Questions for the Musky Guys - Looking at buying my first combo

[BillsTheBassMan]

Hello Musky Guys,

 

I'm looking at buying my first combo for Musky Fishing second hand. I've never fished for musky and I'm wondering if this is a good starting point:

 

 

ABU GARCIA C4 6500 BAITCASTER REEL WITH POWER HANDLE

 

FENWICK MUSKIE CLASS ROD 7' MEDIUM HEAVY ACTION 3/4 - 2.5 OZ

 

Any help or insight you gentleman can offer is greatly appreciated.

 

Cheers,

Ryan

[Lunkerhunter]

i would go for something 7'6 or longer. but other than that i think you will do alright with that setup.

[asdve23rveavwa]

Hello Musky Guys,

 

I'm looking at buying my first combo for Musky Fishing second hand. I've never fished for musky and I'm wondering if this is a good starting point:

 

 

ABU GARCIA C4 6500 BAITCASTER REEL WITH POWER HANDLE

 

FENWICK MUSKIE CLASS ROD 7' MEDIUM HEAVY ACTION 3/4 - 2.5 OZ

 

Any help or insight you gentleman can offer is greatly appreciated.

 

Cheers,

Ryan

 

That is pretty darn close to the outfit I put together (bought used on the forum)...so far I am really pleased with it. Fine for both casting and trolling inline bucktail spinners (my weapon of choice). Hoping to put it to the test with a few more 'skis in the next few weeks.

[lew]

Just my dimes worth Ryan, but if your gonna be fishing for muskies I'd stay away from both the Abu and the Fenwick.

 

The Fenwicks are well known for breaking farrrrr too often for no apparent reason and the Abu quality has gone way down hill in recent years.

 

Do yourself a favour and spend some extra $$$$ and get a quality set-up.

 

If your only gonna be fishing for muskies the odd time you may be OK with that rig but if your looking to do it more seriously it could be a poor choice.

 

Again, just my opinion.

[craigdritchie]

Appropriate tackle depends on where/how you're fishing for muskie. The ideal rod for hucking bucktails in the Kawarthas would be just about useless for trolling big body baits on Lake St. Clair, for example.

 

If you can think about how you will be fishing, and in what kinds of water, that would make it easier to determine the most appropriate outfit.

[Roy]

Yup, same opinion here. Fenwicks are akin to boxers with a glass jaw. C4s are not the best product that Abu has come out with. And, as Craig has said, it all depends upon how/where you fish.

[BillsTheBassMan]

I would be focusing on the Kawarthas.

[mistaredone]

8'- 8'6 heavy or XH makes life alot easyer casting bigger baits and figure 8's. I have a Abu c3 6501 with and add on power handle and an Abu Record that comes with the power handle and the only problem I have had with both of them is loosing the bolt that hold on the handle. Most likely form the vibration while troling.

Edited July 28, 2010 by mistaredone

[jbailey]

St. Croix is nice

Edited July 28, 2010 by JBZ

[kickingfrog]

Ontario Out of Doors, August 2010 edition, has an article about choosing a muskie rod or rods.

[lew]

I've always been a Shimano fan but have tried a few Abu's over the years.

 

I wanted a hi-speed reel for burning bucktails over the weedbeds and picked up a C-4 a few years back. It burned itself out after one season and went in the garbage can.

 

I wanted a relatively inexpensive back-up reel for guests to use and bought a C-5. It was good for the 1st year then started to go down hill and eventually gave up the ghost. Aikmens wanted $170 to fix it and it then also went in the garbage can.

 

I use alot of large jerkbaits and needed something to take up the line fast so I bought an Abu Big Game. It lasted for 2 seasons before exploding on a cast and then became my 3rd Abu in the garbage can in about the same number of years.

 

My bud bought a Fenwick musky rod that snapped on a cast after only a few weeks. Fenwick replaced it with another one and that one snapped on a hookset the 1st time he ever fished with it.

 

Nuthin but junk......

Edited July 28, 2010 by lew

[craigdritchie]

Ryan,

 

The outfit you described will probably work just fine in the Kawarthas. But I have to agree with Lew and Roy where longevity is concerned. Providing you're not paying too much for the Abu/Fenwick setup, it will at least get you started.

 

You mention you've never fished for muskie. If you decide you like it, I suspect you will want to upgrade the rod and reel before too long. When that time comes, you might want to consider a St. Croix, Shimano or G. Loomis rod (all make several models appropriate to the Kawarthas) and a more substantial reel like a Calcutta 400.

 

It's like anything else - you get what you pay for. Quality gear costs more to begin with, but it lasts forever.

[BillsTheBassMan]

Sounds like the report on Fenwick is not so good - yuck.

 

and Lew . . . going through three Abu Reels in 3 years is notoriously awful.

 

I always fish St. Croix Rods and usually Shimano reels. This was for a used combo I was interested in buying, but by the reports, it seems underpowered and explosive (in a bad way)

[lew]

Ryan, the Shimano Compre is an excellent musky rod and not overly expensive. It may be worth your while to have a look at them.

 

I sold off all my St. Croix's and replaced them with Compres.

 

I also use Calcutta CT's & TE's and their as good as they come. The TE is pretty spendy at close to $400 but the CT's are cheaper but still a great reel. I don't think they make the CT anymore but whatever they replaced it with would be a good choice.

 

Not trying to spend your $$$$ for you, but just offering what in my humble opinion would be a couple decent choices for you.

 

And once you buy them, they'll give you many many years of excellent service.......guaranteed !!

[Pigeontroller]

To Lew you will listen, yes...

[asdve23rveavwa]

I won't argue with any of these guys, the experience they have speaks volumes. For me the Fenwick Rod/ABU 5601CB (made in Sweden) that I purchased used for a total of $80 serves my musky "rookie" purposes well, and, when I want to upgrade I haven't blown a bunch of money on a sub-standard outfit. Put out feelers on used equipment...when I let it be known I was interested, I had many offers including a tremendous one on a St Croix!

[Fisherpete]

The price of the Fenwick Musky Rod/Abu C4/65lb powerpro combo was $100, but Ryan (or someone else if you guys have scared him off) can have it for $80 if he wants it... it worked fine for me, handled all the Kawartha muskies I caught on it (biggest was a 44") just fine! I just have too much stuff... I thought I was offering somebody a bargain, even at $100! No, it is not a St. Croix/Calcutta TE combo, but it is not $650+ either!

Edited July 28, 2010 by Fisherpete

[lew]

 

I thought I was offering somebody a bargain, even at $100!

 

 

It probably IS a bargain Pete and I doubt anyone would dispute that, it's just that Ryan was asking for opinions on the combo and a few of us gave our honest thoughts on it.

 

I don't profess to be an expert on fishing gear but after 35 years of musky fishing I have a pretty good idea of what's a good set-up and what may be a better choice.

 

I was just trying to offer some thoughts and help him with his question.

[Fisherpete]

No worries Lew, I only posted because he didn't have the price listed above... thought if you guys knew it was only for $80 that it might change things! It will go at that price, no doubt...

[alexcba]

lol if that was a left handed reel i woulda grabbed it from you in a second pete..

[Pigeontroller]

No reason to buy top of the line rods and reels staring out. I started with a Quantum Iron reel and I don't even remember the rod...Presently I have 3 combos that are probably $400-$600 each...Do these catch more Muskies? Aparently no...But I like nice stuff! $80 is a great price for that combo and will likely be a great starting set-up.

[craigdritchie]

The outfit you described will probably work just fine in the Kawarthas.

Providing you're not paying too much for the Abu/Fenwick setup, it will at least get you started.

Pete,

 

$100 is a very good deal for that outfit, and $80 is even better. Ryan didn't mention a price, and I confess I just expected he was looking at spending more than that.

 

It will definitely sell, and someone will be happy with it.

 

If Ryan (or whomever winds up buying it) ultimately gets bitten with the muskie bug in a big way, he won't be happy with just one rod anyway - we all know how this works! Next thing you know, you have a garage full of them.

 

Cheers

Edited July 29, 2010 by Craig_Ritchie

[asdve23rveavwa]

Pete, I'm feeling a little guilty about mentioning that the combo I put together cost me $80...I bought the pieces separately. Wasn't even thinking about the combo you are selling for $100 (which was a very reasonable price)...anyone who wants to give musky fishing a shot---don't pass it up for $80!!!!!

[BillsTheBassMan]

No reason to buy top of the line rods and reels staring out. I started with a Quantum Iron reel and I don't even remember the rod...Presently I have 3 combos that are probably $400-$600 each...Do these catch more Muskies? Aparently no...But I like nice stuff! $80 is a great price for that combo and will likely be a great starting set-up.

 

I will probably only use this setup 3-6 times per season, so I'm not looking to get my wallet empty right away and break the bank. I agree with you that it should be fine to get me started and I think that I'll end up taking it.

 

The main thing I am concerned with is playing the fish - I don't want to use underpowered gear and play the fish to death. My musky will all be released and I want those releases to be successful.

 

I left the price out on purpose, as generally, price is not an issue - but I suppose in this case it is due to the amount I'll actually use the equipment.

 

If I get "hooked" (which I will, because I love all things fishing - from 6" specks to big stinky carp) I will upgrade my gear at that time and let someone who doesn't have a musky setup use this piece.

 

To all those that have contributed their favoured gear, thank you, I'm sure it will help someone, and most likely me in time!

 

Cheers,

Ryan

[esoxansteel]

Shimano Compres are the best bang for the buck, at about 120 to 135 bucks, for reels the Calcutta TE is bullet proof but been a round profile can be combersome with long hours of casting, the REVO TORO solves this by been a slim bass style reel with a wide spool, it comes with 2 handles both a power handle and a double paddle handle, offers 3 or 4 gear ratios with a 4.6:1 called the winch for casting double cowgirls or big blades to the high speed 6.4:1 for burning bucktails or takin up slack reel quick when fishing jerkbaits. Revo Toros run just about 275.00