Musky rods are where it's at for swimbaits !!! I don't know what musky rod you've been using !! I only use musky blanks for swimbait rods , bass swimbait rods handles are way to short and most of them are 8' and under , a good swimbait rod is preferably 8'6" or longer , plus , if you throw big baits , like musky fishermen do , you want a rod that can handle the 10-16 oz. Baits . I'm going to have a St.Croix 9' h ( Big Nasty) rod blank built , spiral wrapped with micro guides !! So make no mistake , musky rods/blanks make EXCELLENT swimbait rods !!!!