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Posts: 6
| I fish in Central MN, in lakes where pike are around the 20-30 in range and some muskies are present. I am looking for a cheaper rod and reel but still good quality to get into fishing for these beasts. I got hooked into trolling for northern with smaller rapalas and spinning gear. However, I want to try to start casting and getting more in depth with these creatures. I am mainly going to be throwing bucktails, spinnerbaits, shallow cranks, jerkbaits and the occasional top water. Usually you have different rods for each technique, however I am looking for an all around set up for around $350 or cheaper. I have always been an Abu Garcia fan. I also am more comfortable with low profile reels rather than round. The one combo I noticed was the new Abu Garcia ToroMax on a St. Croix Premier Series 7'6" musky rod. Thanks to anyone who can help with their input on my new voyage into a foreign area of fishing that has gotten me hooked. |
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Posts: 64
| Grab a Tackle Industries XH 9' (one piece or telescopic) with a Abu Garcia Revo Toro S60. Over the tackle and equipment forums this combo will get mentioned a lot as one of the best all-purpose combo's. I have this combo and love it. If you don't want a 9', get a 7'6'' or 8' TI. St. Croix mojo or Premier series are great rods as well, I just prefer the comfort of the oversized grip on the TI rods. |
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Posts: 23
| I would suggest at least and 8.5 foot rod if you plan on casting. As mentioned above, tackle industries is a great rod for not a lot of money. The toro s60 is also a quality reel for the price.
Edited by followking 3/20/2017 8:18 PM
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Posts: 735
Location: Apparently where the Muskie aren't | I just got myself my first "real" musky setup. I also fish similar conditions to you, I fish for those 30" pike but also do some muskie fishing when time allows. I was ready to pull the trigger on a Toro S60 but I ended up getting a great offer on a NACL that I just couldn't turn down. But I would defiantly agree that for that price point you can't go wrong with the S. It's a very versatile reel. If you get the S you should have enough left over to get a st.croix premier in either 8' or 8'6" and that would be a good all around rod. Even if you throw smaller baits I would still go with the heavy (3-8 oz lure weight) over the MH (3/4- 3 oz lure weight). I can throw lures down to 1oz, maybe even lighter, with my heavy. And obviously the heavy will let you throw baits up to 8oz making it very versatile. If you want the shorter rod to help with working the jerk baits I would still go with at least the 8' because you can just work the rod to the side and the extra length will help a ton with the figure eight. Good luck! |
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Posts: 6
| Thanks for the input guys. Looking at tackle industries website... they offer a MH rod in 8'6". What would you guys think about this compared to the XL version. Since I feel like I will be throwing primarily lighter baits around 2 oz for example. |
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Posts: 735
Location: Apparently where the Muskie aren't | If you are going to throw small lures only that should be fine. But if think you will ever want to throw larger baits the H will allow that while still allowing you to throw lure down to one once. It seems like it would be hard to throw a 1oz lure on a H rod but I can assure you it can easily be done.
I actually just went and looked at the TI rods and the XH is rated at 2-8 oz so I think that would be perfect for what you want to do but that's just my opinion. If you feel confident that you won't be going over 4 oz you should be in good shape.
But if your like me, you will start out throwing baby cowgirls and then 2 weeks later you will want to throw 2 pounders lol.
Edited by Musky_Mo16 3/20/2017 8:46 PM
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Posts: 6
| Thanks guys for all the help. So rod decision is done. I will be buying the TI XL 8'6". Now my last question is still on the reel. I don't know if I really wanna be spending $250 on a reel. What about the new Toromax that just came out. Have you guys heard anything about that? It runs only $150 and has the same ratio as the Toro S but only takes in 26" of line compared to 29" by the Toro S 60.
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Posts: 6
| Plus the XL and MH are the same price on site.
Edited by MrTundra22 3/20/2017 9:03 PM
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| MrTundra22 - 3/20/2017 9:59 PM Thanks guys for all the help. So rod decision is done. I will be buying the TI XL 8'6". Now my last question is still on the reel. I don't know if I really wanna be spending $250 on a reel. What about the new Toromax that just came out. Have you guys heard anything about that? It runs only $150 and has the same ratio as the Toro S but only takes in 26" of line compared to 29" by the Toro S 60. The MaxToro was designed with muskie fishing in mind, and is a great choice for an inexpensive entry level reel. See: http://muskie.outdoorsfirst.com/board/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=111111&posts=16&highlight=maxtoro&highlightmode=1#M834387 |
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Posts: 6
| I found a 8'6" Musky Innovations Bulldawg Pro Series rod for $80. It is rated for 3/4-4 oz. Any ideas?
Also found a 8' Musky Innovations Bulldawg Evolution Series for $40. It is rated for 1 3/4 to 7 oz.
Edited by MrTundra22 3/20/2017 9:42 PM
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Posts: 27
| 100% agree with Smithy97. Have a XH TI, it has a nice action, you can throw muskie lures down to double 8's through magdawgs. Anything too light for the rod can be handled with bass gear. Love the revo toro s as well. BTW, online retailers are cheaper than the TI website. |
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Posts: 64
| Can't comment on the MaxToro reel. I've held one, that's about it. For the extra 3'' of line coming in per turn at the same ratio, I'd still go for the Toro S60. You can find them for $200 here and there. At 29'' ipt the Toro S60 will be much better at bringing in rubber baits. I know you didn't mention these in your post, but believe me; once you start fishing for ski's you're gonna get into it hard! You'll want a reel that can literally throw and handle every bait out there. Just my $0.02.
Can't comment on the MI rods, never handled one. I would say to avoid the 3/4-3oz rods because they are way to limited in use as a general purpose rod. Get something in the 2-8oz range and you'll be happy! I throw 1oz mepps spinners with my Toro S60 and my XH TI rod no problem. Once you want to get more combo's (which you will for sure  then a medium heavy rod in the 3/4-3oz range will come in handy. |
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Posts: 2319
Location: Chisholm, MN | You can find a calcutta 400B for around $200 if you look around. That reel will last you a long time. |
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Posts: 45
| I'd get an NaCl for the reel and pick any of the $100-$150 rod offerings in 8-9 foot range with H or XH action, they're all decent and there are lots of them. |
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Posts: 55
Location: Coon Rapids, MN | The guts of the ToroMax and the Toro S are the same (same gears and drag). You get an aluminum frame with the Toro S and a composite Frame with the ToroMax. If you do not beat up your equipment the ToroMax should hold up fine for you.
The difference in speed between the Toro S 50's, 60's and ToroMax is due to the spool diameter. If you are going to be throwing baits where you need to pick up line somewhat quick the Toro S 60 would be the better option. |
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Posts: 104
| You can get a Toro S on eBay or Amazon for $189, look for Sportsman's outfitters in AL. |
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