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Posts: 159
Location: Stevens Point, WI | this might be a dumb question, but is there a spinning reel that you have found will handle a muskie? I have a friend who has a young guy who can't handle baitcasting. Any thoughts? Thanks! |
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Posts: 1716
Location: Mt. Zion, IL | I would recommend Daiwa SS tournament Series SS2600 reel. These reels are built like absolute tanks. Dad has this reel with 65 lb braid on it and the reel handles anything he can put it through. The only problem with using spinning reels is that when the line gets wet with heavy baits, the line tends to cut your finger. |
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Posts: 457
| I have a couple spinning reels that I use for jigs and creatures. One of which my bride will throw bucktails on if her arms get tired. Her reel is a Van Staal (not cheap, but I had it from fishing saltwater anyhow), and the other is a Sustain 4000 from Shimano. I actually like it a lot for the purpose, I wouldn't trade it for the world.
Edited by Whoolligan 9/11/2008 11:41 AM
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Posts: 159
Location: Stevens Point, WI | Thanks for the info guys! I'm forwarding the tips. |
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Posts: 2753
Location: Mauston, Wisconsin | We all know a lot of muskies are caught on spinning reels. My personal choice is Shimano, i.e., I just love their drags. I have a Shimano on a 10' Ugly Stick surf casting rod spooled w/ 65lb PowerPro. I use it a lot for a flatline trolling rod, but I can also sling most anything in my tackle box with it.
It all depends on how young he is, i.e., what weight of a rod & reel he can handle.
Here's a good link to Shimano reels. I really like their saltwater stuff- check out the Stella SW series- 50" per turn line pick up, 55 lb drag and ~450yd 65lb PowerPro line capacity. Wow - what a reel, what a price!
http://www.tackledirect.com/spinning2.html
Seriously, You might want to consider something like the Solstace RH. I really like the "fightin' drag" feature. I have them on my walleye rods. You set the drag to where you want it then flip the lever-now the reel is set for hookset. Set the hook & flip the lever to fight position & you're at your preset drag setting. With a 9lb max drag setting, and spooled with 30-50lb superline like Powerpro, it should handle muskies w/o worry of break off's. .....Teach him how to use the fightin' drag and he will put muskies in the boat.
http://www.tackledirect.com/shimano-solstace-rh-reels.html
I really like tackledirect because they offer more technical data on reels than the other online stores, i.e., line pick up distance, max drag settings, etc. and it shows they care about their customers.
Want to know what 9lbs of drag presssure feels like- hook a ten pound weight to your favorite muskie rod (10lb bag of potatoes), then try to pick it up off the floor. Set the drag so you just can't pick it up. You can remove a couple of potatoes if you want real 9lb accuracy in setting your drag.
As a comparison my Calcutta 400TE has a max drag setting of 16lbs.
Have fun!
Al
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Posts: 2753
Location: Mauston, Wisconsin | Another thought. If he's having problems with backlashes etc. Try a Shimano Curado 200 baitcaster, They handle muskies just fine. I have ~ 5 of them. My grandkids- Jazzy(13) & Xavier(9) use them all the time. I just set the variable weighting & cast control so they can't get a backlash with the lure they are thowing. Of course they can't throw a country mile, but they can make pretty decent casts. They've been using my Curado 200's for + 3 years and I'm not spending all day picking out backlashes. I know a little more expensive than the spinning reels. But with the right rods w/ long cork handles, they also float if they get tossed out of the boat  Also an effective bobber if attached to a fish
Have fun!
Al
Edited by ESOX Maniac 9/11/2008 1:21 PM
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Posts: 374
Location: Bemidji | Good call on the SS's, they are not the smoothest reels in the world but they have been made the same way for quite some time. I have a few for walleye fishing that are 15yrs old and have outlasted all others. |
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Posts: 2894
Location: Yahara River Chain | 12gauge - 9/11/2008 11:06 AM
is there a spinning reel that you have found will handle a muskie?
Heck ya - all of them can. Even a Zebco 202 can handle a muskie. But none of them can really handle casting traditional muskie baits. Why can't your friend use a baitcaster??? We all had to learn how to use one at one time of another. They are not that hard to figure out. Start out with a heavy spool tension and gradually work your way looser. One thing I would suggest, if your friend is right handed, then get a baitcaster with the crank on the left side. It will cut his learning curve greatly using a crank on the same side as his spinning reels.
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Posts: 375
| esox maniac (al)...what have you done! you let the cat out of the bag! i use the shimano 201 dhsv @ 7:1 ratio with 65lb ultracast braid on it and in my opinion it's the best high speed small bucktail / small bait / twichbait musky reel out there and even i can't make it backlash at 50 years old...i hope that doesn't disqualify me from using it...lol i put that reel on an 8' 10" croix legend swimbait rod that keith @ proedge built for me and i put a daiwa luna on the twin of that rod with 80lb ultracast and those two cover 95% of everything i want to throw! the other 5% i throw by hand:)
Edited by STUSHSKY 9/11/2008 4:23 PM
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| Before I acquired a lot of muskie size baitcasting gear--none of it too expensive--I rigged up an outfit composed of a 7' Ugly Stik for lines up to 25 lbs. and an Okuma Ti 40 reel. The reel was not expensive and seems to have the power to crank in large fish. The rod stands up to a lot of stress. I currently have 17 lb. Extra Tough Trilene on the reel. I will note, however, that this is not my preference for casting or trolling for muskies. |
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Posts: 116
| Since I fish with my friend Arthur Ritis I use the spinning outfit to give me a change of grip and a chance to rest the grip for baitcasting.
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