45yrs to get 1st muskie

[mercforever]

truth of the matter is Ive never targeted til yesterday.fishing a charity tournament on sturgeon.after lunch went up the scogog river,start trolling .two on a jointed rapala,one on a believer,all in half an hr.total causas in the boat.a 34,27 ,34.Ive fished nwt and held 50 inch pike but these musky are a different breed.you guys must clubbing them to hold them.I might have to invest in some stuff ,1st thing a cradle ,watched a guy net one yesterday,wasnt impressed,how big do you gotta go for rod and reel.I hooked the bottom yesterday,by the time I got the boat stopped ,I was into by backing ,lost everything.

[lew]

I might have to invest in some stuff ,1st thing a cradle

 

Your much better off with a decent net rather than a cradle, specially if your gonna be fishing alone.

[kickingfrog]

Congratulations.

 

A second job, or a lottery win, comes in handy.

[Handlebarz]

I second a Net they are a lot better then a cradle. I don't like the cradle as your face has to be sown by the fish when landing them so if they thrash and the hooks come out your face is a great target for them. Get a nice rubber coated net I love the Beckmann finn saver nets and just bought a new one they are large enough strong enough for any musky and still light enough for one person to use. If you are solo fishing or have a small boat you might want to look at a large Stowmaster I have always heard good reviews on them.

 

As for caasting rod and reel you don't have to break the bank I would suggest looking in the classifieds they always pop up or put a want add there. a great starting rod would be a compre 8'6" heavy fast action this will be a good all around rod and priced some where around $100 or a bit more.

 

Spend more on your reel as it is more key over the rod it has all the moving parts and you dont want to cheap out there. You can find a great reel in the $200-$300 range but don't have to go that high again look for good used they are out there.

 

Trolling I would suggest the Okuma convector 30D with line counter they are a great reel and you should be able to find them around $100 I have 6 of them and love them all.

Trolling rods I look for a fast action very limp rod tip with a stiff back bone this way you have the fighting power to fight the fish but the soft rod tip to see the action on your lures if the rod is not bouncing you might have weeds or a smaller fish that can not pull the drag.

 

I use 80-100# braid line I like power pro or tuff line they are both great lots of other great lines on the market these are just two I have been using.

 

Hope that helps some

[Pigeontroller]

Some good advice from Mr. P