Hooligan

I use Ocho's and Zero's quite a bit, but my highest rate of catch is still on Senko originals.

Yes. Seriously, though, fishing the edges and right in the middle. making full coverage casts and hitting holes and pockets in the vegetation. I've caught some of my biggest fish this way.

It's private label Seaguar. At least, as of two years ago it was. I'm not sure of the actual "grade" or composition in comparison to Seaguar's own lines.

I haven't found any of the Cumara's to be tip heavy, other than the 7-11 MHeavy Xfast. Are you fishing them with a dime size reel with 3 yards of mono on em? Seriously though, I haven't had thta impression on any of them. X2 I rigged them side by side w/ Core 100mg. Cumara is a tad tip heavy. You should try to test the phenix rods and you'll know what i'm talking about. Even my buddies who own cumaras and core 100 mg have the same observation when they compared it with the phenix. They did not know it's a tad tip heavy until they got a chance to hold a phenix.. I politely disagree. The two Phenix rods that I did own were my two least favorite rods. They didn't feel right at all in my hand, and didn't balance out with a Curado or a Core the way my Cumara's do.

I've got three CUC69MH in the line. I'm very happy with the rod for throwing spinner baits, buzzbaits, and some larger square bills. It's not the perfect rod for big wake baits, but it does alright. The rods are very sensitive, light and comfortable in the hand. If the rod is in good shape, $150 isn't out of line at all.

I like the TT heads, as well as the Secret Lures and Omega. I can't get the Omega in 1/16th anymore and that's a bit of a dislike for me. When it comes to fishing the 3X or Elaztech Strike King, I really like their shakey head for it. Dunno what it is, or why it is, but my hook-up ratio with the Elaztech is terrible on any other jig.

Classic.

I hate it. Terrible abrasion resistance, horrible knot strength, and really crazy differences in stretch between diameters and even spools of different lines at the same diameter. I'd been fishing it for quite a little bit, thinking that I'd give it the benefit of the doubt, maybe I'd left the spool out or something. No dice, of the four spools I've had, all four are just not a product I've been happy with.

Sorry for the thread necromancy, but I was wondering how you're liking this RW? I've been using Tatsu most of this season and have really grown to love it. It's got the right stretch and it remains reasonably supple. The knot strength is better than any fluoro that I've used, and the castability is far greater than a more stiff line. The problem I've had with it thus far is that it really isn't a good line for some of the gold pit lakes I fish in CA. I've had some abrasion problems, but I think I've had worse problems with other fluoro lines that I've fished in the past. The initial price is a bit rough, but so far it's lasting a lot longer than most of the competitors I've used. (BTW I searched specifically to see if anyone else had brought the line up, I'm curious to see what others think of it.)

A-Jay is dead on. The biggest, fattest pike are found in the trout waters. Northern oligotrophic waters produce some supertanker's of pike and muskies. In regards to what my favorite pike baits are: When we fish Wabigoon for big pike, we're fishing muskies at the same time. We fish the same baits for pike and muskies on a lot of the Shield lakes that we fish. In WI and MN, without a doubt my favorite pike bait is a double showgirl inline.

I see a lot of guys that state they'll fish another bait when they can't get a spinnerbait through the cover. In thick weeds and grass that isn't matted, that's one of my favorite tactics. 1oz spinner bait in a grey or bluegill color slam it home and grind it out. Is grinding the slop not known as a productive pattern in bass fishing as it is in other species?

I run all my treble baits on Med Mod or equivalent. Two of my favorite rods happen to be Avids. 6'6" and the 7' med mod.

Thanks RW. Now that I think about it, you'd pointed out that same rod for the application in question another time.

I haven't found any of the Cumara's to be tip heavy, other than the 7-11 MHeavy Xfast. Are you fishing them with a dime size reel with 3 yards of mono on em? Seriously though, I haven't had thta impression on any of them.

I guess my take on it is a little different. The "flick" fishing is usually something that gets be downrelatively quickly to produce a reaction strike. Shake it a couple times when you're down and let it be for a second or two. No strike, I usually don't fish it back. A whacky, I cast, let it drop, pop it up, let it drop, all the way back to the boat. Fishing a flick, I'm usually targeting specific spots of cover and structure, usually not the case when I'm fishing a whacky, it's more a general pattern for me.

You may want to shy away from Muskie rods, then. Even if they are labeled that they have a moderate action, its very hard to bend them enough to tell under normal circumstances. I don't know if I have ever felt a muskie rod that wasn't near impossible to bend. Then you're not handling the right muskie rods. Seriously, though, look at the 7'6" Premier Muskie.

I've switched the vast majority of my rods to Cumara this year. I still have a lot of Loomis and St Croix, as well as a handful of others, but I've been very happy with the Cumara. I also have some Crucial rods, including the drop shot rods and really like them. They're light, they're sensitive, and they have a great warranty. They're no GLX, but they're a great rod for the money.

I have the LTB in the same action, but how similar are these two? I want another Senko/Ika rod, and am thinking of the Avid would do it. I remember someone saying that they're a really nice rod for that purpose, but then I also recall someone else saying I wouldn't be happy with the rod for that purpose, based on what the LTB feels like. It's either the Avid or another Cumara. Any advice?

St Croix Avid 7' Med Mod.

I find that very hard to believe, given that the rod I mention is touted as a great all around rod for everything from jerkbaits and gliders to blade baits and light swimbaits. Most of the time we're talking the same sizes of swimbaits in regards to muskies and bass. It's about the only similarity you'd ever find between bass fishing and muskie fishing.

I use my Premier 7'6" MHF Muskie for swim baits, pull baits, and other larger baits with great results. I like the rod a lot for throwing super shads and up to 10" swimbaits. (Depends on the maker of the bait, of course. For massive swim baits I'm throwing a LTB 8' XHF.

Love the Cavitron, not real fond of the shakey heads and jigs. I've popped the jigs apart in the rocks quite often. The durability of the skirts is something that I've also had a problem with. I think the biggest thing that deters me from coming back for the jigs is that it is near $2 more per jig that I've not had the greatest durability with. Don't get me wrong, they catch fish and typically they fish well. If I were putting money on the line in tournaments on a more regular basis, I might have a different opinion. Yet, when it comes down to it, I've not had any problems with the jigs I regularly fish, and don't feel bad about the $2 I spend on one, either.

Muskies are my primary target species. (When I'm not forced to work in CA, that is...) I run pretty much all St. Croix, Okuma, and Shimano rods, with a handful of Loomis thrown in. Most of them are paired with Calcutta 400TE, with a couple Abu Toros, Lunas, and Trinidads thrown in. I'm a huge fan of gliders, with well over 1200 baits. I think I end up buying them more for the paint than anything else. There are some fantastic painters in the muskie world. When it comes to hooks and the like, I tend to match what was on the bait in terms of shank length and dimension. If you fail to do so, most of the time the bait just won't work right with another hook. The absolute best hooks I've come across as a replacement for most gliders and topwater baits is the VMC 9617BZ. If you're a glider guy, try to find a Beaver "Perka". You can find them from him directly, and a few places you'll see one pop up from time to time. Warlocks are a great bait as well. Don't go chasing muskies without a 10" Weagle, either. I hae landed 3 50"+ fish on a 10", and know of at least 40 more 50" class fish to the bait. Another great glider is the Wabuull. They were recently purchased by Suick and should be in production in full. When it comes to blade baits, there are a TON out there, in Safety-pin style baits my choice is either a Grinder, Llungen Nut-Buster, or Ruff Rad Dog. In inlines, I have several hundred from Mayhem, a few more from Holcombe, a bunch more from Hirsch, even more from Eagletail and Mepp's. After bicep surgery two years ago, I have never gained enough strength and coordination to fish muskies. That and I just don't get the chance since I'm in CA all the time now. It's a sickness, a madness, a descent in the pits of the unknown. But man what RUSH it is when you pop a 50". PM me if you are looking for specific info on things, I'll try to point you in the best direction's I know. You might go check out the boards at Muskiefirst, too. They're super helpful and there's a greater wealth of muskie information over there than is contained in the rest of the web as a collective.

All I have on my Calcutta 400's and Trinidads for muskies. I have one 301 swimbait rod with 65 on it. I dig it a lot.

Not a bowfin, tail is wrong, as are the teeth. Doesn't look like esox, either, given the teeth are in rows opposed to being in a patch. I'm stumped, too.