Muskie Combos 101

[Raf]

This is a question that seems to come up quite often, especially this time of year: New to muskie fishing, which rod/reel should I buy?

 

Thought I would post this. If one person uses the search and finds this helpful it'll be worthwhile. I'm a lefty and wrote it with lefties in mind - there are far more reel options for right-handers (ie. calcutta 400, pete maina reels, etc.), though the 6500 C3 is never a bad choice.

 

Muskie combos with a lefty slant

 

I'm going to describe popular combinations and some of their uses. There are many opinions and variables out there. More seasoned anglers tailor their gear to their needs. I am 6' tall and this is what works for me. In the case of the 6500 series C3s it has been working for decades. By no means is this the end-all but, I think it is a good starting point for someone new to muskie fishing. Most muskie rod manufacturers offer comparable rods. The reels however, being a southpaw, there are far less options. I don't mean to sound like an Abu infomercial but, if all you have are 6501 C3s, great! Loud clickers, good drags, simple yet fairly tough, and a reasonable price tag. Other than the 7000s, I would not consider any of the other Abu offerings as they are bass/pike reels at best. The other manufacturers are somewhat behind when it comes to lefty muskie reels.

 

Ok, here's the pic.

 

 

From left to right:

 

6'9" St. Croix Premiere H (1-5oz) & Quantum Cabo CBC31pts - Specialty jerkbait, glider rod. Short length, heavy, fast action allows you to easily impart the desired action on these baits. The Cabo is a light "low-profile" baitcaster that allows you to "palm" the reel, something many prefer. It has a quick 5.7:1 ratio that picks up slack easily. 80-100lb braid.

 

7' Shimano Compre M (1-3oz) & Abu 6501 C3 - This is a back-up rod for me and I wasn't going to include it. However, if you are going to buy one combo only, it's not a bad choice. It will throw & troll most baits effectively. I use this mostly for jigging, plastics, smaller cranks, heavy pike fishing or even pulling LM Bass out of thick cover. For this purpose I spool the reel with 65lb test.

 

7'6" St. Croix Premiere MH (3/4-3oz) & Abu 6501 C3 - Anyone who wants to try their hand at muskie fishing and get one combo, this is it. The 7'6" will handle most lures and is a great "all-around" rod. Good length, good power and not overly expensive, it will cast or troll well. The reel pictured above has an aftermarket handle. It is my workhorse. I will throw spinnerbaits, cranks, you name it with it. 80-100lb test.

 

8'6" Okuma EVx XH (4-12oz), 8'6" St. Croix Premiere (not pictured, 4-10oz) & Abu 7001 - A bit of a specialty combo, made to handle the largest/heaviest lures. Rod is rated for 4-12oz with a bit of a slower action than most muskie rods. Big Bulldawgs, Huge Bootails/Spinnerbaits, large cranks are things you would throw with this. It will also troll nicely. The extra length is nice for manhandling the lures and figure-8s. The 7000 series Abus can take the beating of these huge baits. They also have a slower retrieve ratio at 4.1:1. This makes retrieving those huge lures a little easier in terms of fatigue. However, they also have large spools which offset the slow ratio in terms of feet of line retrieved per crank. 100lb test.

 

8' St. Croix Premiere MH (3/4-3oz) & Quantum Cabo CBC31pts - Bootail & Topwater rod. Great for inlines, straight retrieve topwaters (ie. TopRaiders). You'll launch the bait a mile if you want. The extra length makes figures-8s less of a back breaking affair. Works great as a trolling rod too though, I'd put on a different reel (the CABO clicker is craptacular). 80-100lb test.

 

8' St. Croix Premiere Glass Trolling (1-8oz) & Okuma CV30DLX - Trolling combo. When I bought the reel it was one of the few lefty linecounters available. There may be more options now. The Great Lakes guys use these reels for their screamin' salmon, they work well for muskie fishing too. You can run wire or braid. The LC is nice, you don't have to count "pulls" to achieve repeatability in terms of lure running depth. The rod has a good length, softer tip and will troll everything from a super shad rap to pounding, deep running custom baits.

Edited October 7, 2008 by Raf

[lew]

Excellent write-up Raf and good of you to take the time to help out the folks trying to find the left handed reels.

[Roy]

Great thread and an excellent idea, Raf. Those of you who are muskie newbies AND newbies to the board should note that Raf is one of those guys whose advice you can count on. Good stuff.

[OhioFisherman]

Great info Raf. All those reels look right to me.

[Bly]

Thanks for taking the time to do that Raf, have saved that information for future use.

[Pigeontroller]

Nice post Raf!

[Abberz]

Thanks for the info Raf. I've been looking for a lefty line counter for quite some time....going to take a good look at the Okuma for sure!

[white007]

Thank you for all the time and effort you have put in, to answer my question and any other angler's for that matter. Good luck on the lake this year.

sincerley white007

[irishfield]

Great stuff Raf ! Now about having money left over to just throw around the place....

[Toronto_Angler]

Really good write-up Raf! Thanks.

[Victor]

thanks for putting the time to post such great info!

[setomonkey]

Great info, and very helpful.

 

Maybe this could be moved to the Extra Resources section, under Fishing 101? Knowledgeable OFNCers who were interested in doing something like Raf could post there for new or less experienced members.

 

Other 101s off the top of my head (that have been posted before) include:

 

- how to launch and trailer your boat efficiently

- setting up downriggers

- modifying your boat (adding deck, installing sonars or trolling motors)

- motor maintenance and winterizing

- fishing topwater lures

 

Mike

[John]

Great thread Raf. I appreciate the info not only as a lefty but as a rookie Muskie guy. I made the familiar rookie mistake of going too light on the reels.

[brickNblock]

Raf.......WTG Bud!

I consider myself a newbie to lunge tactics and gear still...

There never seems to be enough info and Ive googled the entire worth of that available out there.

as well belong or subscribe to every publication about this fish for years..Nothing beats time on the water tho' and handling the beast for both of our interests.

For sure someone new will learn from this post.........

You should write another on the tools required before even attempting to hunt for one...

My belief is that anyone fishing for musky should experience/witness the entire hunt from another with the experience before ever going it alone....From the first cast to the release.

Exellent post man......

bNb

[trapshooter]

Great info there Raf. Excellent resource for the board.

[mistyriver1]

Excellent post Raf.

 

Really enjoyed fishing with you and JP last year. Learned lots and had a great time.

 

Ben and Corey still talk about fishing with you guys as well to this day.

[Greencoachdog]

Nice hardware and write up Raf!!! ... but for me, those setups would be for a right handed person (like me). I like to cast and fight the fish with my dominant arm and reel with the other, but to each their own.

[mattyk]

thanks for the great info raf! Very helpful indeed!