Heavy bass/light muskie combo???

[rodbuilder]

Hey guys, I am looking for some input from you die hard bass-ers out there. For the upcoming fishing season, I'd like to buy another rod/reel set-up. I typically fish for muskies from the 3rd week of June till ice up, but I do get the occassional bass trip in. With that said, I am looking for a rod that i can run small bucktails and small walk-the-dog topwaters (zara-spooks) on. The rod needs to be pretty stiff to handle the zara's. For the reel, I'd like a smaller one (smaller than my current Abu 6500) that I could run 30 Lb. power pro line on. The reason I want a smaller reel is to reduce fatigue. When running a large walk-the-dog (Jackpot) with my muskie setup, after about 2 hours it feels like my arm is going to fall off. I was looking at the St. Croix HSOforum and was considering the PC70HF. What do you guys think?

[Stratosman]

That's a tough one, I personally don't like the idea of going that light with my muskie line, especailly on topwater and jerkbait set-ups, 60-80 lb on all my muskie set-ups, I have a set up that I love, it's a 7'6 All Star paired with an abu garcia 6500 spooled with 60 lb tuff line, hard to beat in my opinion for numerous situations. I'm not sure about getting a smaller reel, you have to sacrifice line strength for capacity and I don't like that idea, hate to see you lose a 40 pounder because your line broke, However there are several "bass" style baitcasters that might fit your needs, all you need to do is look at them and check thier line capacity until you find one that suits your needs. As far as the rod is concerned, be carefull not to go too stiff, even for topwater like the jackpot or other walk the dog style baits I often use the All Star set up, you'll find that with a higher speed reel rod stiffness isn't a priority, and if you plan on using the set up for some bass, it might even be a handicap, you will lose alot of feel if you are working jigs or carolina rigs. A longer rod with a stiff backbone and a semi-fast tip will allow you to cast those meduim sized baits with ease and really zing those bucktails, with plenty of power for fighting a larger muskie, figure eights are a breeze as well. Just do a little research to find the set-up that will work the best for the situations you will be fishing in the most.

[delmuts]

stratos . you may want to check into a bass rod used for flipping.( most also telescope. they are tough rods) i have mine teamed up with a phluger 560(5600) and #80 power pro line. a little heavy for bass ( but it does work) most guys will say it is to light for muskie, but i like mine for buck tails.

[Guest]

I use a couple of 7 ft muskie rods for throwing spinnerbaits and buzzbaits in heavy cover. I have Abu-Garcia 5600 C4's on em and spooled up with 80lb Stren Super Braid. Overkill for bass? I dont't think so, especially when you need to horse a big boy out of pads and bullrushes.

I have also used them muskie fishing throwing bucktails or platics.

[Stratosman]

del,

So you use a flippin stick as a muskie set-up? Seems like it would work with especially paired with the 80# p.p. I am not a big fan of telescoping rods though., just a pesonal quirk. I like having seperate rods for bass and muskie, for the simple reason that I get to buy more rods! I bet you can jerk a bass out of pretty much anything with that!

[delmuts]

ya. that set up gives me plenty of power for bass.

[st.crioxfishin]

I have a 7ft MH st.croix rod that i use for pitching and flipping. I don't do much muskie fishing, but a friend of mine does, and he has used this rod for muskies when fishing plastics. He does say that he needs a heavier opower rod for bucktails and topwaters which is understandable. But that rod works great for fishin bass in the thick stuff, especially with #40+ line on the reel. For the reel I use a pflueger trion.

[priorbass]

Rodbuilder you could go with a MU843 muskie blank if you are building yourself...they are on the lite side for muskie but make a great bass fllippin stick...7"2" long...just my 2 cents...we bulid them for lots of bass guys