Lotsa Dumb Questions

[Fishoil]

I'm going to try musky fishing for the first time this year and could use some help getting set up. I want to be set up for both trolling and casting. I have been chasing walleyes almost exclusively for the last 10 plus years and have some of what I need. Well, here goes:

What reel(s) would you recommend for casting? I have several 7'6" Heavy flippin' sticks that I will put Diawa SG-47LC's on for trolling, will these work for casting as well? I would like to buy a small selection of baits, could you recommend a few good baits/colors? I'd like to keep my investment down do a couple hundred dollars if possible. Also I'd like to hire a guide for a day or two to move me along the learning curve faster, any recommendations for someone in northern Wisconsin.

I mainly chase trophy walleyes from spring thru ice-up, so if someone would like to get together for a "trade a trip", I'd be happy to trade knowledge. First good time for big eyes for me starts in mid-July on Green Bay.

Sorry about the long post, but when you don't know much, it's easy to get carried away.

[jlong]

Fishoil,
I'd love to help get you addicted to muskies.... especially if you can offer insight to cracking GREEN BAY!!!! Email me and I'll see what I can do to help. I've been eyeing up Green Bay as my next bottle to crack for big skis... and I'm sure your baitfish (walleye) experience would come in REAL handy. This could be the beginning of a beautiful relationship (ha ha). Plus, I have lots of "old" gear and lures you may be interested in.

jlong

[Da Bears]

Fishoil-

There are never dumb ?'s in musky fishing. As far as reels, you can't go wrong with the Abu 6500c3! GREAT reel for casting/trolling. As far as rods, a good med/heavy or heavy action rod as needed. I have some Tony Rizzo musky rods, and I now use St. Croix! Night and Day between the two. Casting heavy lures all day is MUCH easier with a good rod. They may be expensive, but worth it! Cortland Musky Master line is a great line, and not overly pricey.

As far as lures, everyone will tell you something different. You can't go wrong with these lures though: Bucher Top Raider, Suicks, a bunch of different bucktails, and some shallow/depth raiders.

If you check Rollie and Helens online website for lures, you will see the amount of different lures, so everyone will have a different 'favorite' lure. They ALL work under the right conditions!

Good luck. Hope this helped!

DB

[fishpoop]

The diawa reel you listed is a great trolling reel, I have two. But I wouldn't recomend casting with them, unless you like to pick backlashes out of your line. Also they are to heavy to cast all day. They would wear your arms and wrists out. Get yourself a good quality casting reel from Abu Garcia or Shimano.

[happy hooker]

The flippin sticks should be fine for bucktails trolling,,you have to add a stiff jerkbait rod though in 6-6 1/2 ft ,,,for lures definitly a 10 inch jake most versatile lure there is,,,troll it, cast it. use it for a jerkbait,,,also 8 inch belivers same thing troll,cast.jerk, vipers can be used has surface baits and with the screw in weights has a underwater glide bait, $200 wont go far fof lures so these multi purpose baits might be the way to go

[Michael]

fishoil:This is a great sight you have chosen.All the folks on this sight know what they write!mORE INFO ON THIS SIGHT THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE!As a new comer my self its nice to see more nebies WELCOME!!!!!!

[Fishoil]

Thank you everybody for the input. I didn't realize that this board gets this much use, I spend most of my time on the walleye (or as jlong said: bait :-)) board. Does anyone have any recommendations as far as lure colors? Are perch and firetiger go-to colors as in walleye cranks? How about bucktails, what size or color?

[MuskyGal]

I will give you my musky stuff in trade for walleye stuff...they are much more fun and plentiful and you can eat them too!

[Fishoil]

You're gonna need a lot of muskie stuff if we're going to make that trade. I've got enough walleye stuff to open my own sporting goods store. Thankfully walleye crankbaits are cheap compared to muskie cranks. :-)

[Finbar]

For bucktails between black and silver and black and chartreuse (or orange if you are on a flowage) you can cover most of the waters you will fish. Get a big French blade (#5-7) and you are probably in business just about anywhere. You don’t need to throw the truly magnum stuff, and should probably stick to baits in the 6-9” range.

Personally, I’m not a fire-tiger fan unless I’m feeling really wild but other guys swear buy it. I like the natural colors and contrast on baits.

If you go with a guide he should have gear for you to use, so play with his stuff and see what you are most comfortable with. Check out Muskies101.com and Ty Sennet for Wisconsin guides.

[MRoberts]

Fishoil,
You may be able to get started with a heavy flippin’ stick and a quality bait casting reel. Even a bass reel will get you started. You should be able to cast some Mepps Musky Killers with that set up wich are probably the most underrated lures out there. As you progress you will want to get a Musky specialty stick. I would recommend the St. Croix PM6HF as a good one to start. You can throw almost any musky bait made with this rod. Though as you get more experienced you will see the need for different rods for different situations. I would get a Abu 6500C3 to put on the rod. That set up will cost you roughly $200.00 but it is well worth it.

As far as baits, as I said I would start with the Mepps Musky Killer and work larger. For cranks I would get a 6" Jake, Depth Raider and a 10" Jake or Grandma. For Jerks I would get a 7" Suick, 9" Suick, a 6" Reef Hawg and a Jerko. For topwater I would start with a Bucher Topraider and a Husky Hawg Wobbler. The above selection of baits will cost about $135.

More important then all the above information is to try and get in the boat with someone who knows what they are doing. A day on the water with an experienced person is worth a year of trying to figure this sport out on your own.

If you can hook up with Jlong by all means do it. He knows his ##### and I am sure would be glad to trade you some of his musky techniques for structure information on Green Bay. I started fishing with Jason two years into my musky obsession and he has taught me more then I know.

As far as Green Bay goes, weed edges and break lines are a good place to start any place you plan to musky fish. With your knowledge of Green Bay you will be fishing for World Class Ski from the get go.

Considering the size potential you have in Green Bay it would pay to make some trips to numbers waters and try and get a few ski under your belt before you tie into the mother load. There are a number of excellent guides in the Vilas/Oneida counties area. You can’t beat Roger Sabota (715-369-2283)for his knowledge of these fish and the area. I have spent a number of days on the water with him and learn every time out. Also a good buddy of mine (Oneida Esox) and a frequent contributor to these boards, is thinking about guiding this year. Drop me and email and I will get you in contact with him, or find a post of his here or on the Musky Hunter board and email him directly.

The other good thing about fishing with a guide is you can use there equipment, most guys have a wide variety of rods and reels you can get a feel for a rod and decide if you like it or not. Considering the investment you will be making, it is well worth the money spent on a guide to get started down the road correctly.

Good Luck and

Nail A Pig!

Mike

Let 'em go, Let 'em Grow