New to Muskies...Braided or Mono?

[HunteR]

Mornin

I just loaded up on some Musky tackle. We (Lil guy and I) are very interested in trying to catch "FISHZILLA"

We aquired some Bagley's Bango B's, Monster Shads, and Deep Diving Bango's, Rapala Super Shad Rap's, REBEL Jointed Minnows, Minnowlure Deep Cranks, Storm Shallow Thunder's and Deep Thunder's, Creek Chub Striper Strike's and a variety of Bucktails > Mepps Muskie Killers!

I am currently looking into the spinner baits.

All baits are 6" to 13" in length with diving ranges from 2 to 17 feet.

Steel liters @30lb in both black and silver 9" and 12".

I picked these lures out thru memory of what I saw Grandparents and uncles use when we were in Minn. as a very young boy.

I am using Ambassaduer 6500CL3's and 6000's (Both models have bait alert and the only difference I can see is gear ratio. 6.3.1 and 5.3.1) on 7 Ft. 1 pc Heavy Action rods.

I know the CL series are better choices but I remember well the folks catching em on plain ole 5000's as a child. (Some of those reels outlived their owners!)

>>>My main concern...I strung them with braided 50lb > 12lb dia line. > Power Pro...I am partial to Spider Wire but keep hearing how well Power Pro performs.

Will this work or will the lack of stretch destroy our new reels?

I am noticing when refering to line most are saying Mono of at least 30lb test.

Any input is welcomed, on the line or baits > know of something we should add?

Thanx

Dave

BTW > Realease tools... Lip Grip?

How/Where are these guys holding these fish in pics? Under the jaw it appears?

Some of the old timers grabbed em buy the eye sockets, but I know this to be a NO NO or the fish will be injured upon release. They kept alot of Pike and Musky to eat up there, so maybe this is why they handled them this way, I donno.

But I would like to know how to handle these montsers so they are returned unharmed to the water and we keep our fingers!

[basscat73]

60lb braid is the way to go.

You need a huge net.

AFTER THE FISH IS IN THE NET:

Once in the net, remove the lure. You must, I repeat, YOU MUST, own the the fish when you pick him up to take a quick pic. Use one hand to grab him underneath the gill plate, grip must be firm. Use your other hand to grab him underneath the other end, just like in my profile pic. If you don't have complete control, he may thrash, you'll drop him and you could really injure him. Don't keep him out of the water any longer than necessary. A minute or so is plenty long.

TO RELEASE THE FISH:

Lay him back down in the water. He'll be tired from the fight and from being out of the water. Grab him just in front of his tail, point him away from the boat and gently move him forward and backward in the water to get water flowing through his gills. He should wake up a little and let you know when he's ready to swim away.

[.ghoti.]

Power Pro and Spiderwire are both OK. I have two muskie rods, and have both lines loaded. 50lb test on each. The only thing I'd suggest different is the leader. 9" is not long enough. A big muskie will easily get past that and get it's teeth into your line. Nothing worse than seeing a big one swim away with a bait stuck in it's throat. I don't care what people say about hooks rusting away. It may happen in saltwater. In fresh water it ain't gonna happen in time for the fish to survive. I've been using Tygerwire for leaders, and I make them around two feet long. You can tie a knot in Tygerwire. A 2 1/2 turn clinch knot works best for me. All my muskie baits have the wire tied on, with a swivel on the other end. When I change baits, the leader wire and swivel stay on the bait.

A grip will help when remove the bait from the fish. I'm using a Rapala Lok-N-Weigh. Works just fine and is half the cost of the Boga Grip. A lot of guys around here use Boga's. A really big net is a must. Don't even think about going without it.

The Abu's will work just fine. They are almost indestructible. I leave my drag a bit on the loose side, and thumb the spool for the hookset. This will minimize the stress on the reels spool and bearings.

One overlooked option for baits is the largest size Senko's and Yum Dingers. I've done very well with those the last couple of years.

Good luck, muskie are a blast.

Cheers,

GK

[MALTESE FALCON]

basscat73 and ghoti gave you some very good advice. I use Abu Garcia reels on all three of my muskie rods. They will handle anything the muskies can hand out.

Good luck,

Falcon

[basser89]

I've been using Cortland's Musky Mono the past couple of years and really like it. I have 25lbb test spooled up on both my Abu's and haven't had any problems with it. I also have a Rapala Lok-N-Weigh. The only problem I've had with mine is on BIG fish I have had trouble getting the grip on the fish's mouth. They can tear up the fish as well. Lindey's glove should be another investment to consider! They can save your fingers if you have should slip when you have hold of the gill plate!!!! When my partner first showed me these gloves, he put the glove on and took one of his hooks (that he keeps razor sharp) and jabbed it down in the glove. The hook never went through! I put the glove on and tried the same, felt the pressure but the hook never went through! I have to agree with ghoti on the leader size. 9" is pretty small (IMO). My partner, who's caught a good number of musky in the 45+ inch range, uses a 12" leader. I prefer an 18. Just to give you an idea of why I like the longer leaders, I managed to land a 45 incher last year. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to CPR that fish so I ended up bringing it home. One of the measurement I took was the length from the tip of its mouth to the back of the gill plate (basically what could fit in its mouth). It measured almost 12". If I can find the pic, I'll post it in a bit! You mentioned you're using heavy action rods. Are these heavy action bass rods or heavy action musky rods? A good musky (say 40" or bigger) will probably take all the backbone out of a heavy action bass rod and could break the rod if you're not careful! Hope this helps!

[HunteR]

WOW! Thanx for the input, please MORE!

K Bigger leaders > Got it!

A huge net, Got that too!

Now for the lok-n-weigh, well I bought a Berkley Lip Grip.

Lindey's Glove? I'll look into that TY, I have already been looking into the Musky Armor, I have gloves that could work till I get some better ones.

I am very pleased to hear that the reels and line are OK.

I have almost all Abu's for Bass as well, they last forever.

I bought a pair of Berkley Big Game Power Series. I looked at several high dollar trolling rods and Musky specific rods. But they are so expensive. Maybe by Fall I can get a good pair, but I am hoping this will get us in the game.

But still if these rods are not up to par, I am not going to be insulted by honest input, I can take it .

Honesty is to be respected, especially if wisdom and caring are the driving factors in that honesty!!!

Plus if these are not acceptable, I very much value your opinions, they have not been used yet and can be returned!!

You guys been alot of help, any other advice will be much appreciated!

Dave :)

[HunteR]

What say a lil feedback on the Berkley Big Game Rods...

Are they junk or will they suffice till I can get some really nice ones, and on that note what would some of you recommend as a good cast/troll rod for Musky?

[basser89]

I wish I could help ya on the rods! Unfortunately, I haven't heard anything about the Berkley Big Game rods. The only musky rods I'm familiar with are St Croix (what my fishing partner uses), Gander Mountain Guide Series (what I use) and Rapala (can't remember the exact model but that is what my Dad uses). I've checked out my the Croixs, they're great rods (IMO) but out of my price range ($120 and up). Depending on which one you'd chose, the Gander Mountain Guide Series start at $50 (unless the price has gone up). Can't remember the price range of the Rapala's. About 98% of the time, I fish for muskies on rivers and don't troll. I'd rather wear my arms out casting!!!!  ;D

[Red]

jaw spreaders....tie em to a long string and to the side of the boat

[basscat73]

For trolling, it helps to have a reel with a clicker, so that when a fish takes your lure, your reel will start clicking when line is being taken out. I use 7'7" All-Star rods for muskie fishing. I don't know about the Berkley rods though.

[HunteR]

Thank you ALL very much for the feed back.

Getting to warmer days but Ima still give her a whirl for a bit.

Looking forward to a post with a respectable Musky

Dave

[Don_B]

Good luck with your Muskie quest. A big one "on" definitlely gets your heart racing.

You ask if you have all the right stuff for this quest. Yes and no. Musky fishing is the same as all other fishing. It doesn't matter what lure, or this brand or that brand of braid. You can catch one 4' long on a tiny spoon, or one 18" long on a huge swimbait. Presentation, conditions and location are the most important thing, as with any other species. Sounds to me like you have more than all the right gear for a battle with one. Read up on Muskie habits and behaviour and you will definitely run into a few.......

If that just doesn't work, just go bass fishing with your most expensive lures on any lake or river that holds them, and....well....you'll see what happens!

[HunteR]

[muskiejason]

You definitely want to go with braided. Just be sure to pre-spool your reel with 30-40 yards of mono first, to prevent slippage. There's a really good buyer's guide here that talks about the best musky line.

[Allen Der]

11 hours ago, muskiejason said:

You definitely want to go with braided. Just be sure to pre-spool your reel with 30-40 yards of mono first, to prevent slippage. There's a really good buyer's guide here that talks about the best musky line.

This thread is 12 years old