What rod to buy for casting lures at northerns / muskies ?

[dmengel]

I just was on a fishing trip & realized how much fun it is casting spoons, spinners & other stuff for northern. My question is what should I look for if I want to buy a pretty good bait casting outfit. I know that one rod does not do all things but I need to start somewhere & I hate to buy the wrong one. I am thinking that I would like a G Loomis or St Croix, So what I am really wanting to know is what length & weight to get. Thanks for any & all help on this. Also if someone has a used one they want to sell I may be interested.

Dan

[Deitz Dittrich]

ITs really going to depend on if you are casting great big muskie lures or just your typical pike stuff.. 7' MH muskie rod and or 7'MH Bass type rod. I would stick with at least 7' though.

[NCLaker]

IMO If this is truely more general purpose for Northern & Muskie - I would suggest 7'6" MH Muskie rod (3/4-3 oz rating). Curado 300's w/ 65# braid would be a great match for this setup if you want a low profile reel.

If you want it dedicated for Muskie, go with 8'- 8'6" Heavy-XH (2-6+ oz rating), and maybe a Calcutta reel or Revo Toro 60 w/ 80# braid. The extra length really comes in handy for better casting the big baits and easier figure 8's on the retrieve.

Note that the rod rating for bass rods and muskie rods is completely different. MH bass typically 3/8-1 oz, MH Muskie typically 3/4-3oz rating.

[wormdunker]

I have a St Croix Avid 7' Casting I can sell you, in fact I have 2. $100. The rod is heavy enough to throw small to medium muskie baits yet you can still throw pike sized baits as well. I used it as a frog rod for Large Mouth.

[mainbutter]

I use a medium 7' gander mtn rod.. says "lady angler" on it(lol a GIRL's rod) for any spinners/bucktails up to a mepps "musky killer" and dardevles. I wouldn't want anything heavier for those kinds of pike lures.

Anything that starts to weigh or pull more than those lures though and I go ahead and move up to MH and beyond, depending what the lure is. If you're not doing anything bigger than dardevles and typical mepps spinners, either medium or MH will do you. I will say I enjoy longer fishing rods, 7'-8' is generally what I like for what it sounds like you're tossing around.

[Musky_Madness]

I have a lady angler too I got for 4 bucks earlier this year for a spinning rod. Thing works awesome and have had it bent over many a times pulling up snags out of the river and keeps on taking the beatings it gets. Good rod for pink wrap!

[Muddog]

The main thing is use a rod that is rated for the size lure you will be throwing. You want the rod to load properly when casting. Then length and action.