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Location: Minneapolis | My girlfriend and I have been fishing together for a long time, but she has always been using either my larger muskie setup or a light spinning setup with mono for other fish. She prefers to use baitcasting reels, but my setups with long rods and bigger reels just aren't comfortable for her. She also doesn't specifically target muskie, more of a bass/pike/muskie angler.
I'm thinking about getting a setup that can throw "larger" baits, but also has the ability step down to creatures, bass-sized spinnerbaits, texas-rigged plastics etc. Max sized lures would be in the hawgwobbler, 7inch suick, 6inch grandma range.
I'm thinking of a 7-7'6" heavy bass rod, stout enough to handle larger fish and lures, but still a bit of give in the tip to be able to load up on smaller baits.
I think the revo toro series/curado 300 might be a little overkill for this setup, I'm looking for a decent low profile reel that can still hold a decent amount of line. Prob going to go with a 5500c3, but let me know if you guys have any other ideas.
Line/leader is where I really haven't narrowed anything down. Looking for something heavy enough to handle larger fish, but also not impede the action or performance of smaller baits. My preliminary idea is that 60lb 7strand leader with 45-65lb braid might do the trick.
So is this kind of setup possible? I'm not expecting it to be great in every situation, more looking for a jack of all trades.
If you guys have a setup with this same philosophy please share what you use, or if you have any other ideas throw em out there!
Thanks. |
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Posts: 246
Location: Grand Marais, MN | You could get away with something like this. 40lb powerpro would be good, potentially without a leader in my opinion.
Look at heavy bass swimbait or flippin rods. those are often rated somewhere around 1/2 to 3 oz, so will handle everything you could throw at bass and northerns, some musky stuff like you said. I have a multipurpose rod like this for bass and northerns that I love using, dont throw musky stuff with it tho.
C3 is a good reel. but i'd go with the curado. love the curado 300d i have, see them on ebay for good prices all the time. super smooth and durable, light and effortless to hold and crank, especially in the d series in my experience. but any 200 or 300 size reel will work.
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Posts: 181
Location: St.John, Indiana | My wife has 3 setups she uses 80% of the time .
300Dsv- 7'6" Avid Hvy.
300E - 7'6"Avid Hvy
300Ej -8'6"LT Sing Blade
She can throw 4" phantoms and bass size spinner baits to Mag Dawgs with no problem.
She to had problems using my larger reels. The longer rods aren't as big as a problem as they just take some time to get use to.
I would stay away from barrel style reels such the 5500c3 as they are harder for smaller hands to grip and don't offer the braking/cast controls as most higher end low profile reels. I would look at the Curado 300E . In my opinion it is one of the most versatile /user friendly reels out there . I have not used a Revo Toro but ,here good reports about them also.
As far as line and leaders the 300E and DSV have 65lb Braid and the 300EJ has 80lb Braid. Use Flourocarbon in 60-80lb test for most everything.
Again , just what works for her ,everyone has their own preferences but she has landed bass, walleye , pike and muskie up to 46" on them.
Good luck get her something that she is comfortable throwing ,remember weight of the rod/reel should be kept in mind.
L I V I N
Joe
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Posts: 432
Location: Eagan, MN | Respectfully suggest you don't target muskies with 40lb braid and no leader. There are a lot of lightweight leader materials out there now that are perfect for this kind of stuff. |
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Posts: 246
Location: Grand Marais, MN | cast10K - 9/19/2013 6:19 PM
Respectfully suggest you don't target muskies with 40lb braid and no leader. There are a lot of lightweight leader materials out there now that are perfect for this kind of stuff.
I guess I meant more for the bass/northern setup that I was describing that i use. But I didn't specify that. Never had a bite off or break off with that so far.
I'd probably not use that setup for muskie without a leader either, but would cut it off to throw all bass or northern lures. |
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Posts: 833
| You can solve this problem with $$$ as well as with lighter gear.
You can make a general purpose custom Predator, H blank with 2" trimmed off the tip with Titanium Oxide guides at 9' length. It will weigh about as much as the heavy bass set up you are suggesting. Pair it with a 400D and it will cast everything from the light stcontemplating. (I have one) It will toss everything you are mentioning up through Mag Dawgs. 400D also casts extremely easily for a beginner. (if that is an issue) You can run this bad boy with a traditional 80# braid and 130# leader. Of course there is the price tag and it will still be 9' bulky even if it is weighs hardly anything.
Otherwise I'd do a 8' or 8'6" MH set up with a Curado EJ or 300D. Blank is your preference, lots of choices out there at that power. Really solid rod for Top Water IMO. Also great for smaller stuff. |
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Posts: 4343
Location: Smith Creek | I like the TBC710HF with a Curado 200 or Lexa 300.
The rod is a Tournament Bass, 7'10" heavy with a relatively fast tip. Rated 1-4 oz lures. I wouldn't fool around with any line under 60lb but to each their own.
Nice light combo, low profile for small hands and loads up really well with 1.5-3 oz baits. Plenty of power for esox. |
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Posts: 353
Location: Western U.P. | I'm currently putting together a set up similar to what your describing for myself to use primarily for Bass & Northern, but can pull very light Musky duty. I chose a Quantum EXO 300 PPT (5.3:1 for all purpose use) primarily for its size, capacity, and weight (lack of it). I was going to go with a Fenwick HMX-C76H-F 7'6" rod (rated for 3/8-2 oz lures), but decided to go with a Jawbreaker custom with the same specs but with a full grip. Rod prices are somewhat comparable. The whole set up should weigh less than 18 oz, but strong enough to fight a Musky (with some finesse). There doesn't seem to be a large selection of rods in this category (up to 2 to 2.5 oz), but they are out there. Should be fun. |
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Posts: 750
Location: Minneapolis, MN | You could do an 8' Cabelas or Gander rod and pair it with a Lexa 300 but I think your issue is going to be the line and leader setup, especially the leader. Keep in mind that most bass fishers don't use a leader and now you want to attach something designed for musky to that same bait. Heck, attaching the lure to the leader would probably be tricky on a lot of them since the clasps are so big. So unless she wants to be cutting and retying the leader all the time, I think two setups is really the way to go. I have a BPS Tourney Special combo that I bought for $75 and it works just fine for bass and pike. I just keep it tucked away in the rod locker until I need it. |
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Posts: 682
Location: Sycamore, IL | Have her try try a St.Croix Swim Bait rod paired with a Curado 200 or Revo s bass real. Spool it up with 50lb braid. I have have been using this set up for 3 years now and still love it! |
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Posts: 296
| Do you have a certain budget in mind? On the high end maybe a MH predator cut down to 7' 8" or 8' might be just what you are looking for. I have a 9' 8" MH syncork with a curado 300 on it. It weighs less than the 7'6" Mojo Bass Flipping stick with a Cronarch 200 that I used for a few days. The predator cut down to 8'ish would be far more nimble in the hand and the MH blank is pefect for the baits mentioned. The St Croix swimbait blanks would be a great non custom option.
Leader wise look into some of the tieable leaders in the 30-40lb range. Tyger Leader and Knot 2 Kinky come to mind. You can rig them on a smaller ball bearing swivel and use smaller sized stay lock snaps that balance well with the smaller baits. I've used 25lb Seaguar flouro with good success on my bass/walleye trips to pike infested waters of the dakotas. That weight still gets bit off once in a great while but is very nice for handling while landing fish etc. Much heavier on the flouro and it will get thick enough to kill the action on smaller baits. I think the tieable wires are pretty much a requirement if you are chasing muskies or big pike. |
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