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Posts: 14
| Hi Everyone,
I hope I'm posting in the right spot. New to the forum and new to muskie fishing. I've been fishing since I was a kid, mainly for bass, pike, panfish, and walleye. I've never tried for Muskie and never fished many Muskie waters. I've got a small lake here in Northern VA (Burke Lake) that has muskie in it and I'm hoping to catch one.
I've realized from the research I've done so far that my bass or even pike rigs are not ideal for muskie fishing. What's the best setup for a first time muskie fisherman? I've never used baitcasters before but willing to start. I've looked at these packages, and the price seems reasonable but is it a good package?
http://www.eaglesportscenter.com/products/esports/muskypax.htm
Thanks in advance! |
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Posts: 140
Location: Northern Illinois | Welcome to the madness. First, be advised that if you catch one you may become
severely addicted like most of the other people on this site. If you are intent upon
pursuing it, this would be my take..... The package looks fine for beginning musky
fishing. However if you have never fished baitcaster's/musky's, I would just start
w/a rod/reel combo & a few lures. Use some of the money you would have spent
on the "package" to get a decent net & some release tools. If you hook a nice musky
it is important to land & release it safely for both you & the fish. Once you decide you
like fishing for ski's, then you can take out the 2nd mortgage and go nuts buying
gear. Have fun. |
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Posts: 14
| Fishen-ski's - 6/3/2014 8:41 AM
Welcome to the madness. First, be advised that if you catch one you may become
severely addicted like most of the other people on this site. If you are intent upon
pursuing it, this would be my take..... The package looks fine for beginning musky
fishing. However if you have never fished baitcaster's/musky's, I would just start
w/a rod/reel combo & a few lures. Use some of the money you would have spent
on the "package" to get a decent net & some release tools. If you hook a nice musky
it is important to land & release it safely for both you & the fish. Once you decide you
like fishing for ski's, then you can take out the 2nd mortgage and go nuts buying
gear. Have fun.
I keep hearing the addiction thing about muskie fishing!
Is there a rod and reel you would recommend? I have a few reels, but I'm not sure if any of them would support 65 lb test, even braided line. Or can I get away with lesser line?
I'm set up pretty well with net and release tools from pike fishing. And I always practice catch and release. |
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Posts: 140
Location: Northern Illinois | If you go back thru the threads there is a ton of information on rod n reel
set-ups. I would definitely pick-up a muskie rod & reel. That reel would be
fine. I like to use 80 lb. Cortland braided line. My son likes 80 lb. power pro.
A lot of this is personal preference and how you like to fish, so I would just
start slow until you figure out what suits you the best. Lots of good info. on
this site. spend some time reading thru the old posts & you'll see. |
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Posts: 31
| Ive been fishing for ski's for three years now and let me tell you there is no turning back! For a rod setup, it really depends on what you want to throw. My first rod setup was a 7'6 st. croix triumph paired with a shimano corvalus 400. It makes a good rod for 'smaller sized' baits but I noticed pretty quickly that I had the wrong setup for throwing big bulldawgs and double cowgirls. I now use a 9' st croix big nasty with a Daiwa Lexa 400 for those applications. If i were to go back and start out all over again I would most likely pick a rod of 8-8'6 in length. With a rod of that length you should be able to cover a large variety of baits as well as being able to perform big wide figure eights which is very important if you plan on boating a couple. For a reel the Daiwa Lexa 300 is a pretty awesome reel for the price. |
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Posts: 908
Location: South-Central PA | I'd recommend getting a TI rod for your first. Go with an 8'6" XH, it will throw most baits well. I know that's a long rod if you're a bass fisherman- but these aren't bass! LOL Pick up a used reel either on here or Ebay. Some of the lower priced reels will work fine for many years. My first was an Abu Garcia 5500C3. I'd recommend at least 80lb braid and pick up a few wire and flouro leaders. As far as baits, see what colors guys in your area recommend. You can pick up some smaller blades, cranks, gliders, etc a couple at a time. It's fine to use smaller baits, they catch fish too! It will make your adjustment to musky fishing much easier than if you try to start out throwing huge baits. I started out small and slowly added a few larger baits to my arsenal.
Don't attempt to musky fish without proper release tools!!! Pick up a set of wire cutters for hooks and a set of long pliers. The further you keep your hands from the hooks, the better! A good net is a necessity, for your safety as much as for the fish.
jeremy |
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Posts: 14
| Thanks so much for the info guys. So do any of you guys use spinning reels for muskies, or are baitcasters pretty much the way to go? Even though I'm a complete rookie when it comes to baitcasters, I'd rather not keep delaying figuring them out, especially if they are a "requirement" for muskie. |
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Posts: 357
Location: Duluth, MN | Baitcaster is the way to go unsless you plan to use exclusivley small baits. Theyre not that tough to figure out. I've taught several past girlfriends how to use them in under an HR. Oh ya, and if you get bit by this bug, kiss long term relationships goodbye! haha just kidding...sort of |
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Posts: 14
| Ok, you guys have been great, I love how active this forum is compared to some other fishing forums I've been on. Unless any of you think it's a bad deal, I think I'm gonna pull the trigger on the all season package from the link above. Pricing all this stuff out individually it seems like a good deal and I'll save a lot on the lures and be off to a good start.
Couple more questions - I saw long pliers mentioned...do alligator pliers work ok? I use those for pike ice fishing. If not, what would you recommend? I think all I need for the release tools will be the wire cutters. Are those for cutting hooks? I also have the gizmo for spreading the mouth to get the pliers in.
Have any of you guys musky fished out of canoes? I primarily fish out of a 12 foot 38lb Radisson canoe so I'm guessing I might get towed around a bit if/when I finally hook one of these guys.
I'm watching YouTube videos on baitcasters. I'm nervous and excited, looks like it will be an exercise in patience and practice.
Thanks again, everyone. It's a great day and age to be a fisherman when you can get so much advice from experts like this in one day. |
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Posts: 1283
| I have the rod in the all season package. I like it but like my 8ft XH premier for all around use much better. I would also look into the Lexa 300 or Revo Toro NACL reels. Very user friendly and small enough to palm easy. I also agree 80lb line is not only tougher but is easier to pick out if you do get a back lash.
Trust me if you buy that package you will just upgrade anyways. Baits can be bought anytime separately and you pick what you want. |
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Posts: 31
| achotrod - 6/3/2014 4:31 PM
I have the rod in the all season package. I like it but like my 8ft XH premier for all around use much better. I would also look into the Lexa 300 or Revo Toro NACL reels. Very user friendly and small enough to palm easy. I also agree 80lb line is not only tougher but is easier to pick out if you do get a back lash.
Trust me if you buy that package you will just upgrade anyways. Baits can be bought anytime separately and you pick what you want.
Agreed. I have used all the lexa's and the 300 would be a really awesome multi purpose reel.
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Posts: 538
Location: northern indiana | I'm glad to see you made it here. Like I said, if you have any questions, feel free to call. |
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Posts: 14
| wallydiven - 6/3/2014 9:29 PM
I'm glad to see you made it here. Like I said, if you have any questions, feel free to call.
Yeah, thanks for sending me here Wally! Tried to thank you via PM on MFF but your inbox was full. I will keep in touch for sure! |
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Posts: 132
| MB,
I used to live in NOVA and fished Burke quite a bit. Your best shot at them is going to be early spring, late fall. In the summer they can become scarce. For the size of fish that you're going to encounter in that lake I don't think you'll need to go overboard with the rod/reel you purchase. A bass flippin stick with 50-65lb braid would be sufficient. PM me and I'll be glad to give you about everything I know about that lake.
Basically, the water is too hot starting now until probably September to really be able to fish for them safely. I know in the summer the water can get in the 90* range and people will tell you that even 80* is too warm for the fish. So keep that in mind. |
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Posts: 14
| hunterjoe - 6/4/2014 2:35 PM
MB,
I used to live in NOVA and fished Burke quite a bit. Your best shot at them is going to be early spring, late fall. In the summer they can become scarce. For the size of fish that you're going to encounter in that lake I don't think you'll need to go overboard with the rod/reel you purchase. A bass flippin stick with 50-65lb braid would be sufficient. PM me and I'll be glad to give you about everything I know about that lake.
Basically, the water is too hot starting now until probably September to really be able to fish for them safely. I know in the summer the water can get in the 90* range and people will tell you that even 80* is too warm for the fish. So keep that in mind.
Finally someone willing to share Burke Lake secrets! Thanks Hunter, lengthy PM sent! |
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Posts: 1000
| Best setup would be:
-Lexa 300 (ebay $170)
-TI 8 1/2' $150
-65 or 80lb braid
That'll cover you for just about anything you encounter. The reel has a magnetic cast control which makes learning to use it a lot easier than an ambassedeur.
From there just get a variety of lures based on feedback the forum gives you. You can also get some awesome deals in the BST forum |
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Posts: 1000
| MonstBlitz - 6/3/2014 4:06 PM
Ok, you guys have been great, I love how active this forum is compared to some other fishing forums I've been on. Unless any of you think it's a bad deal, I think I'm gonna pull the trigger on the all season package from the link above. Pricing all this stuff out individually it seems like a good deal and I'll save a lot on the lures and be off to a good start.
Couple more questions - I saw long pliers mentioned...do alligator pliers work ok? I use those for pike ice fishing. If not, what would you recommend? I think all I need for the release tools will be the wire cutters. Are those for cutting hooks? I also have the gizmo for spreading the mouth to get the pliers in.
Have any of you guys musky fished out of canoes? I primarily fish out of a 12 foot 38lb Radisson canoe so I'm guessing I might get towed around a bit if/when I finally hook one of these guys.
I'm watching YouTube videos on baitcasters. I'm nervous and excited, looks like it will be an exercise in patience and practice.
Thanks again, everyone. It's a great day and age to be a fisherman when you can get so much advice from experts like this in one day.
Wire cutters are for cutting hooks to speed up release.
Just make sure the pliers can get 7-8" in without teeth lighting up your fingers
Canoes/Kayaks - I occasionally fish out of my yak. Works just fine so long as you're not throwing hard pulling baits (double 8's spinners and up).
Again, the C4 is limited in cast control. I'd go for one of the low profiles with magnetic or easily-adjustable brakes. |
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Posts: 14
| Hey guys, I pulled the trigger on a rig and some baits. I took everyone's advice into account including some very in depth and much appreciated personal messages from some members here. I ended up going with a 8'6" tackle industries rod. Considered a smaller rod considering the lake I will fish around here has smaller fish and would require smaller baits, but I will also be fishing a lot of big waters up north so I wanted something that would handle everything. Also went with the Abu Garcia NaCL 50. From everything I read and what you all said that was a great reel and a member here pointed me to a a site that had it for $210 and most other places had it for $299. For baits only bought a few for now and #*^@, I underestimated how big these things are! Pictures do not do them justice. Still waiting for the rod and reel to get here. In the meantime, watching plenty of YouTube videos on baitcasters. I have a neighbor and a friend who can give me some training too.
Thanks so much for all the advice everyone, I'll keep this board up to date on my quest to catch a muskie!
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Posts: 14
| A couple of follow up questions:
Can you feasibly troll with a casting rod? I know I've had no trouble using casting spinning reels for trolling no problem, but does that hold true with these set ups? I know it's probably not ideal, but doable?
Do any of you use your muskie rigs for other types of fishing? I'm thinking I might be able to use it for big catfish and maybe even some big stripers to get extra use of it. |
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| I use abu garcia round reels (C3, C4, and record) to troll with no problem and have also used them for pretty large catfish without problems... That said, I do not know if there would be other concerns with a 'low-profile' reel such as yours (am sure others will chime in)... the biggest concern I could see from the get-go would be the lack of a baitclicker (I think?).
My question- where did you find your reel for $210!? I may need to do some shopping myself! |
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Posts: 1283
| You should be extremely happy with your rod/reel combo. Should do everything well. As for trolling that set up will work great and the reel is perfect and even has a clicker to let you know when a fish is on. I have 3 NACLs 2 50 and one 60 and love them.
Lots of uses for the combo besides muskie. Like you mentioned cats, stripers, pike, lake trout etc. Could even do some salt water fishing with it. |
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Posts: 14
| achotrod - 6/9/2014 2:10 PM
You should be extremely happy with your rod/reel combo. Should do everything well. As for trolling that set up will work great and the reel is perfect and even has a clicker to let you know when a fish is on. I have 3 NACLs 2 50 and one 60 and love them.
Lots of uses for the combo besides muskie. Like you mentioned cats, stripers, pike, lake trout etc. Could even do some salt water fishing with it. Perfect! I forgot to ask about saltwater fishing but I thought it would work good fishing off a pier. Feel much better about spending all that money now!
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Posts: 14
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Finally have all the pieces to my new rod / reel - 
Thanks again for all the help everyone! Tomorrow morning crack of dawn I begin my muskie quest. All I expect for now is to have fun casting the new rod and hopefully get comfortable with the baitcaster. Practiced in the backyard tonight and for a first timer on a baitcasting reel I didn't do terrible. Only got a birds nest when I was adjusting the reel and dropped the lure too quick. All the YouTube videos really helped. Let's see how I do on open water…. |
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Posts: 538
Location: northern indiana | Sweet looking setup!! That will definitely get the job done. Now all you need is a few more baits and proper release tools and you will be good to go. |
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Posts: 483
Location: NE PA | nice setup man |
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Posts: 14
| wallydiven - 6/12/2014 11:54 PM
Sweet looking setup!! That will definitely get the job done. Now all you need is a few more baits and proper release tools and you will be good to go.
Have a decent handful of baits and all the release tools ready to go. I've got the long pliers, net, mouth spreader and friend has hook cutters if needed. |
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Posts: 1283
| Looking good! Some might say that soft tail believer is one of the best lures ever made! They have great action and are loud. Works great casting and trolling and can be set to run deep or shallow depending one what eye you use. |
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