I had a bit of a, well, "run in" with a big rock in some fast water last weekend in my kayak. While the incident could have been much worse, a storied and long lived musky setup of mine was lost and was the only major casualty other than my pride :(
First things first - never get complacent with mother nature. Not saying I was complacent, but I chose a bad line in some pretty thick rapids, and one of my favorite Rivers in the world, despite the multitude of great times on it, quickly reminded me who was boss.
Experiences like this are how we constantly learn and improve to reduce risk of bad events in the future. I had went a solid eight or nine years without a "river incident of note". Alas, live and learn!
Unfortunately I lost a reel and rod that simply aren't made any more. The rod was a St. Croix premier circa 2007, but it was a 6'2" extra heavy power. Just a phenomenal, short, river Musky rod. The giant lure, giant reel, giant musky boat revolution of the last ten years appears to have made that rod irrelevant. It's unfortunate because short rods like that are great for canoe or kayak fishing in tight rivers.
The reel on it was an Abu Garcia Record...also no longer available! The problem is I can't find the modern day equivalent of a Record. Am I just supposed to go with an Abu STX?
I know I could go with a C4 but I don't need the retrieve rate. Is there not a thumb bar release Abu Garcia in standard gearing for Muskie fishing these day?
That "beast" real is just not what I need. I mainly Musky fish on Rivers out of a small craft, or use my musky rod to troll medium baits for pike on inland lakes.
Bottom line, looking for suggestions on my new rig! No interest in some giant eight foot rod or winch style reel. Prefer St. Croix for Rod and Abu for reels, but would consider G Loomis or equivalent for the rod. EDIT jeez doesn't even look like G Loomis makes Muskie rods anymore...
