ugly stik musky rod?

[AaronKrick]

...and I thought bass fishing was an investment!! Holy shnikies, non of that is cheap!

I said the same thing when i read it! It's one thing spending $300 on a salmon and steelhead rod, but on a musky rod holy!

 

[weemalky]

AAhh but you don't fish musky you hunt them,haha.Beside sturgeon isn't it our biggest fish?Might as well have the right gear. The guy who got the record was trolling for walleye I believe, and he brought it in on regular gear, just lucky I think.I have an old 6' one piece Fenwick 2-5 oz 15-30lb, nice rod, used to troll and cast with it. Everything is more specialized now it seems you need a different rod for every occasion.Worked on a job with a guy who was with Muskies Canada who handmade these huge basswood lures to simulate walleye,which they added weight to. They were the biggest lures I'd seen for freshwater. No idea what rod he used for those. I had some fairly large jointed and one piece jerkbaits but these were sick. Everything musky is large scale, I think I had 50lb braided dacron, heavy leaders and huge swivels. Only went a few times too, it's been in the garage for years.

 

[weemalky]

thanks man, and on those lures.. the prices on them scare me too.

I can't imagine ripping a 15 dollar lure, but I guess I'll get to have that experience soon.

If you get hooked you better learn to carve your own- it's cheaper

 

[iamnickevans]

AAhh but you don't fish musky you hunt them,haha.Beside sturgeon isn't it our biggest fish?Might as well have the right gear. The guy who got the record was trolling for walleye I believe, and he brought it in on regular gear, just lucky I think.I have an old 6' one piece Fenwick 2-5 oz 15-30lb, nice rod, used to troll and cast with it. Everything is more specialized now it seems you need a different rod for every occasion.Worked on a job with a guy who was with Muskies Canada who handmade these huge basswood lures to simulate walleye,which they added weight to. They were the biggest lures I'd seen for freshwater. No idea what rod he used for those. I had some fairly large jointed and one piece jerkbaits but these were sick. Everything musky is large scale, I think I had 50lb braided dacron, heavy leaders and huge swivels. Only went a few times too, it's been in the garage for years.

I wish most of my lures only cost $15...I'd be rich!!!!!

In the picture below I have shown a standard musky lure setup, they range from 6" to 20" in length and anywhere from 1oz to 1 POUND! This is why it is crucial to have more then 1 rod.

COLDHANDS- was the person you worked with named Shawn? If so the two lures on the bottom of the picture where made by him. They are called HOSEBAITS and they are amazing, they cost about $80 a piece.

 

[fishermandan420]

i use 65 pound minimum . if i hook bottom or a tree i want to be able to straighten the hook to get my lure back. usually have to wrap the line around a paddle or something and drive the boat. losing baits really sucks. never left one in a fish tho... lebarons has some long (7'6 +)rods under the 200 mark. looking forward to a 8 foot composite (grap/glass) for trolling next year.
(ps nick-lovin those dadsons too! great,well made bait for the price!)

 

[iamnickevans]

i use 65 pound minimum . if i hook bottom or a tree i want to be able to straighten the hook to get my lure back. usually have to wrap the line around a paddle or something and drive the boat. losing baits really sucks. never left one in a fish tho... lebarons has some long (7'6 +)rods under the 200 mark. looking forward to a 8 foot composite (grap/glass) for trolling next year.
(ps nick-lovin those dadsons too! great,well made bait for the price!)

I know Johnny well, he makes some AMAZING baits. They are easily the nicest blade baits on the market! if you need some just let me know.

 

[weemalky]

I wish most of my lures only cost $15...I'd be rich!!!!!

In the picture below I have shown a standard musky lure setup, they range from 6" to 20" in length and anywhere from 1oz to 1 POUND! This is why it is crucial to have more then 1 rod.

COLDHANDS- was the person you worked with named Shawn? If so the two lures on the bottom of the picture where made by him. They are called HOSEBAITS and they are amazing, they cost about $80 a piece.

No, his name was Chris, pm me if you want his full name.

 

[redneckchromer]

whats all this talk about heavy action rods 80# lead and 50# main line? I caught a ski on 8 pound mainline 5.6 pound raven flouro and a 13' clarus float pole! :mrgreen: hahaha

 

[topwaterjoe]

"I do not mean to go on a rant, but..."

It is kind of annoying how sport fishing is an applied science. Specific rods for specific lures for specific conditions -- which is why tackle companies pay mush-mouthed dipsticks to plug as much hardware in 22 minutes as they can. In turn, we fork over wads of our hard-earned cash and end up hiring sherpas to load our fifty rods and Volkswagen sized tackle boxes onto our barge sized boats loaded with more marine electronics than the entire Navy combined!

 

[AaronKrick]

"I do not mean to go on a rant, but..."

It is kind of annoying how sport fishing is an applied science. Specific rods for specific lures for specific conditions -- which is why tackle companies pay mush-mouthed dipsticks to plug as much hardware in 22 minutes as they can. In turn, we fork over wads of our hard-earned cash and end up hiring sherpas to load our fifty rods and Volkswagen sized tackle boxes onto our barge sized boats loaded with more marine electronics than the entire Navy combined!

Hahahaha!

 

[apz245]

Thanks for all the good information nickevans, I was actually considering the Browning medallion GT, and almost bought it over the BPS rod the , but the ones available were only 1/2-2 ounces and I thought that was too low of a lure rating.

I'll probably mostly use this rod for Pike, which I probably should have mentioned, I read a guide to said to go with a shorter muskie rod for your first rod (i really thought it was weird though, to buy such a short rod when the trend is for longer and longer rods)

I've always seen professional musky fishermen fishing with such heavy line, and wonder why (i've landed 25 lb salmon on 20 lb line, but fishing for salmon you don't go through as many weeds/snags.
I'll take your advice and switch over to 50 lb braid)

now considering i'm gonna be going only a few times a year for musky when I get a boat, its hard to justify spending so much on a rod.

I just needed something to get those bigger lures out there, even if I won't be able to throw anything except jerkbaits, it should still be okay for chucking bigger spoons?
anyway, if I do get more into musky fishing (i hope to, but lately I've had a hard enough time just catching pike) I'll have this as my jerkbait rod, and buy something longer for those bucktails.

as of recently I was using a 6'6 6-15 lb rated spinning rod for throwing my lures and it seemed a bit light, gonna use this for live bait and bass/trout/general spinning now

 

[apz245]

"I do not mean to go on a rant, but..."

It is kind of annoying how sport fishing is an applied science. Specific rods for specific lures for specific conditions -- which is why tackle companies pay mush-mouthed dipsticks to plug as much hardware in 22 minutes as they can. In turn, we fork over wads of our hard-earned cash and end up hiring sherpas to load our fifty rods and Volkswagen sized tackle boxes onto our barge sized boats loaded with more marine electronics than the entire Navy combined!

lol, great post, my feelings exactly.

also nickevans, thanks again for all the info. I'll just get some jerkbaits for now and no bucktails/soft plastics, and upgrade my line

 

[sunny14]

Buy The Freakin Rod!! It ain't Rocket Science!!

 

[iamnickevans]

whats all this talk about heavy action rods 80# lead and 50# main line? I caught a ski on 8 pound mainline 5.6 pound raven flouro and a 13' clarus float pole! :mrgreen: hahaha

I caught my first musky on 6ft light action rod with 6Lb test, it was a great fight!

 

[iamnickevans]

Also agree!! THIS might be an example.

I was browsing around for Muskie/Pike Lures. "Mu Frankenspitz" popped up at $60.00US for the 8" one.

I mean, Look at that thing!! A good size Pike would probably tear that thing to Shreds in One Pass!!

By Surprize, I found a Biggy that I've been draggin' around for at least 15 Years and forgot the name of.

From LeBarons. "Drifter Believer" 10" for $17.99. THAT'S a Heavy Duty Lure! Can't recall Catching Much with it but I Fish mostly Bucketmouths.

Rods & Reels are the same thing. New Models of Everything Every Year!

The "Combo" below is My 20 Year Old Penn Peer 209M on a "Major" Glass Trolling Rod. I tore the Reel done a while back. Perfect Shape! Clean, regrease and back together in an hour.

Bet you Dollars To Donuts they aren't that Well Made Today!!

Some of the rods and reels today are cheap as crap, you get what you pay for and sometimes you get ripped off! I have several older rods and reels that I absolutely love and they take a hell of a beating! Having said that I have bought several reels over the years that have BLOWN UP after fighting large fish. Those reels were all cheaper and simply weren't designed with quality in mind.

As for rods and reels being well made today....... I'll be the first to tell you that there is a lot of crap out there, no doubt. If you spend the money and get something that is high quality and take care of your equipment it should last you a lifetime!

One of the reels I use is a Shimano Calcutta 400TE which is a few years old, it cost over $400 and it is an absolute TANK!!! The Penn Peer 209M.....A great reel also, it was made with quality parts and is a TANK as well! The "major" glass rod is a fantastic rod for trolling because of it's glass technology, it will also take a beating because it's made of glass where as a high end graphite rod isn't as durable but has other benefits. The newer high end rods are usually made from high composite graphite which has incredible performance and for certain applications such as casting large bucktails, it cannot be beat!
The newer trolling rods tend to have a glass/graphite blend which is amazing, you get the softness of glass and the strength and weight reduction of graphite.

You can catch fish with any rod and any reel, but over the course of a lifetime quality "well built" equipment and perfectly matched equipment for the application you are doing will benefit you in the long run! You don't need to buy all the new equipment all the time, that is simply a waste of money, but if you fish 150 + days a year like myself, you want something that holds up and I'll bet my life that a $29.99 Canadian Tire special will be the first to blow!

Here is a video from a Gary Loomis explaining the differences in technology: My link

 

[[email protected]]

10wt fly rod......you know you want to

musky fishing is one beast i haven't tackled, i thought fly fishing was expensive, losing a dozen or so flies at $1.50 each doesn't sound so bad

 

[weemalky]

Some of the rods and reels today are cheap as crap, you get what you pay for and sometimes you get ripped off! I have several older rods and reels that I absolutely love and they take a hell of a beating! Having said that I have bought several reels over the years that have BLOWN UP after fighting large fish. Those reels were all cheaper and simply weren't designed with quality in mind.

As for rods and reels being well made today....... I'll be the first to tell you that there is a lot of crap out there, no doubt. If you spend the money and get something that is high quality and take care of your equipment it should last you a lifetime!

One of the reels I use is a Shimano Calcutta 400TE which is a few years old, it cost over $400 and it is an absolute TANK!!! The Penn Peer 209M.....A great reel also, it was made with quality parts and is a TANK as well! The "major" glass rod is a fantastic rod for trolling because of it's glass technology, it will also take a beating because it's made of glass where as a high end graphite rod isn't as durable but has other benefits. The newer high end rods are usually made from high composite graphite which has incredible performance and for certain applications such as casting large bucktails, it cannot be beat!
The newer trolling rods tend to have a glass/graphite blend which is amazing, you get the softness of glass and the strength and weight reduction of graphite.

You can catch fish with any rod and any reel, but over the course of a lifetime quality "well built" equipment and perfectly matched equipment for the application you are doing will benefit you in the long run! You don't need to buy all the new equipment all the time, that is simply a waste of money, but if you fish 150 + days a year like myself, you want something that holds up and I'll bet my life that a $29.99 Canadian Tire special will be the first to blow!

Here is a video from a Gary Loomis explaining the differences in technology: My link

Also have a Penn209, levelwind, great reel! You get what you pay for.

 

[apz245]

I'm gonna grab a couple of jerkbaits for this rod for ice out, what colours/patterns do you guys find work well? I'm gonna be using these lures for pike mostly and occasionally musky, and once im ready to start fishing musky more I'll get a better/longer rod for bucktails/topwaters.

I'm assuming I just use the same colours as for pike?

also anyone have any experience with the musky mania or grandmas musky lures?

thanks

 

[sunny14]

?????????????????

 

[iamnickevans]

I'm gonna grab a couple of jerkbaits for this rod for ice out, what colours/patterns do you guys find work well? I'm gonna be using these lures for pike mostly and occasionally musky, and once im ready to start fishing musky more I'll get a better/longer rod for bucktails/topwaters.

I'm assuming I just use the same colours as for pike?

also anyone have any experience with the musky mania or grandmas musky lures?

thanks

Where do you plan on doing most of your fishing, if you let me know I can tell you some specific colour and bait patterns?

A general guideline is to try to match the hatch in the waterbody you are fishing. Start off with the usual, black/silver, white, perch,blue silver,orange/gold and pink( pike love PINK). Ice out pike can be very lazy but predictable. Your presentation needs to be slow. I suggest simple jerkbaits that suspend like Husky jerks. The key for ice out pike is the having long pauses (up to 30 seconds). Another good pattern is 5"-7" plastic jerkbaits with loads of scent on them worked very slow. With water temps usually being no more then 4 degrees for a week or two after ice out the pike usually don't move far from spawning sites and can be easily spotted while site fishing in clear water.

I have tons of experience with Musky mania and grandmas, I typically use them for trolling and jerkbaits in summer and fall for musky. They usually work well for musky. I don't use them for ice out pike at all.

Hope this helps!