Big Buck Rod + Reel

[ryanmitchell]

I will be able to try both the saltist and the Abu 7000 on my guided trip, so I am looking forward to that. Just talked to my guide an he has has both models. When I am using single bladed bucktails like a bucher 700 or a musky killer, I cabring that thing in super fast. I don't expect to bring in a big double as fast, but 85-90% of that would be better than the 50% or so I feel they are coming in now.

[urban cowboy]

You dont always have to burn cowgirls... remember the last 30 feet of your cast is the most important. Dont burn yourself out 100 feet away from the boat. And always remember that if you have the trolling motor down and you are trolling along, make sure you are casting to the front of the boat. Never let the bait get behind you.

If you are using this set up...

"""Croix 8'6" Heavy split grip Sling blade and a Calcutta 400te""""

I will be honest, it wont get much easier then that unless you buy a wench like the reals they are talking about above. It just depends on if you want a versitile reel of not.

[urban cowboy]

Who is your guide???????

[muskieboy46]

Urban Cowboy- Why don't let the bait get behind the boat? And if you only burn the last 30ft of a cast you are gonna miss some fish IMO. I'd say about half of the fish i've caught this year burning bucktails(not all cowgirls mind you) hit about 3/4 away from the boat.

[urban cowboy]

For example, If you are working a weedline, shoreline, point, and you have the trolling motor on. Once the lure gets behind you, it is double the work reeling in. You are working agianst the boat. You have to know what I am talking about.

IMO, It is a miss conception that you have to burn baits all the time... yes, burning baits is key in curtain situations, but not all the time. Some people think they are not seeing fish because they arent fishing fast enough, that isnt always the case.

The key thing is that you work the bait hard/fast when it gets close to the boat. If you are strong enough to burn it the entire time then that can be a major plus.. "30 feet" from the boat is the most important, that is when you will trigger most fish to bite. What I am saying is that if you are having a hard time burning the whole cast then at least burn the last 30 feet. On a trip, If you are going to spend 6 -- 15 hour days in a row casting, things like this become very important when it comes to endourance and stamina.

[muskieboy46]

Yep I know what you mean about the bait getting behind the boat. I usually cast forward, but the people I fish with usually only fish a couple times a year, so they get tired and cast off the back and just use the speed of the boat to increase the speed of their lure so they don't have to reel as fast. And it works

Other lures catch fish that can be burned faster and MUCH easier than cowgirls, all day, all week. But i understand your point on the last 30ft.

[JRedig]

I'm trying to figure out where you guys got these hard/set rules about muskie fishing...good way to think your way out of fish.

Ryan, when you're trying the saltist's with the guide, pay attention to which model. 30's and 40's are very different reels and even within the 30's there are several models between levelwind/tall/normal etc.

[urban cowboy]

They arent rules, they are just common sence suggestions.

Dude, think about it... if you are using a 8 foot 6 inch slingblade with a 400te it shouldnt be that tough to real in a cowgirl. I would be willing to bet he is working against the boat on half his casts.

[JRedig]

I'd suggest jigging DCG's at boatside. I've seen 2 big fish caught this year that came up and slurped them while hanging vertically well after the cast and 8 were done. So much for common sense?

There's more than 1 way to work at reeling...sure the pull might be a lot, but winding so fast your arm hurts isn't fun either. That can also make it "tough" to reel in a cowgirl which IME is where a 400TE is at.

I do agree on the "not having to burn them all the time", a majority of fish i've seen caught on them come slow rolling FWIW. Different retrieve techniques are just more tools in your box, they all have their time and place for use.

[urban cowboy]

Yes, yes, and yes.

We are on the same page with this one.

[ryanmitchell]

I am finishing up my tackle purchases for next week. I was thinking about picking up a gold/orange suick, and maybe a bright crankbait like a 6" grandma deep diver. Any other baits I might be missing for the V? I have all the bucktails I could need and I think I have enough top water with a couple hawg wobblers, a creeper, topraiders, teasertails, a couple of dog walkers. Slingblade Scott will be trowin the big bucks, and my brother will be tossing topwater. I am trying to mix it up with gliders, jerk-baits, dawgs, cranks and a twitch or 2.

I always try and vary my retreive, but I have seen more fish burning than anything else. If i were to get a reel for burning bucks, that is all I would use it for, don't need it to be versatile. I would grab another rod and reel to jerk or twitch.

[urban cowboy]

Ryan Mitchell

Who is your guide....???

[ryanmitchell]

A guy by the name of Paul.

[urban cowboy]

I dont know anything about suick's, I never throw them. I would opt for a curly tail phantom or a hell hound. I would imagine that if you know the weedlines well enough then a suick could come in handy.

[NCLaker]

Those curly tail phantoms look awesome in the water (especially the orange tail pearch) - haven't caught anything with them yet, but they definitely good enought to eat.

Ryan, since you will be spending some long days on the "Big V". I would think you would want to make sure you have some good baits for trolling. We troll periodically to give our arms a break or a way to search when motoring between spots. Many of those you have listed would work for trolling, but I would think you would want to add some larger Jake type baits, Believers, etc. Get a good mix of lures that will run at various depths.

Don't forget lures that you can more easily work through weeds/reeds - like spinner baits, buzzbaits, eagle tails, etc. Single hook lures work much easier then trebles through weeds.

If you plan to fish in the dark or very low light, I assume you have head lamps. But another item I like is the large rubber glow beads that "Owner" makes. I put them the main line before the leader - easier for me to see the end of my leader so I don't crank it into far, and easier to follow the figure 8's.

Good luck!

[ryanmitchell]

I have a few big trolling baits and I was just talking to someone at a store about trollers. I have a grandma that I painted black with orange stripes, and a triple D that i painted black with gold glitter. A bigfoot white sucker depth raider, and a big beliver, also whitish/silverish. Do I need to pick up a jake in like a firetiger pattern? My buddy has a white bellied perch grandma also. I have some smaller color, like a perch jointed depth raider, firetiger jointed believer. And even smaller like shad raps baby raiders, and a white fish smaller bagleys. Jailbird shallow invader and a perch kickin minnow 8" Sucker swimmin joe 8".

[ryanmitchell]

I do plan on trolling a bit. I am ordering a couple of 30" trolling leaders in fact, and making sure i have the right tools in case we catch one! There is a 6 inch grandma deep diver in chart crawdad that I could not keep my eyes off in the catalog. R+H page 100, model 74. It might be small, but I think I could troll it and cast it into some rocks and bounce it around. I also might wait and get a jake/grandma after talking to the locals. Another option would be a slammer or Big Game, in like a 10 inch for trolling, but those are pricey.

[urban cowboy]

You need the 10 inch. something with yellow(jailbird) or orange. (firetiger)

Red/pink catches pike. IMO

[ryanmitchell]

Firetiger has yellow and orange? 10 inch jake?

[urban cowboy]

Those curly tail phantoms look awesome in the water (especially the orange tail pearch) - haven't caught anything with them yet, but they definitely good enought to eat.

I had a huge fish follow up on this bait...Had the shoulders and the length... I still have dreams about her.

[ryanmitchell]

Jake, Slammer, Big game? Which one for the troll? I have a 2 Grandmas and Triple D.

[urban cowboy]

Everyone has different oppinions about color. For me, I like a 10 inch jake, in black with a yellow belly in a holo.

You can never go wrong with firetiger.

I have caught fish on both and many other colors.

[urban cowboy]

I like jake and grandma

[ryanmitchell]

looks like i can't go wrong with a 10" firetiger jake. I love the nite shiner pattern too.

[urban cowboy]

Are you going to open water troll or structure troll...?