New Muskie Fisherman

[acafisherman19]

Hey all,

I have fished for muskies a little bit with a couple of smaller lures(7" Suick Thriller and Shallow Bull Dawg) on a medium action 7' spinning rod just for fun, and have just caught two muskies that way, 34" and 36". I am looking to fish muskies a little more this year, primarily because the central WI fishery turned out quite a lot of big fish last year. I am looking at buying an Abu Garcia BCX/ Cabela's Pro Guide 7' heavy action combo from Cabela's for a reasonable price, and would like to purchase some lures that are quality and for a decent price. Please feel free to comment with some of your picks, both for the lure name, size and color.

P.S. Anyone have a net recommendation?

acafisherman19

[BenBeattie]

My advice would be to look at the shimano compre line of muskie rods. Excellent value for a great rod. Also go longer then 7'. 8 or 8.5'. Longer rods make f8 so much easier and more effective and it's also easier to toss big muskie plugs with a longer rod.

For baits, get a selection of bucktails, double 8 and double 10 blades in different colors. Get a couple top water baits like a top-raider and phantom viper. Get a couple jerk/glide baits like suick, sledge, Phantom, etc. Get a 9" grandma. Get a couple bulldogs. With these baits you can fish any muskie water from opener to ice up.

Good luck!

Oh yeah, for a net, I use a Beckman Penn Fin Saver 34"x40" Works great.

[wallymn99]

i agree. Start with an 8' rod. Compre is good, so are tackle industries. The one mistake alot of people make is they start out with cheap crap and end up spending more money later. I did this, i bought a bunch of Abu reels, and some cheaper rods only to replace them with TI, MI and Croix rods and reels later. I feel like i spent the money twice rather than just doing it one time. The thing with a TI rod is that it will last, it's good stuff for $120 shipped. Abu's will work, but also look at the Shimano Cardiff for $109. It's a good all around reel. the 400b is $229 which may be out of your price range but will last.. i have a number of these that have held up to some abuse such as tournments and cold weather.

as far as lures? just get an assortment of bucktails, a few top waters, and maybe a few crank baits. Then you are set for most conditions. Decide if you will be in clear or stained water. STained water usually i like throw bright colored baits or black and in clear water i like to "match the hatch" or use natural colors like perch, walleye etc... you can never go wrong with a bucktail that has copper blades and a black skirt. or Orange blades black skirt.

[muskyhunter47]

best thing i can say is stop fishing muskies its to late for me but save your self LOL thorn bros is having there spring sale this weekend bought a new rod reel combo some pounders i ended up leaving spending 1150 and i want more i just cant stop spending musky fishing is just to fun