 1425
Location: St. Lawrence River | bbmogul - 1/4/2018 1:40 PM
JakeStCroixSkis - 1/4/2018 12:05 PM
Most of us dont fish your water. Your gonna have to learn as you go. Your rods fine, reels fine, 65-80lb braid, steel leader, a double 8 bucktail, a 7-8" crankbait, youve got a topwater and a jerkbait.. just go fish
I'm itching to, but in Virginia its supposed to be negative 10 for the next few days : (. But as soon as this negative temperature goes away, I'm hitting the river. Only difficult thing about fishing in temperatures below freezing is the ice that builds up on your rod eyes
Lol tell me about it! Im up here on the canadian border. Its been -10 to -20 for 2 months i was battling icey rods in November haha..
Theres nearly a foot of ice so ive been chasing big walleyes thru the ice..
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Posts: 4269
Location: Ashland WI | JakeStCroixSkis - 1/4/2018 2:30 PM
bbmogul - 1/4/2018 1:40 PM
JakeStCroixSkis - 1/4/2018 12:05 PM
Most of us dont fish your water. Your gonna have to learn as you go. Your rods fine, reels fine, 65-80lb braid, steel leader, a double 8 bucktail, a 7-8" crankbait, youve got a topwater and a jerkbait.. just go fish
I'm itching to, but in Virginia its supposed to be negative 10 for the next few days : (. But as soon as this negative temperature goes away, I'm hitting the river. Only difficult thing about fishing in temperatures below freezing is the ice that builds up on your rod eyes
Lol tell me about it! Im up here on the canadian border. Its been -10 to -20 for 2 months i was battling icey rods in November haha..
Theres nearly a foot of ice so ive been chasing big walleyes thru the ice..
We have plenty of ice here on Lake Superior now as well. I chase the salmon, trout, whitefish, and herring though. | |
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Posts: 20263
Location: oswego, il | I have found that below 28 degrees you're reel will freeze up quick and you consantly have to pick ice out of the reel and rod guides. Below just 25 and you're begging to break the levelwind or something internal. Just the time it takes to release a fish will freeze the spool. Sometimes i swap reels and put the frozen one in my coat pocket to thaw, swap.as needed but below 25 it's futile.
Edited by ToddM 1/4/2018 3:22 PM
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Posts: 8844
| I've found that if it's below 25 I can find a million better things to do than fishing.
Just sayin'... | |
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Posts: 612
| muskidiem - 1/3/2018 1:21 PM
skis will jump, make runs, gator roll, head shake, stay deep. very unpredictable. Never fished cats. Skis have quick energy, meaning they stalk, then burst at prey; maybe like a jaguar. So they expend their energy to get free violently. If you withstand that you might net them. the tackle seems over the top strong, but it has to be to put up with the whipping casts, and the fight antics. Teeth are sharp too. Learn what you can off the water, because on the water lessons are painfully regretful. Good God, is it only early January in WI?
In general (not always) musky's can be-are very explosive as described by muski*. Even with a good fish it's usually over in less than 5 minutes. I go a bit lighter: (30 to 40) pound braid w 100 pound (12 to 16)" fluorocarbon leaders. I make them using a spool of "Blue Label". Never experienced a break -biteoff, however I'm quick to replace leaders (due to fraying from teeth) and cutoff (15 to 25)' braid as needed.
Good luck! | |
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Posts: 333
Location: SE Wisc | What? Just spool your mono backer first, then the braid until just over full. Next time on the water tie on leader and a crankbait and let it all out behind boat then reel it in wet. Just don’t do it in a high traffic area. | |
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