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Posts: 81
| Hello,
I'm preparing to get into musky fishing. Went for the first time last October where I caught my first musky, 43", and have caught the bug so I'm needing a new rod and reel.
Few things. I'm new to bait casting reels as well so this will be my first bait caster. I will need to crank with my left hand. Limit is going to be $300 for the reel. I plan on using mostly big lures up to 8oz, and anything from top water to crank baits to rubbers. Also will use 80lb braided line. Right now I'm looking for the best DO IT ALL reel. I have narrowed it down these four, but I am open to other recommendations. Please let me know which you guys recommend.
Daiwa Luna TD 300 Baitcasting Reel
Abu Garcia Revo Toro 61 Winch
Shimano Curado or Calcutta (if it comes in left hand crank)
For a rod I have been looking at the rods from St. Croix. Not sure which model I really like yet. Again budget is going to be in the $250-$300 range.
Any help you guys can offer will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Justin
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Posts: 981
| sent you a PM |
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Posts: 242
| Here is a suggestion. Get a TI XH 9' and a TI XXH 9'. With the extra money you save (these two rods will be about $240 if you look around) you can get another reel. With these two set-ups, there is not much you can't throw. |
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Posts: 463
Location: Sw Pennsylvania | Calcutta 400B would be my choice for an all around reel but they don't come in left hand retrieve. Rods you could go alot of directions.
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Posts: 574
| Get a calcutta 401d or a calcutta 401TE if you can find one left over somewhere (just got replaced with the "D") and a cheaper 9' rod..
You'll be glad you spent the extra on the reel.. |
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Posts: 1360
Location: Lake "y" cause lake"x" got over fished | As far as rods are concerned I would do the following...
TI XXH (only if you plan on throwing pounders) otherwise get the TI XH. Which ever you decide you should defiantly get a 9' solid 1 piece. But if storage is an issue get the 9' Telescoping rod, it drops down to 7'6".
Reels...
Get the New Abu Garcia Revo Toro Nacl in the 5.4:1 gear ratio. I own one of the older versions of that reel and it is a great all around reel. fast enough to get a little bit of speed behind the bait and strong enough to throw big rubber all day if you choose to do so. It is a great all around reel for sure. that is the reel that I would go with hands down |
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Posts: 32885
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | I own a Muskie Mojo St Croix and like it alot.MM86XHF at $170 and like it quite a bit. I throw everything with it down to lighter spinnerbaits. I have a Revo Toro strapped to it. I'd look into this reel:
RVO TORO NaCl61 5.4:1 26.0 Std 14 lbs. / 250 yds. 30 lbs. / 330 yds. 11.0 Left 22 7
Another St Croix Option would be:
PM86XHF 8'6" XH Fast 1 36 - 80 4 - 10 10.7 7 $ 200
Price points are correct, and you are getting what you originally said you're interested in.
Very nice equipment. |
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Posts: 67
| For that price range I woul suggest a 8'6 musky mojo and pick the rod weight according to the lures you"ll be throwing. For a reel I would suggest a Calcutta of your choice. They have a excellent customer service when and if the reel does break. The Luna's still have not fixed their anti reverse bearing problem. |
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Posts: 4053
Location: Land of the Musky | Gobble!,
If you are at the next few musky shows stop by the Tackle Industries booth and try a few of our rods out. We will have some on special during the shows. Good time to try other brands out too like the new Tooth Tamer rods. Some really nice custom rods out there. Migizi, Custom X and Tuscarora tackle make some really nice custom rods too. I think you will have a hard time picking out a rod  Thats a good thing!
James |
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Posts: 512
Location: Appleton | I would look into a Custom X 8'10" MH rod and I know you will be able to fit in in your price range with enough left over to upgrade the reel to a Shimano Calcutta D reel. That combo will throw everything in your box without issues aside from Pounders. Little buck tails to Mag Dawgs will be no problem. |
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Posts: 553
Location: 15 miles east of Lake Kinkaid | Tackle Industries 9' XH
Shimano Calcutta 401TE |
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Posts: 624
Location: S.W. WI | Rod: 8' or 8.5' Musky Innovations Evolution series, 2-10 oz rating throws everything up to Mag Dawgs, and throws em Well. = $100
Reel: Shimano.. Get the best Shimano you can afford from Calcutta D,TE ($360) / Curado 301E= ($225) / 401 Cardiff- ($119) ( Cardiff not a long lasting option)
also any St. Croix rod, Revo Toro reel |
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Posts: 697
Location: Minnetonka | Jason Bomber - 2/4/2013 5:33 PM
Get a calcutta 401d or a calcutta 401TE if you can find one left over somewhere (just got replaced with the "D") and a cheaper 9' rod..
You'll be glad you spent the extra on the reel..
+1 |
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Posts: 50
| I would also suggest a Revo Toro in the 5.4:1 gear ratio. I own 3 of them and so does my buddy. Neither of us have had any issues at all after three years. They are smooth, cast a mile, and have plenty of power. The low profile makes it very comfortable to palm all day, and the lefty option is also great for those of us who prefer it. For me there is no better ratio than around 5.4:1. The Calcutta and Luna are also right in that gear ratio range, but a Winch at 4.6:1 will be slow and make it basically impossible to really burn a bucktail, or pick up slack line from a jerkbait. A Curado is a 6.2:1 so it will be great for speed and picking up slack line, but not so great for cowgirls.
As for a rod I am a huge fan of the St. Croix Big Nasty. Yes it's very expensive at $360, and the 9ft length can make it a pain to store and transport. There are many other quality rods on the market as well, and none that have been suggested will disappoint you. I own 3 other rods, and never touch them anymore. You can throw a small Mepps up to a double dawg with ease with a Big Nasty. You can even throw pounders with it, as long as you lob them. There isn't a lure minus a 2 pounder I haven't thrown with it, and it's worked perfectly for every one of them. The balance, weight, and the way it loads and feels make it my suggestion. If you're going to spend up to $300 anyways another $60 is well worth it for this rod. Hope this helps. |
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Posts: 426
Location: Perryville, MO | MuskyMATT7 - 2/4/2013 9:28 PM
Tackle Industries 9' XH
Shimano Calcutta 401TE
+1 |
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Location: sneaking out to get on the water ;-) | go to a show and you could probably get the big nasty and the revo toro NaCl 5.4 within your budget and then you will have the closest thing there is to a do it all setup. Otherwise like steve mentioned the premier and mojo series are also nice but I love my legend |
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Posts: 139
| 8 or 9' Tackle industries rod with a calcutta 401TE. One and done.. all you will need to fish any musky. |
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Posts: 150
Location: Central Minnesota | Just did a eBay search for st. Croix legends. I found a place called swansons bait and tackle that had a combo deal on musky rods and Abu revo toros. Worth a look. |
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Posts: 1246
Location: Walker, MN | joemsanderson - 2/5/2013 5:21 PM
Just did a eBay search for st. Croix legends. I found a place called swansons bait and tackle that had a combo deal on musky rods and Abu revo toros. Worth a look. In Hackensack, Mn.....good folks. |
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Posts: 981
| enice - 2/5/2013 9:33 AM
I would also suggest a Revo Toro in the 5.4:1 gear ratio. I own 3 of them and so does my buddy. Neither of us have had any issues at all after three years. They are smooth, cast a mile, and have plenty of power. The low profile makes it very comfortable to palm all day, and the lefty option is also great for those of us who prefer it. For me there is no better ratio than around 5.4:1. The Calcutta and Luna are also right in that gear ratio range, but a Winch at 4.6:1 will be slow and make it basically impossible to really burn a bucktail, or pick up slack line from a jerkbait. A Curado is a 6.2:1 so it will be great for speed and picking up slack line, but not so great for cowgirls.
As for a rod I am a huge fan of the St. Croix Big Nasty. Yes it's very expensive at $360, and the 9ft length can make it a pain to store and transport. There are many other quality rods on the market as well, and none that have been suggested will disappoint you. I own 3 other rods, and never touch them anymore. You can throw a small Mepps up to a double dawg with ease with a Big Nasty. You can even throw pounders with it, as long as you lob them. There isn't a lure minus a 2 pounder I haven't thrown with it, and it's worked perfectly for every one of them. The balance, weight, and the way it loads and feels make it my suggestion. If you're going to spend up to $300 anyways another $60 is well worth it for this rod. Hope this helps.
+1 |
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| I have been running REVO 61's on the TI 9' XH and the OKUMA 9'3 XH, personally prefer the OK by a tad as the TI has a little more handle length vs. rod length which i am just not as comfortable with. I range from Mag Dawgs to 10's to Rad Dog spinnerbaits. Its a bit overkill for the smaller stuff but i find it easier than bringing a bunch of rods with now. |
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Posts: 81
| Gotta say guys I really appreciate all the comments and PMs, lots of choices out there. Looks like the Calcutta got a few more votes then the Revo Nacl so even though the Calcutta D is over where I wanted to be in price I think I'm going to go that path. Still tore up on the rod. Lots of custom guys out there and the Big Nasty sounds like a favorite. Again over the budget but with most things I'm sure you get what you pay for so I just need to dig into this a little more.
Expect more questions in the future. Again greatly appreciated.
Justin |
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Posts: 267
| +1 for the Mojo Musky MM86XHF rod. I prefer the Record Series of reels by Abu. Well priced at ~$175 and bomb proof in my experience. |
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Posts: 908
Location: South-Central PA | My two picks would be either a TI XH or the St. Croix Big Dawg. I've found the TI XH to be the most versatile rod.
jeremy |
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