Muskie set up

[Hankfield]

I do a lot of fishing on the Ottawa river and want to get myself setup for some Muskie . I have a lot of the baits but my gear is not up to snuff. Anybody have any advice on decent rods, reels, etc and what type of line is best?

 

Thanks

[mike rousseau]

The Ottawa river is a trophy musky fishery...

 

So go heavy on your gear... 100lb braid... Top of the line swivels and snaps...

 

As for a rod...

 

The st croix premier is a good mid range rod...

I like the 7.5 foot heavy model for casting...

 

And I use the st croix premier trolling specific rod for trolling...

 

 

...

Edited May 16, 2012 by Musky Mike

[lew]

My own personal choices are Compre or St. Croix musky series rods at least 7'6" and Calcutta TE reels spooled with 80# Power Pro line and 130# Fluoro leaders.

 

You'll probably get many differing opinions though and alot will depend on your budget. Musky fishing can get very expensive.

[Gregoire]

How much are you looking to spend, and are you going to be trolling or casting?

[Rizzo]

for a reasonable price (350.00 approx) you could grab a shimano compre and an abu Record. This is one of my set-ups and I am very happy with it

[scugpg]

8 to 9' rods seem to be the common choice these days if you have the room.

 

For a reasonable price - Tackle Industries Rod $150 with a $299 Abu Revo Toro 5:4:1 if you can find one or Curado 300 $250. Phil at etackle can help you with the rod and can probably source some of the mentioned reels.

 

Some of the real muskie guys may be able to comment here - but would the Calcutta TE be able to double as a trolling reel for muskie too? Not sure if the Toro or Curado would hold up trolling with it over time.

 

Also depends if you prefer bait casting style or round reels.

[lew]

 

ould the Calcutta TE be able to double as a trolling reel for muskie too? Not sure if the Toro or Curado would hold up trolling with it over time.

 

 

You could use pretty well any reel for trolling but if your pulling huge baits there's ALOT of strain put on them.

 

I use TE's myself for casting but use dedicated Tekota 600 linecounters for trolling....proper tool for the job kinda thing.

 

But that's just me.

Edited May 16, 2012 by lew

[cram]

I have an 8 foot St Croix Premier Heavy (2-6oz baits, i think) with a revo toro 61 (5.4 gear ratio) and it's been a really good all purpose rod so far.

 

Also have an Okuma EVX and an Abu C3 6501 and it's been great as well. Also cheaper.

[Andrew Grant]

.

Edited January 30, 2014 by XxX

[Pigeontroller]

And don't forget the Muskie specific net, hook cutters(and extra hooks), long nose pliers...