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Posts: 39
Location: branchburg NJ | I always hear people in magazines and many guys on this site recommend 80 lb test braided line for muskie fishing. First of all i am not saying you guys are wrong who do that, and i am not trying to cause any problems. Do muskies really fight that hard that you need to use heavy line or is it just a preference? I have seen offshore saltwater fisherman use 50 lb braid to catch everything from tuna, mahi, and stripers and those fish, i would imagaine, fight much harder than muskies do because they swim in ocean currents all day. What are the reasons for fishing so heavy for muskies?
chris Z |
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Posts: 1287
Location: WI | If you use lighter line it will fray quicker and you will lose expensive lures just by casting them. I have also snagged lighter lb test PowerPro while trolling and it snapped before I could react. It's more for durability when using heavy weight lures. |
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| That's not the reason muskie guys use the heavier lines. A muskie won't "break" 50# test during a fight, but I've broken it casting different lures and setting the hook on snags etc. As a matter of fact I've broken both 36 and 50 pound braids casting rattle traps (1/2 and 3/4 oz) on a backlash. What would a heavier lure do? I've never broken 65# in any of these manners, but the backlashes are a little nastier than with 80#, where a couple of tugs and you are ready to go again. If you were just dropping lures over the side, like deep sea fishing, then you wouldn't need the heavier stuff. That's why I use them anyways. |
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Posts: 39
Location: branchburg NJ | Those are good points, i never thought about those possibilities. |
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Posts: 537
Location: Gilberts IL/Rhinelander WI | As Tim mentioned, It is not about the musky breaking the line. Instead the casting aspect and all that goes with it. Constant casts, setting hooks ,snags and the number one reason - backlashes. I think most of us have had a backlash throwing a mag dawg into the wind. Anything less than 65# is going to break and send the lure flying. |
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Posts: 1287
Location: WI | Anything less than 80# will break. |
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Posts: 1184
Location: Iowa Great Lakes | Even 80 will break, I have even snapped solid wire leaders on a backlash. |
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Posts: 2894
Location: Yahara River Chain | Let's not forget the the major reason that we use higher poundage is because the super lines are so thin. If you use lighter poundage, the chances of getting a the line to dig into the spool increases due to the thinner line. In the old days (I can't believe I wrote that  ) we used 30 pound mono and 36 pound dacron. These days we need to get over 100# test of super line to get that diameter of line. You get a hooked muskie doing a power dive with the thin stuff it will bury that line into the spool and something going to give, most times its the line popping if you have a good leader. So you've just prematurely released a fish with a sometimes expensive bait in its mouth and if it can't dislodge it, it will die. This is not a good thing. Another positive about higher poundage is that you can fight a fish to the net quicker and be able to release that fish in a healthier less exhaustive state - that is good too!!!
I hope I've cleared that up. |
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Posts: 537
Location: Gilberts IL/Rhinelander WI | Good point m.nut, agreed. Didn't think of that. |
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Posts: 4053
Location: Land of the Musky | 100lb cast better, reels back onto the spool better, I can pull hooks through about anything and get my $20 lure back, does not snap due to reel screwups or freezing, etc, etc.... Plus it makes me feel like I'm a MAN!  |
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Posts: 742
Location: Grand Rapids MN | All the reasons above plus the increased thickness is a little easier on the fish if they roll in it. |
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Posts: 8781
| I started out muskie fishing with 50# test. Went to some big-box retailer with a serious case of "I-gotta-have-muskie-everything. TODAY!" The heaviest they had was 50# Powerpro. I thought: "Hey, I've caught plenty of 6 pound fish on 4 pound test line. Jeeze I've probably caught 30 pound carp on it. Muskies are tough, but even 50# test is stupid. I've never heard of a 50# muskie! (therefore no such thing exists!)
I made it almost an entire season with that line. Fished 4 times, I think. I lost 2 lures. I would have lost more, but those particular lures happened to float. And when you get a backlash using that stuff? (Which you will, pretty often your first year or two) Holy CRAP you had better just sit down and start digging, because you're done for a while.
My point is:
50# test is plenty for a muskie, even the biggest muskie. You could catch a world record record muskie on it and not have to worry about your line. (provided that line was brand new)
But you're not going muskie catching, you're going muskie FISHING. 50# test just isn't strong enough for muskie fishing. |
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Posts: 335
Location: Minnesota | I would add - why not go as heavy as is reasonable? If you are jigging or giving a slow presentation the line might be an issue but usually I am reeling in big lures with lots of metal on them. I don't think they will care if I have 25 or 100 pound superbraid. |
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Posts: 51
| The finesse required for muskies is also different than most fish. Many fish are turned off by the sight of line(walleyes crappies), but muskies don't seem to care so why not use it. |
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