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Posts: 37
| This has probally been asked and answered before but I will ask anyways (because im to lazy to search). Im new to musky fishing and im looking for a new rod. I will be mostly casting medium sized baits and very little little trolling, but some. I would like a good all around rod. What length and power is best? Also I dont want to have to break the bank. Bass pro has a bionic blade rod for $49, would that be a good rod? I have a nice Abu Garcia 5500c3 to put on it. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Edited by smj617 2/24/2009 6:36 PM
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Posts: 717
Location: Grand Rapids, MI | Best bang for your buck = Okuma - ~$110 or Gander Mountain - $100. Both AWESOME rods. |
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Posts: 409
Location: Almond, WI | Length and power...well there are a few factors to weigh...if you are short, you may prefer a somewhat shorter rod. If you fish from a high platform i.e. the front of a Ranger, you probably will want a longer rod. I'm short and usually fish from a low platform, so I like 7'6" to 7'10" rods just fine. I would say in general anything from 7'6" to 8'0" will probably suit you fine. If you're tall and fish from a high platform, you may want an 8'6" (some guys are going up to 9'0" these days). In the end, go with what you feel comfortable with. Action wise, probably a MH or H rod, something that handles lures from 3/4 to 4 oz. or so should fit the bill. It's hard to find a good rod for under a $100. The two mentioned above or the St. Croix "Triumph" ($110) series would work well. Gander also offers a cheaper line at $80 but I haven't heard of anyone using them. Shop the sales at Gander and you should be able to get a deal. Spool up with 80 lb. superbraid of your choice and you can throw a pretty wide range of lures, just not the giant stuff. |
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| Take a look at Gannder Mountain Muksie rods. They offer nice rods from at $39.99-$59.99 and then from $79-$99. The lower priced rods do not have as high quality components such as fuji eye inserts, but are a good value. Gander also stands behind them and will replace no questions if you have a failure.
My advice if just starting out is get a feel for what you like in a rod by experimenting with lower priced rods. When you get it figured out you can upgrade to a hihger quality, more expensive rod in the length and weight that fits your fishing style.
Looking at the Bass Pro rod or any other, make sure you go with a Musky rod and not a bass or all purpose rod. You will want the backbone that a rod designed for Muskies provide. Take note of the lure weight ranges....probably want something that will be rated up to about a 3oz weight at least. Length I would suggest 7'-8' would be a good starting point. |
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Posts: 135
Location: Irvine, KY | I have to agree with one one of the above posts. Your size and the height of what youre fishing from can be pretty important. My first rod was a 7' Bass Pro GS series musky rod (30 bucks) and the only problem I had with it was it was actually too long for me to effectively work some baits because I was fishing from a jon boat and the tip would hit the water. If youre fishing from a higher platform you wont have that problem. (I decided to replace the boat instead of the rod :D)
Remember the longer the rod the larger figure 8 you can do... which is pretty important. To answer your question idk if the bionic blade would be a good choice because its not a musky rod and probably cant handle the abuse, and is likely to load up too much on you if you try to throw heavier baits (3-4 oz plus) which can get tiring and aggrevating (and you will eventually want to throw those heavy baits)
I do know berkley makes a musky rod now in the $50 price range, but I personaly have no experience with that rod. Maybe someone else does???? Shimano makes has a few musky rods in the $40-$70 range and ive heard good things about those lines (sojourn or convergence) as an inexpensive alternative.
Id go with a 7'6" MH fast action with lure weight from about 1 oz to about 4 oz as a good starting point |
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Posts: 4053
Location: Land of the Musky | I am just curious, is there any reason for a rod that can throw a 8oz+ lures to cost $180+? Any good pounder rods for under $150? |
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Posts: 73
Location: sw pa | my first rod i ever bought was a pete maina bass pro rod. . cant say anything bad about this rod,used it over 180 days in a season for a couple yrs and it never failed me. i think they are 119$ |
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Posts: 90
Location: ne53 | A good all around rod, my St Croix musky premier MH 7' gets alot of use. |
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Posts: 4053
Location: Land of the Musky | Man, if I had anytime left in a day I would start to sell rods  |
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Posts: 37
| How about A Fenwick, 7', MH action, 3/4 to 3 oz lure rating? I found a used one for $60. Would that be a good all around rod? |
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Posts: 250
Location: Pittsburgh, PA | Yeah the Bionic Blade is way too small I have two and wouldnt dream of throwing anything big on them. But you should still definitely get one for bass and walleye. I think there better then my St.Croix I got except it seems like they have weak guides.(Broke 3 of them but they replaced them all) |
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Posts: 75
| tacklebooty - 2/25/2009 8:30 AM
I am just curious, is there any reason for a rod that can throw a 8oz+ lures to cost $180+? Any good pounder rods for under $150?
Tacklebooty this may be irrelevant but I just got a muskie innovations 8' 6 super mag rod its rated 4-16oz I got it on ebay from a guy who got a bunch in retail is like 180 ish but winning bid was like 135 ish 12 dollars shipping pretty nice rod for that to throw the big stuff but I know I am ready to throw some of those new big D's when they come
Edited by stormynick 2/26/2009 8:20 AM
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