Beginner Musky Rod/Reel Set Up

Hi All,

I am a beginner musky fisherman looking to set up my gear correctly. What would you recommend for rod length, power, action? What are the best reasonably priced reels out there that many of you use? I hear Abu Garcia Ambassedeur is decent, thoughts? I intend to run 100lb braid, do you typically use a fluoro leader or can I use straight braid? 

Based on your experience, what are the must have lures to purchase immediately without breaking the bank as I get deeper into the sport?

Thanks again for your feedback!

MM

Negative on the spinning reel setup.. All pros use baitcasting and I say all. Don't be lazy

You are inviting disaster if you go with a traditional spinning rod setup for muskies.  Maybe there are some salt water spinning setups that work, but muskies are just different.

Muskies eat boatside.  They put a lot of stress on the rod/reel.  The fight is usually over in a minute or so.  It is violent and it is sudden.

Get a true musky rod and reel.  It is worth it.  Many of them (rods and reels) can be used for multiple lures.  But the more you get into this, the more you will find that certain rods and reels work better for different lures and applications.

Start off with at least an 8 foot rod.  Tackle Industries.  Shimano.  Okuma.  All good rods that don't break the bank.  Get a good reel, as the drag is very important.  Shimano 400B (bulletproof).

Get a good setup, grab some bucktails, topwaters, cranks and rubber baits and you should be good to go.  And prepared when the big bite happens.

You can find a lot of these things used at great prices.  

That's what I've been thinking, I would much prefer spinning as that is what I'm comfortable with, I was just curious if there's a concrete advantage for one over the other.

Lk, to be honest, being rather new to this myself I pretty much just went with what I saw the more experienced guys doing.  Figured they had been around long enough to know what worker better than I did.  I was told that spinning reels would not hold up to the strain of big lures and big fish.  Sounds reasonable til you think about all the saltwater fishermen that use spinning reels.  More strain and bigger fish,

What are your opinions on using a spinning setup for musky?  Everything I see people are saying use a baitcaster, is there a reason for that? 

Looks like previous posters have covered it pretty well.  Except for leaders.  You don't need a lot of them.  Just a couple of different types for the different lures.  Solid wire, braided wire or tieable wire (Tyger wire) and flouro.  No need to get a lot of different lengths.  My longest is 12".  Because that's what works for me.  Find the ones that allow you to control the action of the lures you throw.  For instance, I use a 10" solid wire, fairly stiff, leader on glide and jerk baits.  My fishing partner prefers a longer tieable wire leader.  

The single most important bit of advice is probably only to buy a few baits and learn to work them.  There are numerous videos online showing you how but you have to go out on the water and dedicate the time to learn to control the lure.  There is no magic bait - I have two boxes full of them to prove it.  The magic is when a lure is worked correctly.  That is sometimes a hard lesson to learn.

I would also advise patience.  Musky fishing can be maddening at times.  You'll work an area carefully for an hour and then the next guy will slide in as you leave and catch a 40"+ in the first few casts.  Throwing the same lure you just did.

If you need some patience, let me know.  I have lots of it.  All NIB, unused.  Haven't used any, been saving it up.

MM

If you are just getting into Musky fishing I would go with a 8" heavy rod. My choice is a Tooth Tamer it will last for a long time and holds its value if you decide Musky fishing is not for you.

For the reel: Everyone is using the low profile reels now so you can get a really high end used round real for cheep.  Look in the classified for a Diawa LUNA or a Shimano Calcuta probably can get on for $100 to $150.

The lower end reels like the Abu Garcia C4 you can probably pick up for $50 dollars

Another though is look on Matt Reel Service web page he sells used reels.

If you decide to buy a new reel I you cannot beat the Diawa Alexa series low profile reels

Tight Line

Tight Lines

If you want a nice setup, give me a call or send me a PM.  I'll be looking to sell an Okuma 8.5 foot rod that telescopes (for easy travel).  XH, although their extra heavy is more like a heavy.  Great for bucktails, jerk baits and top water baits.  I have a couple 6500 C3 and C4 Ambassador reels I'd pair it with or even a Shimano 400B.  The 400B is a great reel out there.  It can do everything.

I have other rods I'd sell, too. 7 footers, 7.5 footers...but you will want the 8.5.  Everything is easier.  I'm sure we could work out a nice deal.  I've got some baits I could throw in, too.

I watched a bunch(a lot)f u-tube videos and saw that the most popular reals were the Abu and the Shimono Tranx 400, rod 8-9' , dont go cheap/ inexpensive, i once bought 3 scopes for a rifle befor i found the right one, dont want to do something like that again

Line 80# braid to 130 flourocarbon leader, lures  you will find different brands of the same style, whatever is popular in that area, so just try 2 of each style in different colors

I’ve been a beginner for 15 years.  I bought all the gear and haven’t really engaged myself in it due to loss of a fishing partner.

Anyhow, I went with a pair of Abu Ambassadeur 6500’s with 80 lb Power Pro and added Power Handles to them.  They are on 7’6” and 8’6” Berkeley Lightning Rods.  Good enough for me, a Weekend Warrior, when it comes to musky fishing.  Both have boated fish up to mid-40s.  Start small.  See if it’s for you before dropping thousands.

Edit: those rods pitch everything from bucktails to large cranks to topwater Hog Wobblers.  Neither are designed for mag bulldogs or #13 cowgirls.

What they said on the equipment.  I love my Ambassadeurs as well.  Make sure you get the 6500 C3 or C4 (made in Sweden) and not the cheap Chinese stuff.  Use either the flouro or my favorite is just a steel leader.  Make your own and save the money.  Rods, the Shimanos are good as are Tackle Industries, Okuma, and many others.  Just try to stay in your price range!

Cabelas offers a cheap option for musky rod. The tourney trail is $50 and comes in a 7'6" setup. They also have their predator line that is $130. Nice rod up to 9'. Or Shimano offers a Sojourn model up to 8' I believe that is priced similarly around $50.

The Abu reals are nice. If you go ambassadeur, I would avoid the cheaper lines. (S or SX). They have plastic internals and the gears blow out quickly. I had 3 friends buy the SX and the same thing happened to every single one. The C series would be a better option. I toss a Shimano Cardiff and have had no issues for 6 years with it. I believe its around $120.

As for baits, a lot of it depends on the waters you will be fishing. I've noticed different baits work better in different types of water with different types of forage. Local bait shops should have good options for the waters you will be fishing.

You can also look on the outdoors first site. They have a strictly musky forum and people give good info there and they also have a selling feed where you can get used baits for cheaper than new.

https://muskie.outdoorsfirst.com/board/category-view.asp

Not sure if I should plug their site here but if it helps you out then it was worth it.

A word of advise, be patient. Catching fish doesn't happen over night. It takes a lot of hours and a lot of focus to land fish. Don't throw in the towel right away. Stick with it.

Good luck

Thanks for the quick reply! Would you recommend the medium heavy or heavy 8' rods?

ABU 6500s are the model T of muskie reels. They are pretty basic and easy to maintain without killing your pocket book. Shimano has a reel in that same price range and it’s decent but the ABU is much easier to clean and replace parts when they wear. 

For rods...geez, I would probably suggest an 8ft rod with a medium fast tip as an all around rod. I’m not sure on the model but I have a Shimano 8ft rod that can cover all of the bases and I paid less than $100 for it. Other companies make solid “bargain” rods as well. It’s just that I found that one and thought what the heck...I’ll add it to the dozen or so that I have already. No need to get the specialized rods for the real heavy stuff just yet...if at all. 

Baits...ask 100 people and you’ll get 1000 different replies. Word of caution, don’t go and buy a “hot bait” based on how much it’s hyped up. So no need to stock up on a dozen double 10’s or a dozen bulldawgs, or a dozen of something else. I’d start with 5-6 different baits and learn how to use them well before forking over thousands of dollars on stuff you are convinced you “need.....”

I have around 20k invested in baits. I only need 6. A DDD, a dive/rise bait like a Suick or Burt, a walk the dog surface bait, a Hellhound, a tail spinning surface bait like a tap dancer or pacemaker, and a Bondy for jigging....but I have much, much more than that. Those are the ones I use. I will use bucktails but will only do so under very specific conditions that occur for maybe a week each year.