New Member Intro!

[James77]

Hey Guys,

My name is James, and I'm addicted to fishing!

 

I'm 22 and have fished a lot as a kiddo but now I have the ability to drive myself places and a boat at my disposal I'm getting a lot more time on the water and loving it.

 

This year has been pretty great for me, caught the biggest walleye I've ever seen on Lower Buckhorn (Personal Best) unfortunately didn't get a tape on it. Also caught my personal best musky on Lower Buckhorn and Pike on a fly in trip to Cochrane. All were released to be caught again!

 

I've purchased lures galore and I am currently using an Ugly Stik GX2 and a generic "Pike" rod. It's time to upgrade as I am targeting musky a lot now and throwing bigger lures than my other rod can handle.

 

I've been looking around on Kijiji for a used Abu Garcia C3 or C4 as those seem to be a great mid range reel. I'm also looking for a St.Croix or Loomis rod that would work for my larger raps and for my bucktails. It seems like a nice 7'6 MH with fast action would be best but I'd love to hear recommendations. It seems like there are a lot of Musky lovers on here and I've been reading for a while, finally decided to say hello!

 

If anyone has any gear recommendations feel free to let me know I appreciate any help and advice.

 

I've never used a bait caster but from what I read i'm going to have to start using it if I'm targeting bigger pike and musky. I hope the transition isn't too hard.

 

I'd also like to get a bigger net that I can leave the fish in for landing, the current net just isn't deep enough for any 30"+ I get.

 

There's a lot of great info on here and I love seeing the reports where people are landing huge fish!

 

James

 

 

 

 

[e-z-out]

Welcome aboard James hope to read more of your posts.

[MJL]

Welcome James

 

I hear you on getting a set of wheels to go fishing. I still remember taking the bus & subway to go fishing before I had access to a car.LOL

[aplumma]

Welcome James good to see you as a member now. There is a great many people here who can help you find the fish of a life time. Keep an eye on the classifieds you will find a few of your wish list items appear from time to time.

 

 

Art

[James77]

Thanks guys, yes the car has been helpful I also used to bus to the spots but it's a bit easier to get to the magic spots now.

I've been looking on the classifieds for quite a while but I've been pretty lost honestly, just been researching and figuring out the weight ratings and the heights and what I should use.

Look forward to getting to know you guys!

James

[leaf4]

Welcome to the board, lots of good info here. just starting into musky fishing myself working on gearing up and whatnot, got a bday present to cash in Sunday on lake St Clair from the girlfriend at rampage charters weather providing me and the rest will be able to go! I'll post pics if we get there haha.

 

as for gear your setup really depends on what you're going to be doing; casting or trolling as certain setups would be more to your advantage in each use, where do you generally fish?

[Brettiop]

Hey James, Welcome!

 

Just one thing to mention, if your buying an ABU, go for the C3 instead of the C4, much better suited for musky purposes!

 

i had both for awhile and boy did it suck reeling in those huge baits with the c3...

[mattybculp]

Welcome to the board ! I have a couple abu's for musky fishing and there a good starter reel for sure. Having a good heavy or medium heavy rod and heavier braid ( I use 50-60 lbs power pro ) Makes the fight end sooner and prevents exhausting and stressing the fish. The biggest tip I can say in terms of tackle is if your serious about musky fishing invest in a large net, I own a lucky strike net that's just huge and can be had for around 75-85 bucks, but it just makes life so much easier on you and more importantly the fish. For me the fish rarely leaves the bag and is always in the water, I can remove the hooks with out removing it from the water 90% of the time. I let the fish re-coop, then a quick pic and back in she goes no worse for the wear. A couple other things, invest in a large pair of pliers, I have a large pair of needle nose, bolt cutters ( not the ones for cutting a lock off a locker but the hand held ones) and jaw spreaders, and a good tape I have a floating 60 inch pole that I could lay beside or on top of the fish to get a measurement just before its released, and of course a camera for the memories. I just found being prepared for theses toothy critters makes yours and the fishes life easier, and less stressful on both fronts. Those musky should be putting on the weight this time of the year, and those tri-lakes snakes will be turning into cows. I fish em' straight into November, and if you wanna travel a little further head over to pigeon as I have always had better luck on north pigeon and have seen several 50 plus inchers taken in the fall. Good Luck and welcome to the board.

[James77]

Hey Guys,

Thanks for the advice so far! I mostly fish on Lower Buckhorn as I have access to a cottage. Makes it a bit easier I guess.
We've thought of trying a couple new lakes and I appreciate the advice on Pigeon.

I'm sorry Brettiop I was confused by your message did you prefer the C3 or C4?

 

We have all the release tools and always practice CPR.

 

It's hard to find any decent set ups on Kijiji right now.

 

I'm trying to find a rod that would be good for throwing bigger raps (Flr16 is my rap of choice.)

I'd also like the ability to throw some bigger stuff but I don't want to lose the ability to throw a 3/4 oz rap if I'd like to.

 

I will be casting and trolling but keep in mind my lake doesn't normally contain monsters but I'd like to be prepared in case.

 

If anyone sees a good deal on a setup please let me know !

 

I'm hoping to get a 40"+ this fall.

 

James