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Posts: 20188
Location: oswego, il | In the early 90's a 7' rod was pretty good. 12 years later the 8' rod craze. It didn't take long before the 9 and now some 10' rods are out there. I suppose this time stamps you but what was the first rod and reel you bought? Mine was a 6'10" Falcon MH Musky rod with a silver Garcia 6600 that had the extra wide cumbersome palming plate which was on sale. |
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Location: Eastern Ontario | 5.5 foot Fenwick pool cue with Abu 6500 36 pound Musky Master dacron line piano wire leader with that and my Suick I was a weapon. Most will think the rod too short by todays standards but I was standing in the bottom of a tin boat. I still use a shorter stiffer rod for jerk baits than most.
Edited by horsehunter 3/3/2021 5:04 PM
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Posts: 23
| 8' St. Croix mojo musky heavy and Shimano Calcutta 400D. Still have it and use it as a loaner. |
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Posts: 747
| 1984.... Berkely Cherrywood 5'6 paired with a 7000 Abu.... |
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Posts: 51
| 1982 5'10" "multi purpose" Fiberglass Ogata Thorne (pre Thorne Bros) with a
Bantum 500 Stainlesss (also had a ABU 6500). Used the standard (then) 36lb Dacron.
Spliced instead of tying knots as Dacron had poor knot strength, pain in the butt and twice a day + ! Be nice if that blank was still available though (for us old guys).
A buddy started a bit later with a Thorne Brute, butt half glass front half graphite in about same length but with ABU 7000 and yup 36# Dacron.
Times have really changed.
But back then a 50" fish was a rare thing, and waters were pretty much limited to the Longville area and the Mississippi river, natural fish. What little planting done in Minnesota was shoepacks and a 40" shoepack was a one!
Thanks to Muskies Inc................And catch and realease...............!!!
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Posts: 51
| Yes, forgot, the Cherrywood was the back up with a 6500!
The good old days. |
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Posts: 194
| Circa 1974 and state of the art at the time Skyline Graphite rod 6' with Abu-Gracia 5000 (red) customized with set of buzz gears purchased at Easterlings. I still have the rod and reel but I did burn out the buzz gears and had it rebuilt around 1985. Wish I knew how to figure 8 back then. |
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Posts: 32830
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | I fished muskies with jigs back then, 7' Medium-heavy action 1967 or so Skakespeare spinning rod and a Mitchell 301. |
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| In the middle 60's, while in high school, bought a 5'6" rod from a little shop in Wisconsin Rapids. The guy made them in the shop. Solid glass, tip was much stiffer than average casting rod of the time but it was strong, not stiff. He fished muskies and it was something he came up with that could handle the lures of the time and still fight a big fish. Never caught any big muskies on it, but caught many big carp from 15 to 40 pounds. |
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Posts: 20188
Location: oswego, il | Funny how low profile is the reel of choice now in musky fishing. They are nothing new. How many remember the bantam and the quantum reel from the 90's that a few musky celebs used on tv. No instant anti reverse! |
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Posts: 34
| a 5'6" Browning Silex that you couldn't bend to save your life and a 5500. I still have the Rod, but the reel is long gone. |
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Posts: 103
Location: Miller time Wisconsin. | This is my 3rd attempt at posting, the previous 2 took a long time to type, then turned into cyberdust before I could submit. Here is my last attempt, condensed.
Last century, pre internet, book reading only, trying to learn about musky fishing.. On the way to my first ever musky fishing trip I stopped at Rollie and Hellens. They hooked me up with an Abu Garcia on a St Croix rod with something braided. Within an hour of buying the rod/reel, I caught my first musky on big lake in Vilas County Wis, a 37 incher on a purple Mepps bucktail that I bought at a garage sale.
This was my first ever try at musky fishing, in a tiny 12 ft boat with a 6 hp Johnson tiller, and no electronics, on a new lake that I had been on for maybe 20 minutes. |
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Posts: 2289
Location: Chisholm, MN | 5 foot something Eagle Claw. One of those yellow ones pair with some old abu. |
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Posts: 394
Location: WI | 5'6" St Croix model 15BC-56XH-SH with an Ambassadeur 5000B. 27lb Dacron line was replaced after a couple years with the "new" 36lb Musky Mono.
Edited by Emptynet 3/3/2021 8:40 PM
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Posts: 1222
Location: E. Tenn | Caught my first 40"+ in '82 on a Fenwick 5'6" graphite rod, matched with the original Daiwa "Magforce" reel. the rod was the princely sum of $29.95, and same for the reel.. Oddly I still have both.
My first musky rod was a St. Croix "Triumph" 7' MH, purchased 20 years ago, and still serves as a dedicated Suick rod. (don't judge me)
Edited by miket55 3/3/2021 9:58 PM
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Posts: 939
| 1984 -South Bend 6' and a 5500 Abu spooled with 36# Dacron
Jeff Hanson
madisonmuskyguide.com |
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Posts: 742
| In 1980, 5'09" Skyline graphite rod with an Abu 6500ca, the first year with the palming side plate, and it came with the high speed retrieve, a 4.7 to1 gear ratio. And the staple back then, Cortland musky master, 36lb black dacron line. Horse hunter, your not alone. I also use the shorter rods for jerk baits, with the 6'09" being my favorite. Kdawg |
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Posts: 304
Location: Lino Lakes, MN | I had several early rods. My first rod was a Shakespeare Series One muskie rod. 6'3" paired with a Abu 6500C -Dacron line 36# and wire leader. It had the perfect tip for working 6" Reef Hawgs.
I got married in April of 1990 and I took some cash and splurged on a Thorne Bros 6' fiberglass jerk bait rod and paired that with a 6500C. My how equipment has changed over the years.
I used to be the young kid in the room at the Twin Cities Muskies Inc. Meetings- now I am one of the "older" guy's in the room. Names like Smokey Swenson, George Whall, Frank Schneider -just to name a few guy's who were in the rooms back in the late 80's at Little Jacks in NE MPLS. |
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Posts: 1209
| 8.5' XH st croix mojo muskie and a NaCL 50 in 5.4 gear. |
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Posts: 1217
Location: Walker, MN | Early 90's a 6' Fenwick and old Bantam reel, 27# dacron. Mid 90's those grey Gander Mountain rods with 6500 Abus and dacron line. Before that it was thrown together heavy bass combos with 20# mono. |
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Posts: 13
| St. Croix 6'6" MH and Fenwick 6' HMG jerkbait rod, Abu Garcia 6500 reels. I still have them.  |
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Posts: 157
Location: Alexandria, MN | 7' medium-heavy St. Croix rod with an Ambassador 6500 reel spooled with 36 lb Dacron. Early '90s. |
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Posts: 267
| Cabelas Fish Eagle blank, 6' 2" with a silver 5500. Made it myself. Then I bought the 7' 6" blank and made that one and put a 6500 on that one. |
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Posts: 1262
Location: Stevens Point, Wi. | 5 foot Husky Cisco Kid glass rod paired with a Pflueger Supreme. Still have the combo hanging on the wall. Guess I've been 'stamped'. |
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Posts: 455
| 7' MH Tony Rizzo rod and a 6500 abu
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Posts: 1760
Location: new richmond, wi. & isle, mn | 1979- Eagle Claw blue diamond rod with a Pflueger supreme. |
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Posts: 103
Location: ITALY | Year 2004 my first casting Rod st.croix PM 610mf, reel Abu Garcia 5601c3 hss limited |
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Posts: 1937
Location: Black Creek, WI | 5'6" Ugly Stick with Bantam 50 reel. Then, in 1987 my Dad gave me a custom made 5'6" St. Croix loaded with a Garcia 6500. The good 'ol days. |
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Posts: 253
Location: On the water | South Bend Tony Rizzo Signature Model 6' and a 5500 Abu spooled with 36# Dacron that I still have. |
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Posts: 343
| Bought my first muskie combo at Reeds in Walker in 1987. 6 foot Garcia rod with Abu 6500, 36lb Cortland dacron line and a solid steel leader. Used for quite a few years and tried desperately to catch my 100th Muskies Inc. release with same combo but after losing several fish went back to my more modern equipment. It was a real eye opener and had me wondering how I was able to land as many fish as I did on it. |
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