Shimano reel recommendation to pair with 9'4" Mod-Fast Surf Casting / Musky Rod?

[RipHair]

I do some shore fishing every once in a while and I generally throw up to 1oz blades or jigs for Snook, Redfish, etc.. I'm currently using my SB843-3 MH 7'0 rod with a dying Abu Revo STX reel with 20lb test power pro braid. I plan on building this rod https://batsonenterprises.com/rainshadow-rod-blanks/revelation-rx7-4-piece-multipurpose-travel-revelation-rx7-4-piece-multipurpose-travel

 

to do a bit better with my surf fishing and also maybe consider using it for musky and pike on lakes if it makes sense. All of my reels are basically Shimano Curado DC/Scorpion except for this Abu. Just curious if I can get away with running another Curado DC or similar (actually I don't like the DC sound, I guess the M or K is the one I should consider?). Some people like the Tranx and that might be worth considering for this particular build but curious to hear y'alls recommendation here!

[Susky River Rat]

I have two tranx 500 for musky. Bullet proof workhorses that are well worth the money.  One on an 9’ assault stick shock and awe the other on a st croix big dawg legend tournament. I run 80lb cortland masterbraid. 

[Dwight Hottle]

Tranx 300 or curado 300 would be my choice. You could get by with a conquest 200. 

[Further North]

I use bass sized gear for almost all my conventional musky fishing. 

 

It works fine.

 

I have one "musky rod"; it seldom goes in the boat. 

[RipHair]

On 12/30/2023 at 10:21 PM, Further North said:

I use bass sized gear for almost all my conventional musky fishing. 

 

It works fine.

 

I have one "musky rod"; it seldom goes in the boat. 

Same here, most of my rods are 7'0 and I would even say my musky rods aren't even very powerful. I wonder now if it's even worth building a 9'4 rod for ocean surf fishing using a regular bass reel.

 

[Further North]

4 hours ago, RipHair said:

Same here, most of my rods are 7'0 and I would even say my musky rods aren't even very powerful. I wonder now if it's even worth building a 9'4 rod for ocean surf fishing using a regular bass reel.

 

I don't know enough about ocean surf fishing to help you out there.

[gim]

I’ve got a couple of Calcutta reels that I like using for muskie fishing. They are smooth as butter. But they aren’t cheap.

[Susky River Rat]

On 12/30/2023 at 10:21 PM, Further North said:

I use bass sized gear for almost all my conventional musky fishing. 

 

It works fine.

 

I have one "musky rod"; it seldom goes in the boat. 

If he plans on burning double 10s and ripping mag dawgs I have no clue how bass equipment will hold up. I broke 3 musky rods a blew up two musky reels trying to keep up with this. My shock and awe rod is rated up to 24oz lure. The big dawg is rated 6-12oz. 
 

 

[Further North]

14 hours ago, Susky River Rat said:

If he plans on burning double 10s and ripping mag dawgs I have no clue how bass equipment will hold up. I broke 3 musky rods a blew up two musky reels trying to keep up with this. My shock and awe rod is rated up to 24oz lure. The big dawg is rated 6-12oz. 

I agree with all of that.

...I seldom use big baits, and catch a bunch of muskies...

[gim]

1 hour ago, Further North said:

I seldom use big baits, and catch a bunch of muskies

I also downsized most of my presentations years ago.

 

I still use some very large muskie lures though too.  But most of the time I am now using "smaller" muskie lures.  Mostly because I got sick of just trying to catch big foot.  With smaller presentations, I catch muskies of all sizes instead.  I'm fine with catching small ones as long as there's still a chance at a larger one.  They're hard to catch regardless of size.

[Susky River Rat]

@gimruis i have never personally saw a directly link between the bigger bait bigger fish. I’ve caught 26” fish on mag dawgs and double cow girls thr same as I’ve caught 45” on them. In fact I had a time where I was only throwing small stuff because I thought I was missing out from all thr pro small bait guys and did terribly I’m talking almost a season. Went back to my big stuff fished fast and aggressive my net started getting filled. 

[gim]

6 minutes ago, Susky River Rat said:

i have never personally saw a directly link between the bigger bait bigger fish.

 

Ya I don't necessarily think that bigger baits equal bigger fish either.  I just think that smaller lures target more fish because a smaller muskie is more likely to bite a smaller lure than one that is bigger than its head.  And there's a lot more smaller muskies in any given body of water than there are bigger ones; that's no different than bass or any other game fish species.

 

The other reason I have been throwing smaller presentations is to preserve energy.  I can only toss those massive lures for a few hours at time before my wrists, arms, and shoulders wear out.  When I downsize, I can do it longer.  More hours fishing generally increases the odds of catching more fish.