Newbie to the Ski world (pic added)

[Jay R]

Hello, Just looking for a little advice in the Musky world as I would like to take a serious swing at this in 06. Been a very avid Walleye and smallie angler for years but have an itch to move on to another area. I have actually tangled with 2 muskies in the past landing one 32" while fishing bass. The advise I am looking for is equipment and tackle related. What to start with and spend the money wisley. I have a 6501ABU C4 reel and a 7'6"HF St.Croix premier rod. Made the mistake of stopping in Thorne Bros last week. So any more suggestions would be great. Waters I will fish are in the Detroit Lakes MN area and will take a trip with a couple buddies to the NW angle next fall. Thanks in advance

Jay

[Scoot]

My suggestion would be to start small and don't go crazy with lures. Most people think they need some big complex bunch of lures, only to find that they only use about four or six of them. Get some light and some dark lures. Get one prop tail topwater. A couple bucktails. A couple jerkbaits. Maybe one or two other cool looking lures and call it good. You won't catch more fish with more lures. Try get out with some people who know their stuff and learn all you can.

[Jay R]

Scoot, thanks for the reply and good advice. Start small and work into it. I have a good friend at LOW who I will hit the Angle with next fall and will get some good pointers.

Is there a Musky chapter in the Fargo/Moorhead area? anyone have any info?

J

[cjac]

The best part is the "holy ****" look on your face after you get your first big one......you'll be an addict!!

In addition to the lures mentioned, you'll need the essentials, good net, hook cutters, etc.

[porterhouse]

Jay, Welcome to the club!!!!!!!!!!

Get yourself 1 more muskie rod (like a 6'9") and put your C-4 reel on that. That would be your jerkbait set-up. Burning bucktails with a C-4 will tire you out pretty quick.

Then get a Garcia C-3 reel and put that on your 7'6". Now you got a set-up that you can throw almost anything.

For Baits this what you should start with:

Bucktails/Spinnerbait

1)Black/Silver mepps

2)white/Gold mepps

3)Brown/ Copper M&G Spinnerbaits

Topwaters

1) Topraiders

2) Creeper

Jerkbaits

1) Suick

2) Phantmons

3) Hellhound

And maybe a J-Mac Jig with some kind of plastic.

Also make sure you have release tools in the boat.

Good luck this summer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Brian

[Jay R]

Thanks for the info guys, what about line. I have always hear Power Pro 80# is good place to start and what about leaders? Thanks for the lure advice. One of the guys at Thorne Bros said "Lure#1 Black/Gold Mepps Musky Killer with a white plactic tail, learn it, live it, love it" That made me chuckle. Actually yesterday I picked up a 6'6" scheels MH muskie rod at the Moorhead store on clearence for $30 originally a $90 rod. So a C4 on that for jerkbaits I guess and a C3 on the 7'6" rod and away we go.... Thanks again.

[Scoot]

FM does have a Muskies Inc. chapter. Meets the 4th Mon. of each month in the West Fargo Legion. I've been struggling to make the meetings for a while now, but they are very worthwhile. Lots of good guys and tons of great information. Feel free to show up at a meeting to get membership info. Come introduce yourself to me and I'll welcome you. You'll easily recognize me as the ugliest guy there.

[Jay R]

Thanks for the info Scoot, Actually I think you and I have crossed paths before many moons ago at UMC around 90-91 I think.

Jay

[Random guy]

Jay R Welcome the world of Musky and the tight knit family that comes with it. The guys above hit it right on the money for what baits and equipment to start with. Keep it basic and simple, I started of simple then bought every bait, rod, reel and gadget I could get my hands on. I use twelve of the baits 90% of the time on three different rods and the gadgets all sit in the garage.

Although I want to mention a good net that has the abilty not only to handle a big fish but do it safely without shredding the fins. Also make sure you have a good long needle nose, hook cutters, a catch and release friendly jaw spreader and a hook proof glove can be a wise investment. I had to spend a couple grand at the ER getting the deep ones out of my hand before I made the big plunge and spent the $10- $20 on a glove.

[Bushwacker]

Great advise above. When I started muskie fishing I was in college so out of necessity I started really small. Three different color bucktails, two crankbaits, and three topwater lures. I only had one "muskie" rod, and then I used a heavy bass rod for a backup. I caught quite a few fish back then because I was good with everything I had and everything was basically a confidence lure, because I knew the right situations for them and the right retrieving techniques for them. Then I graduated college and went muskie nuts. I now have 150+ lures, 6 muskie rod/reel combos, three Lakeland boxes, and on and on. I don't care who you are, that is too much stuff to fish effectively. Last summer I went back to only bringing 14 lures out max, and three rods. It worked a lot better and I caught a lot more fish than the previous couple years. Start small and get good with what you have.

[Esoxmn]

No matter how many people tell you that you dont need that many lures, you will still end up with way to many, It's addicting.